Michigan’s economy is expected to grow by 1.8 percent in 2024 – slightly higher than 2023 but lower than the national economy – according to Comerica Bank.
But state leaders are not sitting still; growth plans are in place.
On May 30, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, delivering the keynote address at the Mackinac Policy Conference, announced actions “to build a more innovative Michigan.”
These include a pitch competition that will provide capital to innovators; two executive actions to give entrepreneurs access to the testing equipment, facilities and infrastructure they need; and a new Michigan Economic Development Corp. team member to foster a culture of innovation.
PitchMI is a statewide, shark-tank style competition that will award $100,000 to “an innovative solution that transforms the way Michiganders get from point A to point B safely, affordably and efficiently,” according to MEDC.
“Infrastructure for Innovation,” an executive directive, requires state agencies to catalog technology, equipment and facilities across the state and work with the owners to make it available to the innovators who need it. The state also will enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to engage the military and make infrastructure available to entrepreneurs so they can test their ideas.
According to MDEC, “Michigan will be the first state in the nation to get this done, and the only one to take such a proactive, strategic approach to opening physical infrastructure to innovators.”
New food stores add to economy
Meijer added to its home-state grocery holdings in mid-May with the opening of a new supercenter in Hillsdale.
At 159,000 square feet, it’s among the smaller supercenters for the Grand Rapids-based retailer, but still offers the one-stop-shopping the format is known for. In addition to dry grocery items, meat, produce, deli and a large selection of certified organic items, the new supercenter also offers a pharmacy, general merchandise items, large baby and pet departments, apparel, beauty care, a floral department and a garden center.
Located at 3600 W. Carleton Road in Hillsdale, the store has the latest in technology. Shop & Scan allows shoppers to scan barcodes via a mobile app and bag their items as they shop to make checkout convenient. The area devoted to Meijer Home Delivery and Pickup is expanded at the Hillsdale store to accommodate customers who want to shop online, and the Flashfood app offers significant discounts on surplus food. Participating customers earn rewards for the dollars they spend at Meijer through the mPerks program.
As part of Meijer’s ongoing efforts to ensure accessibility for all customers, the store features larger, height-adjustable changing tables in the family restrooms for the added convenience and dignity of customers with disabilities and their caregivers. As in all Meijer stores, the Hillsdale site also offers free access to Aira, an app-based service that provides live navigation assistance to blind and low-vision customers using the camera of their smartphones.
Michigan part of Aldi’s growth plans
Batavia, Illinois-based discount grocer Aldi, which operates about 110 stores in Michigan, reportedly will add a total of eight stores in the state as part of its growth plans that were announced in March, according to ABC 12 News/WJRT.
Two already have opened – one north of Grand Rapids this spring, and a store at 1051 Crittenden Court in Alpena on June 6, according to the retailer’s website.
Five of the Aldis are planned for mid-Michigan. The Alpena store and one planned for Clare are in rural, underserved areas, WJRT noted, adding that Michigan Community Capital is contributing $8 million in New Markets Tax Credits to support them.
The other mid-Michigan stores are in Davison, Fenton and Midland, WJRT added. All eight are expected to open by the end of the year.
Aldi’s plans are to open 800 stores by the end of 2028 through a combination of new and acquired locations. It said it will “strengthen its already strong presence in the Northeast and Midwest, adding nearly 330 stores across both regions by the end of 2028.”
A new Trader Joe’s opened June 28 at 2755 East Grand River Ave. in East Lansing.
According to the Meridian Township website, the store is 13,500 square feet, sitting on about 2.2 acres.
The California-based specialty grocer operates eight other stores in Michigan.
A Niemann Harvest Market is planned as part of the redevelopment of Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, according to MLive.com.
Simon Property Group, one of the owners of the mall, said the store will open in the area of the mall where Sears previously operated.
The store is expected to debut in fall 2025. It will be the first Niemann Harvest Market in Michigan, joining stores in Champaign and Springfield, Illinois, and a recently opened site in Carmel, Indiana.
[RELATED: New Niemann Harvest Market Offers Guests A Shopping Destination]
Harvest Market stores emphasize local options and also offer an in-store restaurant, deli, bakery and grocery items. One of its distinguishing features is it churns fresh butter on site.
MLive.com cited Gerry Kettler, director of consumer affairs at Niemann Foods Inc., Harvest Market’s parent company, as saying in a press release, “Briarwood Mall, and the Washtenaw County community it serves, have a vibrancy and diversity well-matched to Harvest Market and our mission.”
Another “Harvest” store, Harvest Health Foods, opened a new site Dec. 20 in Holland. The store, at Greenly and U.S. 31, serves the Holland and Lakeshore communities with natural, organic groceries and produce, plus local offerings and vitamins and supplements.
According to an article in The Holland Sentinel, Emily Nol owns Harvest Health with her husband, Mitch. Holland is the couple’s largest store, with 13,000 of its 16,000 square feet for retail space.
“It’s always been [our] dream to open another store, and we’ve always kind of had Holland on our mind,” Nol told the newspaper. “I actually graduated from Hope College in 2012 and lived in Holland for four years and spent a lot of time there.”
Harvest also operates stores in Grand Rapids (two) and Hudsonville.
The Holland store has an expanded wellness section, larger refrigerated and freezer areas than the other stores and a larger beer and wine selection, plus a smoothie, juice and coffee bar called Henry’s Coffee Bar, in honor of the store’s first- and second-generation owners, according to the paper. Harvest Health first opened in Grand Rapids in 1952, shortly after Henry Diedering came to the U.S. from the Netherlands.
“Our whole business model is to not be a 30,000-square-foot store and have everything and anything,” Mitch Nol told the Sentinel. “We really want to narrow it down to the items we want to carry, and I think this bigger yet smaller footprint really accomplishes that.”
Grand Rapids-based SpartanNash, which operates both wholesale and retail store divisions, reported its first quarter results at the end of May, saying that its “transformational programs continue to drive results.”
For its 16-week first quarter ended April 20, net sales decreased 3.5 percent to $2.81 billion due to lower volumes in both divisions.
Wholesale segment net sales decreased 3.4 percent to $2.01 billion, attributable to reduced revenue in the national accounts customer channel.
Retail segment net sales decreased 3.6 percent to $792.2 million, with comparable store sales down 2.5 percent. The net sales decrease included a reduction in food assistance program benefits and lower fuel sales.
“SpartanNash continues to prove that we can deliver despite the challenging market dynamics, and we remain on target to reach the $125 to $150 million of gross benefits set out in our strategic plan by the end of 2024 – a year earlier than initially communicated,” said SpartanNash CEO Tony Sarsam.
“Thanks to the operational excellence and dedication of our associates, along with our investments in supply chain and merchandising transformations, we continued to expand our adjusted EBITDA margin in the first quarter.”
The company’s global supply chain network serves wholesale customers that include independent and chain grocers, national retail brands, e-commerce platforms, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges. On the retail side, SpartanNash operates 147 brick-and-mortar grocery stores, plus dozens of pharmacies and fuel centers. It also offers a full suite of support services for independent grocers.
In Michigan, its retail holdings include about 57 Family Fare stores, three Martin’s Super Markets, 10 D&W Fresh Markets, nine VG’s Grocery stores, Forest Hills Foods and Ada Fresh Market.
