While Trader Joe's makes its suppliers "sign a really draconian nondisclosure agreement," according to Gardiner, the practice helps keep prices down — and shoppers see it as a score.
Trader Joe's carries about a 10th of the items traditional grocery stores do. Too much choice is actually overwhelming, according to Iyengar's research. A study she coauthored found people were more likely to purchase gourmet jams or chocolates when asked to choose from six offerings instead of 24 to It has been criticized for using too much packaging , a claim the grocer has been taking steps to address since In , for example, it removed 6 million pounds of plastic by eliminating or replacing packaging on more than 40 produce items and by eliminating the plastic rings from its six-packs of beer.
And starkly at odds with its cheerful image, in recent years some Trader Joe's employees have complained of harsh treatment by mangers, and of a culture of surveillance and safety lapses, The New York Times reported in Trader Joe's did not respond to request for further comment. The demand for Trader Joe's stores does seem to outpace the supply, hence the long waits at checkout.
But it's actually another Trader Joe's secret to success, says Yohn. For a grocer that depends on its vibe, "growing only as much as they can afford to, to be able to hire great people" is wise, she says. As for the parking, "many Trader Joe's locations are decades old, and their parking lots need to be redesigned for the traffic of modern life," Morgan says.
In fact, the first Trader Joe's, which opened in in Pasadena, California, still has its original parking lot. This story has been updated to include the controversy over the branding on some of Trader Joe's ethnic food products.
Ex-Apple exec Guy Kawasaki: I want a product that will make me 'wait like a fool outside an Apple store'. Like this story? Skip Navigation. Jennifer Liu. People crowd into the new Trader Joe's, located on Colorado Blvd.
Trader Joe's continued to sell its inexpensive, unique wines and imported cheeses and coffees as it had since the early s. But Coulombe gradually began expanding the chain's inventory to include a wide array of singular nuts, pastas, fish, vegetables, and prepared snacks and meals. The company retained Coulombe as CEO. During the early and mids Coulombe continued to perfect Trader Joe's inventory and market position and to slowly grow the California chain. He gradually moved away from the intense environmental rhetoric in the Fearless Flyer , for example, and evolved with his core market.
That meant positioning the Trader Joe's stores to appeal to the emerging upwardly mobile, or "Yuppie" crowd, which was exhibiting increasingly sophisticated shopping patterns. Unique beers and wines remained a major attraction, but Coulombe also began bringing in more perishables and unique dry food items. The Fearless Flyer continued to be a primary marketing tool, but it was toned down and used to provide entertaining and useful information such as health tips and new store items.
Importantly, Coulombe bolstered the attraction of his inventory by keeping a sharp focus on value and targeting the well educated, but less-than-affluent consumer. Wines and other alcoholic beverages were often displayed in cases and most stores had only a few rows of shelving. And while the average store size increased during the s and s, the average Trader Joe's store was still only about 6, square feet by the late s--about half the size of the typical Los Angeles supermarket.
Although his strategy of maintaining a continually changing inventory may have seemed like an expensive and daunting proposition to larger markets and superstores, Coulombe managed to keep prices low. Trader Joe's efficiency was partly the result of its cash policy; the company paid cash for all purchases and funded growth internally as well as through the deep-pocketed Albrecht family. Innovative, low-cost advertising was a major money saver as well.
Trader Joe's cost-saving private label comprised about 80 percent of the company's product offering. Also minimizing expenses was the company's unusual purchasing program. The store's own branded items--fresh salsa and unique pastas, for example--were supplied by a constantly changing set of small, independent contractors. The foods they supplied were often discontinued items that Trader Joe's bought at a discount. Those contractors and other suppliers were found by Trader Joe's own buying team, which traveled throughout America and Europe in search of interesting items and bargains.
The result of Coulombe's innovative inventory and pricing strategy was huge profit margins. Furthermore, because its stores were usually located on non-prime real estate, the company's fixed overhead was relatively low.
