is a company founded in
1922 in downtown
Portland, Oregon by
Fred G. Meyer . The company is a pioneer of the retail supercenter or
Hypermarket format of store, and has locations throughout the
Pacific Northwest . Although the company is now a division of The
Kroger Company, Fred Meyer and the western region of Kroger are still headquartered in Portland.
In 1928, Mr. Meyer opened the first self-service drug store. In 1931, he opened his first suburban one-stop shopping center in the
Hollywood District of Portland. Innovations included a grocery store alongside a drug store plus general merchandise, off street parking, gasoline station, and—eventually—apparel. In 1973, after several decades of growth in the Portland area, Fred Meyer purchased the Pacific Northwest ''Value Mart'' chain of stores and converted them to Fred Meyer stores. In 1975, Fred Meyer opened their first stores in
Alaska .
On
September 2 1978 , Mr. Meyer passed away at the age of 92. Mr. Meyer played a huge role in the day to day operation of his company until his death.
In 1982, the company was purchased by
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in what was one of KKR's first major leveraged buyouts. In 1985 Fred Meyer acquired
Grand Central of
Salt Lake City, Utah . The Grand Central stores in Utah and
Idaho were converted to Fred Meyer stores, although most did not receive full supermarket departments until the mid 1990s. In 1997, Fred Meyer Inc. acquired
Smith's Food And Drug of Salt Lake City, though both companies maintained separate operations. In 1998, Fred Meyer acquired
Ralphs Grocery Company of
Los Angeles, California , and
QFC of
Seattle, Washington . Both acquisitions also maintained separate operations with Fred Meyer, Inc. as the holding company. In that fast string of mergers, Fred Meyer quickly became the nation's fifth largest food and drug store operator with leading market shares in most western markets. In May of 1999 Fred Meyer, Inc. merged with
Kroger of
Cincinnati ,
Ohio . In 2000, the Arizona Fred Meyer stores, all of which were formerly Smitty's stores that Fred Meyer acquired in the Smith's merger, were rebranded as
Fry's Marketplace . In 2004, Smith's Food and Drug assumed the operations of the Utah Fred Meyer stores, which were rebranded as
Smith's Marketplace .
Fred Meyer stores are well known for their huge floor space. To compete, other
Supermarket chains operating in Oregon (like
Safeway ) often build stores that are much larger than their standard store format.
A typical store is divided into four major departments:
- An Apparel and leisure division with full service Shoe , womens and mens ready-to-wear, Intimates , Cosmetics and accessories, and teens deparment called ''Elements''.
- A Grocery which includes a Nutrition Center as well as full-service meat, seafood, Deli , produce, and Bakery areas.
- A home division featuring toy, stationary, sports and auto, home improvment, garden, furniture, and bed & bath areas and a special area for seasonal merchandise.
- Additionally, all Fred Meyer stores possess a central checkout (abbreviated CCK), or Operations department which is responsible for a large amount of the checkstands; the front end of the store; the customer information center where services such as Western Union , game licences, bus passes, Tobacco sales, and merchandise returns are offered; and the parking lot. Included in the Operations department is Playland , a child care center for shoppers.
Smaller departments support the major ones. Home electronics departments offers a high tech selection including
Computers ,
Televisions , etc. as well as a
Photo station and a
Music market for
CD s,
Movies , and
Video Game s. Some home electronics departments also feature a full service
Cellular Phone sales kiosk. Most stores also include a version of Kroger's mall jewelery chain,
Fred Meyer Jewelers , and a
Pharmacy .
Each department is run by a manager, an assistant manager, and often times a third or a fourth manager, depending upon the size of the department. In addition to the management staff, ''persons-in-charge'' (PIC) have responsibility in a given department. The store is managed by a store director and one or two assistant directors.
Most Fred Meyer stores lease peripheral retail space to other businesses. For example, an average store in Oregon and Washington would have a
Hollywood Video store and a
Washington Mutual Bank branch, and a
Locksmith in the store's parking lot. Many stores also house a
Starbucks Coffee outlet, some of which are operated by Fred Meyer under contract.
is a comparatively compact Fred Meyer, centered on a full service grocery section, with many of the other departments missing or considerably smaller than a full size Fred Meyer store. These are usually older locations in more central locations in Portland, with limited, often unique parking arrangements (like the Burlingame location's
Multistory Parking Garage , or the rooftop parking at the Hawthorne location).
Some marketplace locations are early examples of Fred Meyer in its typical
Mall format, being the
Anchor Store in a small Fred Meyer shopping center. Locations from this early era are typified by having the lawn and garden department in a different building immediately across the street or
Parking Lot .
is the company's "new concept" store in upscale Northwest Portland near
PGE Park . It was converted from the Fred Meyer Stadium Marketplace in
2004 to compete against newly arrived retailers such as the
Pearl District Whole Foods Market and Northwest Portland
Trader Joe's . Fred Meyer also has Northwest Best stores in
Gig Harbor, Washington and
Redmond, Washington .
Fred Meyer employs Kroger's manufacturing by adding its own private label brands alongside national brand products. Aside from products labeled ''Kroger'', one might also find the following brands at a Fred Meyer store: Kivu, Everyday Living (and the more upscale EL
2), F°M°V ("For Maximum Value": lower prices than other private brands on selected staple items), Moto Tech, Private Selection, HD Designs, Splash Spa, and Naturally Preferred. Former brands associated with Fred Meyer were My-T-Fine and President's Choice.
