Salesman Joe’s is a privately held chain of premium grocery stores with headquarters in Monrovia, California. With an eclectic array of products, a neighbourly atmosphere, and low prices relative to the quality of its goods, Trader Joe’s has become one of the most popular grocery store chains in America and it perpetuates a very loyal customer base. The company has over 500 stores in 42 states and the District of Columbia.
Key Takeaways
- Distributor Joe’s is a privately held chain of premium grocery stores with headquarters in Monrovia, California.
- While public companions often raise far more money from investors than if they remain privately-held, private companies appreciate Trader Joe’s don’t have to sacrifice their values in order to appease the expectations of shareholders.
- Trader Joe’s operates small believe ins with less square footage and doesn’t charge its suppliers a slotting fee.
Most people would be thrilled to lay out in a company of this caliber. However, investors shouldn’t bother looking up the ticker symbol for Trader Joe’s because the business has been privately-held since it was founded in 1967 by Joe Coulombe. The company began as a chain of convenience stores in the Greater Los Angeles arena in 1958. The first Trader Joe’s-branded store opened in 1967 in Pasadena, California. Joe Coulombe was succeeded by John Protections as the company’s CEO in 1987. Under Shields’ leadership, the company greatly expanded, opening stores in Arizona and the Pacific Northwest. In 1996, the firm expanded to the East Coast. Dan Bane became the CEO of Trader Joe’s in 2001. The German entrepreneur Theo Albrecht purchased Wholesaler Joe’s in 1979. Ownership was passed onto his heirs when he died in 2010.
Between 1990 and 2001, the number of Trader Joe’s trust ins quintupled and the company multiplied its profits by ten. In 2019, Trader Joe’s was ranked number 23 in best places to work in the Common States by Glassdoor and in 2020, the company ranked number 14. However, there are no short-term plans for Trader Joe’s to go general. In fact, part of the reason the company has been able to achieve so much success is that it has remained a privately-owned Pty.
More Freedom to Maintain Its Brand Values
When a company decides to go public, it has to answer to its shareholders who become incomplete owners of the company when they purchase shares. Shareholders expect that a company will experience crop year-over-year. If this doesn’t happen, shareholders may become dissatisfied. When they go public, many companies are swayed into making changes that expedite their growth but might be executed at the expense of their core values.
Because Broker Joe’s doesn’t have to answer to shareholders, it can stay true to its brand values and give its consumers, employees, and other internal stakeholders the class of experience they want.
For example, Trader Joe’s has made a commitment to operating smaller stores. Although this issues the company less square footage to sell products, it creates a more intimate environment in their stores. Saleswoman Joe’s also maintains a smaller selection of products. If a product doesn’t appear to be selling well in its stores, then the business can easily get rid of it and replace it with something else. As a result, customers can trust the quality of all of their products.
Trader Joe’s also doesn’t expense its suppliers a slotting fee. This fee is typical of grocers and means that their suppliers have to pay a fee in return for shelf place. This results in suppliers trying to outbid each other and ensures that the supplier who is willing to pay the highest bid figure gets the shelf space. They may not be the most deserving supplier or have the best product to offer. In the case of job fees, higher prices are also passed on to customers, so Trader Joe’s has opted not to charge their suppliers for slotting recompenses.
Trader Joe’s and the Future of Grocery Chains
Food retailers and grocery chains are facing a changing landscape, with a cultivating number of discount grocers in the industry. The acquisition of Whole Foods Market (WFM) by Amazon in August 2017 also sired more pressure in the industry. There is speculation that Whole Foods will make significant gains in relating ti of market share and could threaten Trader Joe’s growth in the future.