By the late s the nearly year-old Coulombe had built Trader Joe's into a chain of 30 outlets, most of which were in the Los Angeles and San Diego regions. In , Coulombe selected year-old John V. Shields to succeed him at the helm. Following a short transition period, Coulombe stepped aside and the Albrecht family welcomed Shields as the new chief. Shields had known Coulombe for about 40 years when he joined Trader Joe's.
The two had met in as fraternity brothers at Stanford University and had kept in touch over the years; Coulombe had always been impressed by Shields' retail sense. Shields' first exposure to retailing occurred at Stanford, where he worked as a salesperson at a men's clothing store.
After college he accepted a job with R. Macy in New York and set a goal of becoming senior vice-president by the age of He began by turning around the women's department, converting it from a money loser into one of the store's most profitable departments. Following similar feats, he was promoted to senior vice-president before he was In he took a job at Mervyn's and helped that retail chain grow from 38 stores to within nine years.
His next move was to Trader Joe's. Shields maintained much of Trader Joe's unique product mix and marketing strategy, as evidenced by a transaction conducted shortly after he took control of the chain. The winery had just been purchased by a group of Japanese investors who planned to make sake, or rice wine, at the winery.
They did not need the inventory of wines that were popular in the United States, so Trader Joe's moved quickly in a deal that brought it , bottles of wine at a bargain price. Deals like these kept Trader Joe's cash registers ringing into the early s.
Indeed, despite an economic downturn and another depression in the California defense industry, the Trader Joe's stores continued to perform. Inventory was broadened to include a variety of wines, nuts, cheeses, dairy products, frozen foods, candies, bakery items, juices, and even dog food. Moreover, Trader Joe's became the largest retailer of pistachio nuts, whole bean coffee, and brie in California, and was among the largest retailers of maple syrup and wild rice, among other distinctions.
There's no shortage of selection in the Trader Joe's frozen food aisle—from Spicy Orange Chicken to Gone Bananas to frozen pizzas galore. This section alone has made the grocer a standout among its competitors. We even had the pleasure of testing every TJ's frozen meal and ranking them for you.
You're welcome! The grocer has its own private label of beauty products, too. Of course, like all things Trader Joe's , it only features high-quality ingredients and has impressed even the most finicky of beauty gurus.
Let's make this clear: Nothing gets on the shelf at Trader Joe's if it hasn't gone through a series of tests—the most important being the taste test.
And since the company doesn't collect slotting fees, like a lot of other grocers, there's no incentive to stock something just to get it on the shelf. Even back in the '60s, Trader Joe's was selling wine, but only bottles from California. Since then, the store has become one of the best places to snag a bargain vino. Trader Joe's started selling fresh cut flowers in and since then the store's flower reputation has blossomed.
Flowers are delivered in a fresh shipment every day, which means shoppers get the freshest stems possible. If you have an event you need to reserve a few bouquets for, you can work out an order ahead of time with an employee. Wow, this store never stops putting the customers first—even the littlest ones! Around each store, there are hidden nautical stuffed animals. If your child finds one, they're rewarded with a lollipop. Those beautiful murals on the walls? They're actually hand-painted by the store's in-house artists and are created to reflect the town's locale.
Again, this is done either by the store's artists or employees, depending on how extensive the sign is. This adds to the store's laid-back atmosphere. Some of Trader Joe's products have developed a cult following. The store is very transparent about its supply chain.
There's a new vendor form on the website if you're interested! If you're trying to avoid the notorious lines, shop on Tuesday or Wednesday. According to a Trader Joe's manager on Reddit, those are the best days to get in and out without crowds. Mornings are always quiet as well. Don't be surprised if you can't find an item.
Since Trader Joe's carries fewer products than most grocery stores, employees are quick to cut something if it doesn't sell. That being said, new products are launched almost every week. Kitchen Tips and Tools. Delish Shop.
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