Trader joe's talent pool

The average Trader Joe’s stocks only a small percentage of the products of local supermarkets in a space little larger than a corner store. How did this neighborhood market grow to major status, garner superior ratings, and become a model of management? Take a walk down the aisles of Trader Joe’s and learn how sharp attention to fundamentals of management made this chain more than the average Joe.

From Corner Store to Foodie Mecca

All across the United States hundreds of thousands of customers are treasure hunting. Driven by gourmet tastes but hungering for deals, they are led by cheerful guides in Hawaiian shirts who point them to culinary discoveries such as Ahi jerky, ginger granola, and baked jalapeño cheese crunchies. It’s just an average day at Trader Joe’s, the gourmet, specialty, and natural-foods store. Foodies, hipsters, and recessionistas alike are attracted to the chain’s charming blend of tasty treats and laid-back but enthusiastic customer service. Shopping at Trader Joe’s is less a chore than it is immersion into another culture. Crew members and managers wear smiles and are quick to engage in a friendly chat. Chalkboards unabashedly announce slogans such as, “You don’t have to join a club, carry a card, or clip coupons to get a good deal.” “When you look at food retailers,” says Richard George, professor of food marketing at St. Joseph’s University, “there is the low end, the big middle, and then there is the cool edge—that’s Trader Joe’s.” But how does Trader Joe’s compare with other stores with an edge, such as Whole Foods?

Both source locally and around the world. Each values employees and strives to offer the highest quality. However, Trader Joe’s has a cozy and intimate atmosphere that its rival lacks. Trader Joe’s limits its stock and sells quality products at low prices—about twice as much per square foot than other super- markets. But this scarcity benefits both Trader Joe’s and its customers. According to Swarthmore professor Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why Less Is More, “Giving people too much choice can result in paralysis . . . Research shows that the more options you offer, the less likely people are to choose any.” Founder “Trader” Joe Coulombe opened the first Trader Joe’s store over 50 years ago in Pasadena, California. Its success led to expansion into a bona-fide chain, as Trader Joe’s stores became known as oases of value that replaced humdrum sundries with exotic, one-of-a-kind foods priced persuasively below those of any reasonable competitor. Coulombe eventually sold the chain to the Albrecht family, German billionaires and owners of Aldi markets in the United States, Europe, and Australia.