7 ms·

Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's

135 points by jakarta 16y ago

speek 16y ago
Trader Joe's and GE are two of my favorite companies mostly because of their amazing depth of vertical integration. They've got this stuff down to an art form.
- splat 16y ago
  GE really is an incredible "behind-the-scenes" sort of company. When you first think of GE, you probably think something along the lines of "Oh yeah, don't they make light bulbs or something?" But the more you look into them, the more you realize just how big and diversified that company is. Taking a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_General_Electric http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_General... is a good starting point, and then start clicking on the links therein and you'll probably find that GE is behind a lot of products and involved in a lot of industries that you'd never have guessed.
  - rdtsc 16y ago
    I was surprised to learn that GE owns NBC, Telemundo, and Universal Pictures.
    - shrikant 16y ago
      Clearly you haven't watched/heard of 30 Rock.
      - rdtsc 16y ago
        I know what it is. I don't really watch TV shows much.
    - portman 16y ago
      Well, they sold NBC to Comcast/Kabletown last year.
- parallax7d 16y ago
  I'm not sure vertical integration is something to be inspired by. In fact, it tends to create a variety of conflicts of interests, and anti competitive environments. Both effects are generally bad for competition and consumer choice.
314159265 16y ago
The vicinity of Trader Joe's is actually a significant consideration whenever I relocate.
- rtyuioiujhygf 16y ago
  As a european grad student at Caltech - I can say that the pasadena Trader Joe's bread and cheese is the only thing that allowed me to survive American (or at least LA) cuisine.
  - Anjin 16y ago
    Uhhhhhh, I'm guessing that you were eating cheap. There's no reason that you'd have to "survive" LA cuisine unless you actually didn't spend money on it and just went to McDonalds. There are amazing restaurants in LA. Lots.
    - waterlesscloud 16y ago
      There's plenty of good cheap places to eat in LA too, especially if you broaden your horizons a bit. The range of cuisines here is quite extensive.
      - rtyuioiujhygf 16y ago
        Well it was Pasadena, so Mexican or McD were the options. Go into an American supermarket and there are dozens of types (or at least shapes) of bread - all the same oversweet soft wonderloaf inside, and dozens of types (or colors) of cheese - that all taste the same. When I lived there, live cheese was banned, pot is being legalized but Brie is illegal !!!!
    - slug 16y ago
      I think you missed the "grad student" part ;)
  - mturmon 16y ago
    So you did not go to Europane on Colorado near Mentor for baked goods?
ben1040 16y ago
The Trader Joes return policy is pretty amazing. For the first 5 years I shoped there I never even thought to bring something back, but then once a few years back I felt the need to give it a test -- and honestly I couldn't believe they'd even accept a label off a microwave dish and my word that it tasted awful. The manager was cheerful about it, and told me I wasn't the first person to bring back that particular item. Then he reeled me in: "I'll gladly get you a refund; did you have any other shopping to do today? I can have the checker credit your order." "Oh... I suppose I do." I returned an item that cost less than $2, and then ended up buying a week's worth of groceries at $50. Zappos may be the only other company I can think of that has the kind of return policy that increases revenue in the long run.
- portman 16y ago
  Amazing timing - I returned my first ever item to Trader Joe's today, and the experience was memorable. My wife bought blackberries this morning. Tonight, after dinner, we realized they were moldy. I went to exchange them at about 8:30 pm, just before closing. The store was out of blackberries, though. I called home to ask if there was anything else I should get. "Olive oil" was the answer. So I walk up to the counter, ready to do an exchange, and the cashier looked at the $8 bottle of Olive Oil, the $3 carton of moldy blackberries, and said: "Yeah those are about even. Have a good night." He then shooed me out the door without even ringing anything up on the computer. That kind of autonomy is not what you expect from ANY retail establishment, let alone a grocery store.
  - dieterrams 16y ago
    It was my last day there.
  - qq66 16y ago
    I once bought a package of smoked salmon at Trader Joe's. It was gross, so I took it back, and the guy asked me to try a different brand instead. I said "OK," and it was gross again. I went back very apologetic just asking for a refund, and he asked me to try a third type. I refused entirely, until he MADE me take the third type of smoked salmon. That third type was really good and I've probably bought $200 worth of it since that day.
siculars 16y ago
A Trader Joe's is opening in the on 72nd and Columbus in Manhattan that. It's already causing the local groceries to change their game and they haven't even opened yet.
jswinghammer 16y ago
I love Trader Joe's. They have an excellent supply of fancier foods and a pretty good selection of pantry items at good prices. I feel as though I get the same level of quality from them without paying for it like I do at Whole Foods. I love the New Zealand Cheddar they sell there. I have no idea why but it's my favorite cheese. My two year old daughter can't get enough of it either so maybe it's genetic.
