Fred G. Meyer

Fred G. Meyer (February 21, 1886 – September 2, 1978) was an American businessman who founded the Oregon-based Fred Meyer store chain, which had 63 stores in four western states at the time of his death. He was known for successfully introducing several innovative marketing concepts. He is credited for inventing the modern hypermarket.

Early life Born Fritz Grubmeyer in Germany in 1886, Meyer came to the United States with his parents and older brother, William, in 1889. The family settled in Brooklyn, New York City, where Meyer completed his education up to the fifth grade and later worked in his father's grocery store.

Career Leaving home at the age of 19, he traveled through the American West, prospecting for gold near Nome, Alaska. Relocating to Seattle in 1906, Meyer worked for a small grocery and the Grand Union Tea Company until 1909, when he moved to Portland, Oregon.

In 1910, Meyer's brother William and his family moved to Portland. William and Fred managed the Mission Tea Company, which rented a stall at the City Public Market. Thereafter, Fred established a separate business using horse-drawn wagons to deliver coffee, tea, and spices to Portland residents and groceries to nearby logging camps and farms. By 1911, Meyer was managing Mission Tea, and after a dispute with William, he acquired a new partner and renamed the business the Java Coffee Company. Sometime after arriving in Portland, Frederick Grubmeyer shortened his name to Fred G. Meyer; a 2001 Oregonian article said the change was made "for convenience and maybe to save money on signs". Their marriage had lasted 40 years. The entire roof of his 22,750 square-foot Hollywood store, for example, was covered with a car park. leaving behind $60 million to be used for "religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes."