Fred Meyer Stores Employer Profile

A Unique One-stop-shopping Experience

Fred Meyer Stores is based in Portland, Oregon and features 134 large multidepartment stores in six western states that offer one-stop shopping for a wide range of food, apparel, and general merchandise products.  Fred Meyer is part of The Kroger Company (NYSE: KR), headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is the nation's largest food retailer, with grocery stores stretching coast to coast in 31 states, more than 300,000 employees, and $43 billion in combined annual sales.

Fred Meyer has been involved in four major mergers since 1997.   Prior to the mergers, it was a $4 billion retailer featuring a unique one-stop-shopping experience.  Then, as consolidation rocked the retail food industry, Fred Meyer, Inc. took center stage with a series of mergers that would redefine the company as a food industry leader.

The first merger was completed in September 1997 with the addition of Smith's Food & Drug Centers based in Salt Lake City, Utah.  It was followed in March 1998 by mergers with Los Angeles-based Ralphs Grocery Company and Quality Food Centers (QFC) of Seattle, Washington.  Together with Fred Meyer Stores, these four subsidiaries of Fred Meyer, Inc. totaled more than 800 food and drug and multidepartment stores in 12 western states.  Sales increased to $15 billion, making Fred Meyer, Inc. the fifth largest food retailer in the country and dramatically increasing its buying power.

Then in May 1999, Fred Meyer, Inc. merged again.  But this time it joined The Kroger Co. to created the number one grocery retailer in the United States.  The Fred Meyer, Ralphs, Smith's, and QFC stores all kept their names, formats, and operating philosophies, joining a large number of other grocery divisions with different names operating under the Kroger umbrella in 31 states coast to coast.

Fred Meyer traces its history back more than 75 years to 1922 when a visionary young grocer named Fred G. Meyer opened a unique new store in downtown Portland.  By the 1930's, Mr. Meyer was combining general merchandise and apparel with food and drugs in large suburban stores to pioneer one-stop-shopping in the United States.

Today, the company operates in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona.  It's Portland offices continue to expand as the base for Kroger's western operations.  Also based there is Fred Meyer Jewelers, which has strengthened its position as the fourth largest fine jewelry chain in the United States with more than 280 mall stores in 26 states and 101 locations inside the Fred Meyer multidepartment stores.

In addition, The company operates a dairy and commercial bakery in the Portland area, maintains a large fleet of trucks and trailers, and has three major distribution centers in Puyallup and Chehalis, Washington, and Clackamas, Oregon.   These operations join with others in the Kroger family of stores to support each other with sensible synergies.

Mr. Meyer was well known for his charitable work.  He personally delivered baskets of food to the poor and helped serve dinners at homeless shelters.  The example he set helped to establish a tradition of volunteerism and corporate giving that is a vital part of the company today.  The Fred Meyer Challenge golf tournament has contributed more than $6 million to children's charities since it started in 1986.  Fred Meyer is a leader each year in local United Way campaigns.  Local community involvement is emphasized at every store.  And the company participates in a charitable foundation established in 1998 with $2 million endowment to help the communities served by Fred Meyer, Smith's, and QFC stores.  The merger with Kroger in 1999 launched an expansion of the foundation with a $10 million addition to the endowment over the next seven years.

A full-size "Freddy's", as the locals affectionately refer to their homegrown retailer, comes in two basic sizes of approximately 130,000 and 165,000 square feet, with additional space added for interior and exterior tenants.

At the heart of every Fred Meyer store is an industry-leading supermarket, which contains everything from fresh produce, meat, and fish to in-store bakery, grocery staples, and health and beauty aids, with an every-day-low-pricing strategy used throughout.  All the stores have pharmacies, with the new ones providing private consultation rooms.  The nutrition center, with its vitamins, supplements, organic products, and natural foods, has specially trained staff, and the sales generated by this one area alone make Fred Meyer the third largest natural foods retail chain in he country.

Beyond the grocery's shelf, Fred Meyer attracts customers with adverse array of apparel and general merchandise products.  A promotional pricing strategy is used that features many sale items every week.  An important part of Fred Meyer's competitive advantage is its emphasis on national-brand products found in department and specialty stores, such as Levi, Lee, Jockey, Arrow, Vanity Fair, Columbia Sportswear, Nike, Keds, Seiko, Kitchen Aids, Krups, Sony, Pioneer, Kohler, and Makita.  Also included are many private brands that offer high-quality alternatives at lower prices.

The Apparel Department looks and feels like a department store and features national-brand style essentials for men, women, and children in casual-wear, sportswear, denim, and shoes.

The Home Department in Fred Meyer's largest stores includes everything customers need for their homes, ranging from housewares, home decor, and softgoods for the kitchen, bedroom, and bath, to toys, automotive supplies, and sporting goods.  A wide range of home improvement products and a great garden center help do-it-yourselfers with their home and yard projects.

The Home Electronics Department features top names in audio/visual equipment, video games, telephones, camcorders, computers and accessories, software and cameras.  Interactive displays encourage customers to try out products. Also included are services such as one-hour film processing, listening stations that enable customers to sample selections off of every CD in the store, and viewing stations to sample videos for sale.

Fred Meyer has created a comprehensive one-stop-shopping experience that eludes standard store classifications and gives the company a truly unique niche in the world of retail.

What kind of careers does Fred Meyer offer?

Store Director

 Responsible for store merchandising and operations, ensuring excellent Customer service, maximizing financial performance of the store, and meeting company and divisional standards.

Department Manager

Manages a department in the store, ensuring excellent Customer service, and maximizing financial performance of the department.

Assistant Manager

Assists in managing a department, meeting the daily needs of the business, and providing Customer service.

Management Trainee

Participates in a structured management training program, working in a department to learn all facets of the department, and providing Customer service.

Intern

Participates in all facets of a department, working with key people and management to gain hands-on experience in retail management.

Corporate and Regional Positions

These positions are available in merchandising, operations, information systems, advertising, corporate facilities, public affairs, finance, human resources, distribution/logistics, and loss prevention.

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