- TheEzEzz 16y ago
  My understanding is New Zealand cows are grass fed. Makes a difference, I think. (Irish cows too. Try the Kerrygold Dubliner cheese at TJs. Try the Kerrygold butter too. Now that's butter!)
ryanricard 16y ago
Wow, I've been a regular Trader Joe's shopper ever since one opened up down the street about a year ago. Frankly, I was always a bit worried that between the price and the quality there was a "too good to be true" angle that I was missing. But from this article, it seems like they rely on: * Buying good food * Distributing it efficiently * Paying their employees well. I don't really care how "quirky cool" they are or are not, that's pretty sweet.
pwim 16y ago
Perhaps the most relevant point: A closer look at its selection of items underscores the brilliance of Coulombe's limited-selection, high-turnover model. Take peanut butter. Trader Joe's sells 10 varieties. That might sound like a lot, but most supermarkets sell about 40 SKUs. For simplicity's sake, say both a typical supermarket and a Trader Joe's sell 40 jars a week. Trader Joe's would sell an average of four of each type, while the supermarket might sell only one. With the greater turnover on a smaller number of items, Trader Joe's can buy large quantities and secure deep discounts. And it makes the whole business -- from stocking shelves to checking out customers -- much simpler.
- barrkel 16y ago
  I see the opposite side of that here in London. All the main supermarkets - Tescos, Asda, Morrisons, etc. - have very little in the way of product choice. Living in east London, I have to go well out of my way to find a different branch of Sainsburys or Waitrose to get certain products. For example, "McCains Simply Gorgeous Chunky Chips", a variety of oven chips in beef dripping, is vanishingly rare; there's a Sainsburys in Bethnal Green which sells them, but that's going well into the city. Similarly, for The Berry Company juices - things like açaí, blueberry, goji berry - I have to go to Waitrose in Canary Wharf. Other Waitrose outlets are hit and miss, with patchy coverage of the line; and there's virtually no chance of finding the products elsewhere. I was amused to find once I went to a Tescos Extra that they largely just had twice the space on the shelf for the same number of SKUs.
  - parallax7d 16y ago
    From what I've read, Brits don't have the insane supermarkets we do here in the states.
    - bsil 16y ago
      I actually managed to get lost in a new one, which serves the vast sprawl of nearly prefab housing stretching beyond Canary Wharf down to the Dagenham bend and beyond. Last i looked, there's no update of the views on Google Maps to shock and awe you that housing so many miles from any kind of center could be so close to central prices. But, yeah, big supermarkets are rare. The trend has been to "corner shop" style stores, which is basically the supermarkets gaming the planning system ("local amenities, social infrastructure", erk) so they can game the prices (20% markup on same SKUs compared with their own bigger stores not unusual, but this is just another incentive for them to not keep SKUs in every store, as the Frozen Chips Lament supports)
daveambrose 16y ago
My GF and I have done a lot of shopping at the Chelsea store from the article. Funny the author pointed out "random Manhattan strangers" as I noticed this yesterday when we did our week shopping. I think the Chelsea store opened a few weeks back, as someone from our office stumbled upon it and brought back peanut butter filled pretzels nuggets - which were awesome. Needless to say, once I heard they opened a TJ in the area, I had to stop by and experience it. The Chelsea store is so much more open with high ceilings compared to the Union Square location. If you live in NYC, I recommend shopping in this location.
anigbrowl 16y ago
FYI, the rather reclusive owner of the company, Theo Albrecht, died quite recently. It may surprise you to know he was one of the world's richest men. TJs has the lowest number of different products in it stores of any major supermarket, plays employees significantly above the industry average ($40-60k; managers can earn 6 figures), gets a far greater $/sq foot return than competitors, and does over $8 billion a year in sales. And pretty much everyone likes them. Herr Albrecht is a pretty good role model if you ask me. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/05/theo-albrecht-obituary http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/05/theo-albrecht... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895004575395251115540766.html?mod=europe_home http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870489500457539...
- bsil 16y ago
