Meijer Logo PNG
The supermarket chain, known for its creativity, could not help but distinguish itself with an original logo. The Meijer logo may seem simple at first glance, but it uses expressive contrast to draw the eye in. It’s like a magnet for customers.
Meijer began in 1934 during the Great Depression, when Hendrik Meijer, a barber in Greenville, Michigan, opened a small grocery store. The change came from economic pressure: barbering income had fallen, while food retail remained a steadier business. From the beginning, Meijer used the self-service format, shopping carts, and open access to goods, which was still new for many local grocery stores.
After World War II, Hendrik’s son Fred Meijer became deeply involved in the company. Father and son expanded the chain across Michigan and kept experimenting with store formats. The key moment came in 1962, when they opened Thrifty Acres in Grand Rapids. The store combined a full grocery supermarket with clothing, appliances, home goods, garden supplies, and pharmacy products under one roof.
This format later became known as the supercenter. At the time, Kroger was associated mainly with groceries, while Kmart focused on general merchandise. Meijer connected both directions in a single store, aiming at middle-class shoppers who used cars and wanted to buy across many categories in a single visit. Hendrik Meijer died in 1964, and Fred continued expanding the business into Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Kentucky.
By the 1980s, Meijer already had two decades of experience with the supercenter model. Walmart opened its first supercenter in 1988 and later became a major rival in the Midwest. Fred Meijer died in 2011, when the chain had more than 200 stores and remained under family ownership, making it one of the largest private retailers in the United States.
Meaning and History
The original name of this organization is Meijer. It was opened in Greenville, Michigan, by a Dutch immigrant. He was not a businessman but worked as a hairdresser. However, during the Great Depression, the entrepreneur began selling groceries. The letter “s” with an apostrophe indicated that members of this family wholly owned the business. And so it was: even the owner’s 14-year-old son was among the employees.
With each major expansion of points of sale, their owner changed outdoor signs, which also served as logos. The most fundamental redesign was introduced in 1984, the 50th anniversary of supermarkets. Then, for the first time, not only was the design of the emblems changed, but also the corporate font.
What is Meijer?
Meijer is a United States supermarket chain owned by a company of the same name. She was the first to combine several stores from different directions into a single building, thereby introducing the concept of hypermarkets. Now it has over 250 shopping malls. The head office is located in Walker, Michigan. The founder of the corporation is Hendrik Meijer. Its appearance is dated 1934.
1934 – 1957
An early logo featured the white word “THRIFT MARKET” inside a red rectangle and was used as a sign. The letters were in an unusual font with triangular serifs, and a small square dot was at the end of the inscription.
1957 – 1966
Meijer’s visual identity began with the wrong pentagon. In any case, this is exactly what the geometric figure looks like, which served as a background for the name of the new type of store. That is, it is a pentagon with edges of different lengths. It is colored red. On it are three white inscriptions, ungrouped into two parts. The first row is occupied by the name of the trade and commercial complex. It is essentially in lowercase, but with a large “M” whose legs are stretched vertically as if it were a capital letter with a rounded top. At the bottom is the phrase “Super Markets,” separated by a hook “j.”
1966 – 1984
During this period, designers used the style of the first letter in the hypermarket chain’s name as the basis. Therefore, all other characters are adapted to “m.” They have the same streamlined shapes, rounding, and lack of serifs. The inscription is in white. Of particular interest are “E” and “m”: the designers, noticing the almost absolute similarity between them, depicted them as identical. The only difference is in the rotation: in “m,” the protruding elements are directed downward (legs) and arranged vertically, whereas in “E,” they are directed to the right and placed horizontally. A single large “m” flaunts above the brand name. The background is a red square with convex sides, like a barrel.
1984 – 2004
The reason for updating the logo was a significant date, the 50th anniversary of Meijer. In this regard, management decided to radically change the style of the outdoor sign. As a result, the designers removed the single “m,” which in appearance resembled a double gate. They took the name as a basis and typed it in bold geometric letters with clear angles and miniature serifs. Moreover, if earlier the lowercase was “m,” now it is “j,” as evidenced by the “dot” above it in the form of a parallelogram. The “i” has the same figure. The developers completely removed the background, leaving an empty white space on which the red inscription was visible.
2004 – today
The modern logo is radically different. It contains only text, no graphics. The characters are rounded and streamlined, with smooth lines. The exceptions are “i” and “j.” They have a columnar shape with right angles. The dots above them are perfectly round, dark blue. All letters are in lowercase and traditionally colored red.
Font and Colors
Frequent alternation between uppercase and lowercase characters characterizes the text portion of the Meijer logo. Another interesting detail is the dots above the “i” and “j.” In the debut version, miniature stars were used instead. Then yellow parallelograms appeared. In the current emblem, they were replaced with large disks filled with solid blue. Moreover, at all times, the supermarket chain’s logo also served as an outdoor sign.
For its visual identity, Meijer chose expressive typefaces that are visible even from a distance. Almost all of them are individual, as they contain modified parts. The latest logo version uses a font that is a complete match for Vacer Sans Bold by Aring Typeface AB.
If we talk about the corporate palette of the trading network, it is bright and catchy, and the designers chose a rich red color. It was complemented by yellow, orange, and blue in different periods. In some emblems, the inscription is white.