Business Structure and Design on Joe Coulombe's

Trader Joe’s is a company that many fellow corporations aspire to be because of their ultimate success. But how did Trader Joe’s get so successful? Trader Joe’s success built from their understanding that a good team can only succeed if that have a good leader, as in leader I mean manager (which is one of the duties managers are suppose to be on top of). Managers are taught to comply with the four functions that make up the principles of management. These four functions are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. One could say that if a manager does not follow this guideline

For Trader Joe’s, they are able to demonstrate the importance of each responsibility in the management process by establishing a plan to serve quality products with natural ingredients, inspiring flavors, and buying direct from the producer whenever possible,. They also organize their stores to limit its stock, carrying about 1,500 to 2,000 products compared to retail mega-markets with 25,000 to 45,000 products. Through leading, Trader Joe’s support their future leaders by hiring managers only from within the company. Future leaders enroll in training programs called, Trader Joe’s University that foster in them the loyalty necessary to run stores according to both company and customer expectations. Lastly, Trader Joe demonstrated the responsibility in controlling by placing standards to sell natural based ingredient products, as well as striving to offer the highest quality type foods.

Trader Joe’s is a major food retailer who has developed quite the name for themselves. It has well over 350 stores in over 32 states and is expected to continually grow over the next few years (Bond, 2012). For over 50 years, Trader Joe’s has been providing quality customer services, products and a unique shopping experience for its customers. They have come a very long way from when they first officially opened their doors. Trader Joe’s started when its founder Joe Coulombe wanted to find a way to differentiate his 7-Eleven stores (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien & Hunt, 2012). In the food retailer industry, Trader Joe’s has developed a process that works well and

Trader Joe’s is an organic grocery food store that is one of the best known organic food chains. By listening to the consumer and adjusting to the changing consumer market, Trader Joe’s had built a brand equity that is continuously growing. Trader Joe’s faces stiff competition from other large organic food chains therefore must stand out and adapt to the consumers’ needs. Marketing strategies are important to communicate to the consumer more effectively and help target the consumer to their product. Trader Joe’s segments its products by psychographic, behavioral and demographic characteristics

One of Trader Joe’s biggest advantages is in their target market. They have found the niche that appreciates higher quality foods but is on a tight budget and Trader Joe’s has managed to provide high quality food that is at a great price. So you end up with the individuals who are health conscious and in college or recently graduated who value a great deal. Trader Joe’s has realized that and has capitalized on this fact by opening in locations that are easily accessible to both students

Trader Joe’s chief executives have been careful in their expanding of the brand to more geographic locations, and they must continue to seek out their target market of “intelligent, educated, inquisitive individuals” and settle around them.

Thirdly, Trader Joe’s stores are small and located in non-prime locations, which holds fixed operating costs at bay. Furthermore, the company is able to generate the industry’s highest sales per square feet in its small sized stores. In an effort to diversify from its competitors, Trader Joe’s also relies on a non-traditional marketing strategy. Completely neglecting conventional marketing techniques like commercials or promotional offers, the company focuses on unique and store specific in-store marketing with its newsletter and the occasional radio ad being its major means of communication with its customers. The Trader Joe’s brand with its vast fan base is naturally another part of the company’s competitive advantage.

Trader Joe’s has successfully separated itself from its competitors and will continue to remain successful as their organizational culture values their employees and customers. Trader Joe’s has continually kept prices down, and offer one-of-a kind products while simultaneously keeping their customers and employees happy. Overall, customers want to build relationships where they shop and feel important, something Trader Joe’s has nailed the head

Grocery shopping is more diversified and evolved than ever before. Individuals across the nation have access to everything from exotic products to unique delivery services. Often, specialty stores have limited locations whereas specialty services have a limited reach. However, two retailers have expanded to hundreds of locations while adhering to unexpected market positioning for previously untargeted market segments. Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s have become household names while also innovating beyond regional and national traditional chains. Despite comparable size in

“At Trader Joe's, our mission is to bring our customers the best food and beverage values and the information to make informed buying decisions. There are more than 2000 unique grocery items in our label, all at honest everyday low prices. We work hard at buying things right: Our buyers travel the world searching for new items and we work with a variety of suppliers who make

Market Force has ranked Trader Joe’s as #3 for America’s favorite grocery stores (Vasel, 2016). Trader Joe’s is all about customer service, happy employees and offering high quality products at low prices. Their strategy is to compete differently than their rivals, and by offering products that the others can’t. This is reflected in their mission statement below:

3. What are the main threats to Trader Joe’s competitive advantage? Is their advantage sustainable?

Trader Joe’s success with their employee’s is based on hiring individuals who are “ambitious and adventurous, enjoy smiling and have a strong sense of values” (Uhl-Bien, Schermerhorn Jr., & Osborn, 2013, p. 98). Trader Joe’s employees’ exhibit job satisfaction and higher performance because they are compensated very well in their earnings, benefits and professional growth opportunities. Employees’ that are based in California stores “can earn almost 20 percent

Research Question: What do the blogs and current news reports say? Is Trader Joe’s management benchmark for others to follow? In what areas relevant to Organizational Behavior does the firm have an edge on the competition?

Trader Joe’s operates over 340 stores in 9 states were they “buy direct from suppliers whenever possible, bargain hard to get the best prices and then pass the savings on to the customer” (Trader Joe’s, 2013, para. 4). Whole Food’s Market is the “world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with more than 360 stores in North America and the United Kingdom” (Whole Food, 2013, para 2). Trader Joe’s and Whole Food’s Market have managed to take original ideas and spread them throughout the nation to many different customers. Although they differ not only in the technique in which they decide to bring products to their customers but also in term of inventory management and supply chain organization. These two companies have become so successful in my opinion, not by what they differ in but what they have most in common, which is their commitment to their loyal customers, employees and undeniable quality in their products they sell. Through their loyalty to their customers and employees in addition to their irreplaceable value