From the Netherlands, to Holland, Michigan, to Business Success
Written: Jun 02 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Well- written; personal
Cons: Published in 1985, so it's a little out of date
The Bottom Line: An excellent biography that tells the story of a young Dutch immigrant and his determination to succeed.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Thrifty Years: The Life of Hendrik Meijer Books |
Grocery store supermarkets and discount stores are a popular way for Americans to shop for food and general merchandise. With the large size of most of these retailers, items can be purchased in bulk, lowering the overall cost and making food and other goods less expensive for both the seller and the consumer.
Today, it’s common to find stores that combine the conveniences of a discount store with that of a grocery store, into one large “hybrid” store. Most everyone is familiar with the Wal- Mart “Supercenter”, which is the best- known example of this type of retail arrangement. But Wal- Mart was not the originator of the combination grocery store/discount store. This concept was invented by a man named Hendrick Meijer, a Dutch Immigrant who settled in Michigan upon crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1907, determined to create a better life for himself and his family here in the United States. In this book, “Thrifty Years: the Life of Hendrick Meijer”, author Hank Meijer tells the story about his grandfather’s trip to the United States and his subsequent rise in the business world.
Basic Contents of This Book:
This 254- page paperback book is divided into the following eight chapters:
Preface
Introduction
Chronology
Part 1: The Immigrant
1. The Old Country
2. The New World
3. Hobo with a Collar
Part 2: The Entrepreneur
4. The Case of the Unlucky Landlord
5. A Supermarket is Born
6. First Link in a Chain
7. The Golden Age
8. The World and Twenty- Eighth Street
Afterword
Index
Hendrick Meijer was born in Hengelo, Netherlands, on December 28, 1883, the third of seven children. He spent his early years working in cotton mills and later served a short stint in the Dutch army. In 1907, more than 7,000 native people from the Netherlands were permitted to immigrate to the United States. More than half of these immigrants headed for the city of Holland, Michigan, to start a new life in the USA. Hendrick Meijer was one of these people. Along with his father and one of his sisters, he made the voyage to the United States in the summer of 1907, at the age of 23.
Conditions in Michigan were not all fun and games, as Hendrick would quickly learn. There was a considerable amount of labor unrest, and Hendrick found himself jumping around from job to job. However, the young Dutchman had one important goal that most others did not: the will and desire to start his own business enterprise. Hendrick started several different business ventures, including farming and running a barbershop. He even made a venture to the state of Washington and was strongly considering making a move to the American west. But he decided instead to stay in Michigan and in 1912, his fiancé, Zien, immigrated to the United States to join him.
In 1928, after a fairly successful entry into the world of barbershop grooming, Hendrick Meijer decided to start something completely different. He was already known for his interest in agriculture and for his milk delivery service. Why not open up a small grocery store to sell his milk and other foods? In 1934, Hendrick opens up his first store and within a few years, he expanded and opened up more locations.
In 1962, Hendrick Meijer made history when he opened up the first hybrid superstore in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Orginally called “Thrifty Acres”, this was the first store ever to combine a grocery store with a general merchandise discount store. Critics said it would never work, but Hendrick Meijer stuck to his instincts and gave his new store time to develop and gel within the local community.
The Meijer chain of superstores continued to expand, but at a slow rate. Fred Meijer, Hendrick’s son, was slowly beginning to take over the running of the store chain as Hendrick grew older. On May 31, 1964, Hendrick Meijer passed away in Grand Rapids at the age of 80. His wife, Zien, lived another 14 years and died on February 28, 1978, at the age of 91.
The 1990’s brought further success to the Meijer store chain. Fred Meijer and his sister Johanna (Hendrick and Zien’s only two children) took over the running of the company and have since expanded into four more states: Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. Progress has been slow, but steady, as the Meijer superstore chain continues to open up more stores in more markets across the USA.
Final Thoughts:
Supermarkets and the selling of food are something taken for granted here in the United States. No matter where we might live, no matter how remote or far removed from civilization, we can count on having a grocery store within a relatively short distance from our homes. In the past, grocery stores were small and usually family- owned. Most shoppers didn’t buy all of their food at once. Instead, they would purchase food as it was needed, to ensure that it was fresher. Gradually, over time, grocery stores have become larger and larger and most are owned by one of several large chains. Hendrick Meijer is responsible for much of this early development in the formation of the modern- day grocery store supermarket. Most people think that Wal- Mart was responsible for the superstore concept, but the credit belongs to Hendrick Meijer.
Reading the Hendrick Meijer story is interesting, and it’s told very eloquently by the author, Hank Meijer, grandson of the company patriarch. Starting with his early days in the Netherlands and continuing all the way to the day of his death, Hendrick was a stubborn, determined man who liked the idea of hard work and competition. He was also very active politically, with his philosophy changing from that of an anarchist, to a socialist, to a capitalist(!). He was also a firm believer in service to his fellow man. As Hank Meijer points out, Hendrick was one of the few men in his day and age to place an emphasis on customer service and value. In fact, Hendrick was often the target of personal attack by competitors who didn’t like the way he priced his food and merchandise. Hendrick would often price items below cost to attract new business and to help families pay for staple food items. Some of his competitors actually went so far as to attempt passing new laws that would prevent Hendrick from selling items below an agreed upon cost!
I like the personal touch that Hank Meijer uses in this book. Besides merely telling his grandfather’s story, he also includes actual quotes between Hendrick and Zien, taken from letters that the two wrote to each other when he was in the United States and she was still in the Netherlands. The letters are full of emotion, with expressions of love, hope, frustration, and promise. At one point, Hendrick and Zien were considering breaking off the relationship completely. But their mutual feelings stood the test of time and the two were married.
This book is written in a more personal way then in a business way. It does include facts about the business itself and it makes mention of the various financial hardships, competitive threats, and obstacles that stood in the way when Hendrick was building his grocery store enterprise. But this is not really a business book, in the strict sense. It’s really a biography of a man who succeeded in business, with an emphasis on the man, his family, his personal relationships, and his overall philosophy of life and business and how his personal convictions influenced the various businesses that he owned over the years. It was published in the mid 1980’s, so it’s a little out of date, as far as the business is concerned. But the founding of the business and the early struggles of Hendrick Meijer, which form the basis of this book, are timeless.
The Meijer chain is much larger today than even Hendrick Meijer would have dreamed. Today, there are about 155 locations in the Midwest. The store would probably grow much more quickly if it was a publicly traded corporation. But ownership and control are still maintained by the Meijer family. This makes it more difficult to obtain capital, when compared to an industry giant like Wal- Mart or Kroger. But the family seems content to keep things this way. It keeps the business family- focused and prevents shareholder demands from ruining the legacy that Hendrick Meijer started so many years ago.
I heartily recommend this book to everyone who is familiar with the Meijer chain of superstores. Impeccably written by Hank Meijer, this is an inspirational piece of non- fiction that shows how a person can rise to the top with sheer will and determination. Hendrick Meijer arrived in the United States with just a small amount of money in his pocket but built an innovative business that is still growing and thriving today. And it all started in the small Midwestern town of Holland, Michigan, a city full of Dutch immigrants including one with a vision to succeed, Mr. Hendrick Meijer. It’s an inspiring biography!
Recommended:
Yes
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