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AURORA, ILL. - In a slow and deliberate expansion of its supercenter format throughout the Midwest, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer last month opened its second store in the Chicago market. It is the company's fourth store in Illinois and its 136th overall.
Meijer's current growth plan for the Chicago region calls for three additional openings: one this month in St. Charles, Ill., and two other definitive openings in the Greater Chicago area, each scheduled for 2001. The company also has a site picked out in Lisle, Ill., but a Meijer spokesman told DSN Retailing Today that the project is currently on hold.
The supercenter that grand opened here last month is 215,000 sq. ft., but the opening itself was anything but grandiose. Unlike its competitors in the region, Meijer chose not to open this unit with hoopla and fanfare. Instead, the company eased into the market and gave its 650 employees a chance to acquaint themselves with their new jobs and training, said store director Vic Lajeunesse.
"We're very excited to be part of this community," Lajeunesse told DSN Retailing Today during an exclusive store tour. "I'm committed to make this the best store in the area." He also said that sales have "exceeded expectations" since...