Running Head: TRADER JOE’S 1
Trader Joe’s Research Paper
St. Bonaventure University
TRADER JOE’S 2
Joe Coulombe opened his first store in Pasadena, California in 1967 as a place to go for
California-made wine. Over the next decade, new stores began opening throughout California.
However, the brand struggled to find its identity. It tried offering a variety of products, launched
its first private label, had butcher shops in some stores, and served nuts in barrels. The company
was bought by the Albrecht family, who own the German grocer Aldi, in 1979. The next era of
Trader Joe’s history is marked by steady and wide-spread expansion. Between 1990 and 2001,
the company quintupled its number of stores (Our Story).
Now, Trader Joe’s is a dominant leader in the fresh format style grocery stores with 474
stores nationwide and the most sales per square foot of any grocery store chain in the United
States. Trader Joe’s has many practices that make it unique. Most Trader Joe’s stores carry only
