Not So Average “Joe” Supermarket
Trader Joe's has grown popular among Americans, ranking 23rd on a list of top North American food retailers with nearly $6.5 billion in annual revenues and over 300 stores across the country. This unique “neighborhood” grocery store chain, offering an array of fresh, organic, gourmet food products, has changed the American supermarket panorama.
Founder Joseph “Joe” Coulombe started the business in the 1950s when he first pitched his idea of a small specialty store to his Stanford business professors who were unimpressed by the concept. Despite of this, he decided to pursue his plan and bought out a small number of convenience stores called Pronto Markets in Pasadena, California.
The Polynesian-theme corporate culture of the chain familiar to loyal “TJ” shoppers of today was established in the 1960's, in a struggle to compete with the fast-growing newcomer 7-Eleven. To differentiate the stores from local competitors, Coulombe redesigned the stores with a tropical theme, and had his employees wear Hawaiian shirts to make the task of food shopping feel more like an enjoyable vacation experience.
Coulombe continued to expand and modify his business model and began to stock a large selection of wines, then other specialty items. He opted to target a specified market of well-educated, well-traveled, and underpaid demographic, which would later be defined as “yuppies.” By 1967, he changed the name to Trader Joe's.
Trader Joe's carries about 2,000 products in which about 80% of the store’s goods are private label and does not carry national mass-market brands such as Coca-Cola or Pampers. The stores do not display the basic characteristics of a standard supermarket such as its size, layout, appearance, and inventory. Loyal customers claim that it’s the quirky corporate culture, or “TJ culture,” that always keeps them coming back.
According to Coulombe, it is "not necessary to invent anything to be an entrepreneur." Clearly, the key to survival and success for entrepreneurs is innovation.
Sources:
http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=323
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/dining/08joes.html
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_09/b4073058455307.htm
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/feature-articles/2008/may/What-s-Next-for-Trader-Joe-s.html
