| Trader Joe's | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private equity |
| Founded | 1958 Greater Los Angeles Area |
| Headquarters | Monrovia, California |
| Key people | Joe Coulombe, Founder Dan Bane, Chairman & CEO |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Supermarket |
| Revenue | $5.0 billion (2006)[1] |
| Website | www.traderjoes.com |
Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. As of November 2007, Trader Joe's has a total of 294 stores.[2] 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.[3]
Contents |
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.[4] He is said to have envisioned the Trader Joe South Seas motif while on vacation in the Caribbean.[5] 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.[6] 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.[3] 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".[1] 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 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, dairy, coffee and produce. Non-food items include personal hygiene products, household cleaners, vitamins, pet food, plants, and flowers. Many of the company's products are considered environmentally friendly.[9] 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). By selling almost all of its products under its own label, Trader Joe's "skips the middle man" and buys directly from both local and international small time vendors. Trader Joe's is the exclusive retailer of Charles Shaw wine, popularly known as Two Buck Chuck[9] 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). In October 2007, Trader Joe's started to phase out foods imported from China amid concerns that standards on "organic" products from the country aren't as stringent as they should be.[10]
Employees
According to Business Week, Trader Joe's pays above-average wages and 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.[3] Trader Joe's also offers health insurance benefits (dental, vision, and medical) 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 6 months with the possibility of a pay increase. They also get a 10 percent discount on items bought at the store.[11]
Locations
As of November 2007, Trader Joe's has a total of 294 stores, which 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.[2] In 2007, stores opened in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina (North); Columbia, Maryland; Corona, California; Edgewater, New Jersey; Monterey, California; Oakland, California (Lakeshore); Oakland, California (College); and Queens, New York (Rego Park). Stores are slated to open in Bend, Oregon; Claremont, California; Grosse Pointe, Michigan; Rancho Cucamonga, California; and Woodland Hills, California.[12].
References
- ^ a b 2007 Top 75 North American Food Retailers Supermarket News. Retrieved on February 23, 2007.
- ^ a b Locations (PDF file), Trader Joe's, August 27, 2007. Retrieved on November 30, 2007.
- ^ a b c Trader Joe's: The Trendy American Cousin, BusinessWeek, April 26, 2004. Retrieved on August 1, 2006.
- ^ For Trader Joe's, a New York Taste Test, The New York Times, March 8, 2006.
- ^ Trader Joe's targets 'educated' buyer, The Associated Press, August 30, 2003.
- ^ The American Way of Aldi,Deutsche Welle, January 16, 2004
- ^ Win at the grocery game, Consumer Reports, October 2006.
- ^ The Nation's Best Grocery Stores, ABC News, September 2, 2006.
- ^ a b The American Way of Aldi, Deutsche Welle, January 16, 2004.
- ^ Chicago Sun Times", October 20, 2007
- ^ Benefits, Trader Joe's, Retrieved January 5, 2007.
- ^ Coming Soon Locations, Trader Joe's.
