Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer Inc., is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but its 194 supercenters are spread across five Midwestern states. In 1962, it was this company that was said to be the pioneer in the modern supercenter concept. Approximately 50 percent of Meijer’s stores are located in Michigan. In 2011, it was ranked No. 13 on Forbes’ list of “America’s Largest Private Companies” and a few years earlier, in 2008, it scored the 19th position in Fortune’s “The 35 largest U.S. private companies.”