Tracking Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's Founder Speaks at SCORE Function

LA Downtown News has a story about a recent talk Trader Joe's founder, Joe Coulumbe, delivered at a SCORE function ("Trader Joe Comes Downtown").

Interesting tidbits from the story:

• Trader Joe's will do about $5 billion in business this year.
• The average full-time Trader Joe's employee earns $50,000.
• The first Trader Joe's store carried 100 brands of scotch and 50 types of rum.

In case you're wondering what he looks like, the story includes a recent photo of 75 year-old Joe Coulumbe.

New Oreos Beat Joe-Joe's in Taste Test

The Chicago Tribune conducted a taste test to see how the new Oreo cookies (trans-fat free) fared against other "healthier" sandwich cookies, and the new Oreos won (Joe-Joe's came in second). There were only 8 tasters, so I wonder how Joe-Joe's would do in a larger test.

Oreo (7 points. $4.39 per 18-ounce 24 cents per ounce.) "Classic Oreo flavor with a good mix of cocoa and icing." "Yum, where's the milk?" "Ah just right, nice sense of personality; great chocolate flavor."

Joe-Joe's (5 points. $2.49 per 20-ounce package; 12 cents per ounce.) "Candylike filling." "Good chocolate taste." "Very artificial." "Falls apart."

That's interesting, but do Oreos come in ginger flavor?

Trader Joe's Wine Reviewed

The Arizona Republic has a review of some of the wines available at Trader Joe's (Treasure Trove  Awaits Inside Trader Joe's).

Trader Joe's made its wine-selling name with "Two-Buck Chuck," the $2.99 wines from the Charles Shaw Winery in California, and the stores carry cases and cases of these wines in every grape variety. But a little farther down the aisle, greater values abound.

My local (Connecticut) Trader Joe's is not allowed to sell wine, so I'll have to pick some up at the Manhattan store to "review."

Trader Joe's is coming to Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Business Times is reporting that Trader Joe's will be coming to Pittsburgh in the fall.

"All I can confirm is that we are coming to Pittsburgh," said Alison Mochizuki, a company spokeswoman. "It seems like a great place for Trader Joe's to be. There's a lot of foodies there. What's not to like?"

However, she wouldn't divulge where the store will be located or whether the company's plans include multiple Pittsburgh locations.

Interesting tidbit from the story: "...and often generates sales of more than $1,000 per square foot -- a figure double that of conventional supermarkets, according to published reports."

Seth Godin on Lessons Learned from Trader Joe's

Seth Godin, marketing guru extraordinaire, writes about lessons learned from Trader Joe's:

"Most of what they sell is private label. Now that they have scale, they are able to negotiate great prices from their suppliers, and more important, encourage/force their suppliers to make unique items, or organic foods, or foods of higher quality for the money. All of this is a virtuous cycle. The key mantra is that Trader’s finds foods for its customers, NOT customers for its foods."

Pioneer Press on Trader Joe's Fans

The St. Paul Pioneer Press has a story about the customers who love Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's Fans Prove Retailers are the New Rock Stars.

"Nothing was being given away or discounted beyond its "everyday low price." There was no face painting, no celebrity appearances. Still, shoppers arrived by the dozens Monday for the opening of the Twin Cities' first Trader Joe's grocery store. They stood an hour in line to be among the first inside. They parked several blocks away. They waited a half-hour to pay for trail mix and hunks of cheese."

Another company that also has a fiercely loyal customer base had people line up for a half mile to get into their new store in Manhattan this weekend: Apple.

StarTribune: Trader Joe's Drops Anchor

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune covered the opening of the new Trader Joe's in St. Louis Park.

"Rob Cohon of Edina was one of about 50 people in line at Trader Joe's in St. Louis Park when it opened Monday morning. Cohon wore a loud Hawaiian shirt in keeping with the store's nautical theme. "I've been waiting 23 years for this," Cohon said."

Spring 2006 Fearless Flyer Collector's Edition

The Trader Joe's Spring 2006 Fearless Flyer "Special Collector's Edition" is now available (you can download a copy for your region here) and features their favorite 100 104 products. You'll also see a collection of cartoons from 1967 to 2006.

Trader Joe's: "Attitude & Gratitude"

The Pocono Record calls Trader Joe's a "Grocery store chain with attitude and gratitude."

"At a store this popular and unique, I would expect "boutique" prices on common items, but that is not the case at Trader Joe's. Not only are their prices competitive, but in some cases, their products are downright bargains. For example, I compared the price of basic items like eggs, milk and half-and-half to the prices at the large national supermarket chain nearby. I found that Trader Joe's everyday low prices on these items were 25 to 30 percent lower than the supermarket's everyday price."