Case Study 1 Trader Joe s Keeping a Cool Edge 1 
Case Study 1
Trader Joe’s
Keeping a Cool Edge
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 earnings of $9 billion, 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 the fundamentals of retail management made this chain more than the average Joe.
From Corner Store to Foodie Mecca
In more than 365 stores across the United States, hundreds of thousands of customers are treasure hunting.1 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 that offers staples such as milk and eggs along with curious, one-of-a-kind foods at below average prices in thirty-odd states.2 With their plethora of kosher, vegan, and gluten-free fare, Trader Joe’s has products to suit every dietary need.3 Foodies, hipsters, and recessionistas alike are attracted to the chain’s charming blend of low prices, 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.
In keeping with its whimsical faux-nautical theme, crew members and managers wear loud tropical-print shirts. Chalkboards around every corner 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.”4 But how does Trader Joe’s compare with other stores with an edge, such as Whole Foods? Both obtain products locally and
Trader Joe’s
Keeping a Cool Edge
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 earnings of $9 billion, 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 the fundamentals of retail management made this chain more than the average Joe.
From Corner Store to Foodie Mecca
In more than 365 stores across the United States, hundreds of thousands of customers are treasure hunting.1 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 that offers staples such as milk and eggs along with curious, one-of-a-kind foods at below average prices in thirty-odd states.2 With their plethora of kosher, vegan, and gluten-free fare, Trader Joe’s has products to suit every dietary need.3 Foodies, hipsters, and recessionistas alike are attracted to the chain’s charming blend of low prices, 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.
In keeping with its whimsical faux-nautical theme, crew members and managers wear loud tropical-print shirts. Chalkboards around every corner 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.”4 But how does Trader Joe’s compare with other stores with an edge, such as Whole Foods? Both obtain products locally and