TRADER JOE'S

'Trader Joe's' is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. As of August 2007, Trader Joe's has a total of 283 stores.^[1] Its stores are located most densely in Southern California, but the grocery company has locations in 22 other states and Washington, D.C. Trader Joe's was founded by Joe Coulombe and is currently owned by a family trust set up by German billionaire Theo Albrecht, one of the two brothers behind Aldi.^[2]

Contents

History

Products

Employees

Locations

References

External links

History

Trader Joe's is named for its founder, Joe Coulombe. The chain began in 1958 as a Greater Los Angeles area chain of "Pronto Market" convenience stores. The original Pronto Markets were similar to 7-Eleven stores, so similar that Coulombe felt that the competition with 7-Eleven would be fatal.^[3] He is said to have envisioned the Trader Joe South Seas motif while on vacation in the Caribbean.^[4] He had noticed that Americans were traveling more and returning home with tastes for food and wine they had trouble satisfying in supermarkets of the time. The first store named "Trader Joe's" opened in Pasadena, California in 1966. This store, on Arroyo Parkway, is still in operation. In response to strong competition from 7-Eleven, the chain differentiated its stores' offerings and doubled the floor space in 1967. In the first few decades of operation, some of the stores offered fresh meats provided by butchers who leased space in the stores. Trader Joe's at one time had sandwich shops and freshly cut cheese and fresh squeezed orange juice. Theo Albrecht bought the company in 1979.^[5] Joe Coulombe continued running the company until he was succeeded by John Shields in 1989. Shields retired in 2001, turning the reins over to Dan Bane. Shields still does consulting for the company.
A ''Business Week'' article about the store noted that between 1990 and 2001, the chain quintupled its store count while increasing its profits tenfold. ''Supermarket News'' estimates that Trader Joe's total sales for 2006 was $5.0 billion, which gave it a ranking of No. 27 on the list of "2007 Top 75 North American Food Retailers".^[6] The October 2006 issue of ''Consumer Reports'' ranked Trader Joe's the second-best supermarket chain in the nation, after Wegmans.^[7][8]

Products

Trader Joe's describes itself as "your unique grocery store". Products sold at "TJ's" include gourmet foods, organic foods, vegetarian food, unusual frozen foods, imported foods, domestic and imported wine, "alternative" food items, and basics like bread, cereal, eggs, and produce. Some non-food items, including personal hygiene products, household cleaners, vitamins, pet food, and plants and flowers, are also available. Many of the company's products are considered environmentally friendly.The American Way of Aldi, Deutsche Welle, January 16, 2004.
Trader Joe's sells many items from any of several of its own private labels. Such labels are quirkily named by the ethnicity of the food in question, such as ''Trader Jose's'' (Mexican food), ''Trader Ming's'' (Chinese food), ''Baker Josef's'' (bagels), ''Trader Giotto's'' (Italian food), ''Trader Joe-San'' (Japanese food), ''Trader Johann's'' (lip balm), and ''Trader Darwin's'' (vitamins).
Trader Joe's is also known as the exclusive retailer of Charles Shaw wine, popularly known as ''Two Buck Chuck'' because of its $1.99 a bottle price in California (although in some locales it sells for over $3 a bottle, due to varying state liquor taxes and transportation costs).

Employees

According to ''Business Week'', Trader Joe's pays above average wages, generous bonuses, and contributes an additional 15.4% of each worker's gross pay into a company-funded retirement plan. As of 2004, pay for entry-level part-timers was $8 to $10 an hour; first-year supervisors average more than $40,000 a year.
Trader Joe's also offers health insurance benefits (dental, medical, and vision) to part-time employees and their dependents. Part-time employees must work 900 hours per year (an average of 20 hours per week) to qualify. All part-time employees are evaluated every 90 days with the possibility of a pay increase. They also get a 10-percent discount for items bought at TJ's.^[9]
Every employee of the company is held to a certain set of values, which they base their decisions upon. Those values include the importance of integrity, the company’s emphasis on its unique products, and the need to create an experience for its customers that brings them back.^[10]

Locations

As of end of August 2007 Trader Joe's has a total of 283 stores. These stores are located in the following states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.
In 2007 stores have opened in Atlanta, Georgia (Midtwon, Marietta, Sandy Springs, Norcross, Roswell); Charlotte, North Carolina (South); Chula Vista, California; Henderson, Nevada (Anthem}; and San Jose, California (Coleman).
Stores are also slated to open in Bellingham, Washington; Charlotte, North Carolina (North); Edgewater, New Jersey; Oakland, California (Lakeshore); Oakland, California (College); Queens, New York; Rancho Cucamonga, California; Woodbury, Minnesota; and Woodland Hills, California.^[11]

References

1. Locations (PDF file), Trader Joe's, August 27, 2007. Retrieved on August 28, 2007.
2. Trader Joe's: The Trendy American Cousin, ''BusinessWeek'', April 26, 2004. Retrieved on August 1, 2006.
3. For Trader Joe's, a New York Taste Test, ''The New York Times'', March 8, 2006.
4. Trader Joe's targets 'educated' buyer, ''The Associated Press'', August 30, 2003.
5. The American Way of Aldi,''Deutsche Welle'', January 16, 2004
6. 2007 Top 75 North American Food Retailers ''Supermarket News''. Retrieved on February 23, 2007.
7. Win at the grocery game, ''Consumer Reports'', October 2006.
8. The Nation's Best Grocery Stores, ABC News, September 2, 2006.
9. Benefits, Trader Joe's, Retrieved January 5, 2007.
10. Trader Joe's - Where Values Drive The Brand Flooring the Consumer, April 17, 2007
11. Coming Soon Locations, Trader Joe's.

External links

★ Official Web site