Marks and Spencer is not a bad comparison, product-wise. But M&S is more distinctly up-market, whereas Trader Joe's is more generally a bargain. (This is apprec

Marks and Spencer is not a bad comparison, product-wise. But M&S is more distinctly up-market, whereas Trader Joe's is more generally a bargain. (This is appreciated, because although I'm not actually an unemployed PhD student, I'm probably not overly far from that demographic...). Also, Marks and Spencers are pretty generic, whereas the Trader Joe's staff are encouraged to heavily personalise each store, with hand-painted signage and their own product recommendations and the like. This kind of place-making builds a loyalty towards the brand that can be hard to shake!