Fred Meyer, Inc is an American company founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon by Fred
G. Meyer. The company was one of the pioneers of the retail supercenter or hypermarket
format of store which combines a grocery supermarket and a department
store. It has locations throughout the Pacific Northwest. Prior to the company's
merger with Kroger it traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker
symbol FMY. Although the company is now a division of The Kroger Company, Fred
Meyer and the western region of Kroger are still headquartered in Portland. Fred
Meyer is sometimes known as "Freddy’s", a nickname the company has used in its
advertising and for its mascot, Fred Bear. In 1985 Fred Meyer acquired
Grand Central of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Grand Central stores in Utah and Idaho
were converted to Fred Meyer stores, although most did not receive full supermarket
departments until the mid 1990s. In 1997, Fred Meyer Inc. acquired
Smith's Food and Drug of Salt Lake City, though both companies maintained separate
operations. In 1998, Fred Meyer acquired Ralphs Grocery Company of Los Angeles,
California, and QFC of Seattle, Washington. Both acquisitions also maintained
separate operations with Fred Meyer, Inc. as the holding company. In that
fast string of mergers, Fred Meyer quickly became the nation's fifth largest
food and drug store operator. In May of 1999 Fred Meyer, Inc. merged with Kroger
of Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2000, the Arizona Fred Meyer stores, all of which were
formerly Smitty's stores that Fred Meyer acquired in the Smith's merger, were
rebranded as Fry's Marketplace. In 2004, Smith's Food and Drug assumed the operations
of the Utah Fred Meyer stores, which were rebranded as Smith's Marketplace.
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