  Not in any way meaning to disrespect the man, but i'm not sure which Herr Albrecht you mean, of the brothers, and we know so very little about them. In Europe ALDI goes hand in hand with all the same complaints attributed to WalMart, often with good reason, but possibly with less scope of impact due to sharper anti-monopoly enforcement. Actually, on very narrow lines, if you're in America, looking at Europe from a distance, ALDI (AlbrechtDiscount) = WalMart. Even the business names are in the same style :) I wasn't aware of Trader Joe's (not living in the territory) until this discussion ~ it sounds a very cool place, way beyond the comparatively - by the sounds of things - stiff and terrifyingly expensive up-scale food outlets i see in London. (but then comparing food prices is always going to be a shock between such vastly different scale markets) I'm actually shocked that they (Trader Joe's) offer a wage you might be able to live on in a major city. That's a model business. Just not sure about the role model thing, as that's so personal. This is all good, but ~ not checked into this ~ presumably, like ALDI, Trader Joe's is a private company, and so we've little insight into profitability. Anyone got any intel on that? The oddest thing is why a known ruthless operator would do almost the opposite style so thoroughly. I can only put it down to the sibling dynamics where they locked each other out of territories. Hmm, maybe there's a business model in that. 1. Have twins 2. . . .
- d_c 16y ago
  Here is some more information: http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,708881,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,708881,0... http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,709937,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,709937,0... Aldi is feared in Germany by their suppliers. Once they pressured farmers to sell their milk at such low prices that the farmers went on strike and poured their milk onto the fields instead of selling it. The working conditions seem to be average for a discounter. Meaning: Not very good but that is to be expected.
Cowboy_X 16y ago
This fan-made commercial says it all:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdB7GDZY3Pk&feature=youtube_gdata_player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdB7GDZY3Pk&feature=youtu... And now it's stuck in your head! ding
- illumin8 16y ago
  Great commercial. I recognized almost every product there. TJ really does have a unique and eclectic mix of food. The thing I notice is that I can find 99% of all the items I need when grocery shopping there but I only end up spending $50-60 a week instead of $100 or more that the same items would cost at a Stop and Shop or Whole Foods. The one thing they seem to be lacking is a meat and seafood department. All their meat is shipped in; it's not bad, but it can't compare to Whole Foods. My solution is to get everything at TJ, then stop by Whole Foods to buy a pound of fish and chicken. Best of both worlds...
  - amalcon 16y ago
    This works extremely well for me also. The Cambridge Trader Joe's is extremely close to a whole foods.
YiddishPolice 16y ago
Trader Joe's, come to Colorado, you can make the long haul work, I promise.
- matrix 16y ago
  Hey, not before they come to Utah first! Kidding aside, I used to live one block away from a Trader Joe's and am sort of over them now. It can be a frustrating place to shop when you just want 'regular stuff', rather than paying the markup for fancy varieties of things. It's very nice to have as a supplement to a normal grocery store though.
iamelgringo 16y ago
Trader Joe's is a boostrapper's dream: cheap, tasty and quick meals. Their prepared foods and marinated meats are really pretty good. Their cheese and wine selections are quite good. I found a Petite Syrah I absolutely _love_ there for $3.99. We buy it by the case. Bread is consistently some of the better bread I've found outside of dedicated bakeries here in the US (our bread generally sucks). A glass of wine ($3.99 a bottle), a loaf of bread ($1.99 a baguette lasting a day or two), a bit of low fat goat's milk brie ($2.99 a round lasting several days), a bit of sliced salami ($2.99 a for 2 salami's lasting 4 meals), some dried almonds ($3.00 for a pack of 20 mini bags), and I have very tasty no-cook meals for a day or two. If you're in Silicon Valley (or anywhere that has a Joe's), and trying to eat well on a budget visit Trader Joe's.
joe_the_user 16y ago
Trader Joe's is pretty clever. I go there and there are about fives things I want and which are good deal. Then there are ten things I'd buy if I was in a hurry and are only a good deal if want I to pay premium for processed stuff. I get a good deal there but I suspect most customers throw down a lot of money for convenience that isn't cheap or healthy - but I suppose that's what they want.
zwieback 16y ago
It's a real tragedy when TJs discontinues one of your favorite items. Still mourning the loss of those flat New Zealand buiscuits filled with apricots and raisins. Also the pomegranate syrup is gone...
analyst74 16y ago
Among a generally critical-minded crowd like HNers, Trader Joe has not gotten a single bad comment. I am impressed.
dang 3y ago
https://web.archive.org/web/20100825182626/http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/20/news/companies/inside_trader_joes_full_version.fortune/index.htm#joe https://web.archive.org/web/20100825182626/http://money.cnn.... https://fortune.com/2010/08/23/inside-the-secret-world-of-trader-joes/ https://fortune.com/2010/08/23/inside-the-secret-world-of-tr...

135 points by jakarta 16y ago

speek 16y ago

Trader Joe's and GE are two of my favorite companies mostly because of their amazing depth of vertical integration. They've got this stuff down to an art form.

splat 16y ago
GE really is an incredible "behind-the-scenes" sort of company. When you first think of GE, you probably think something along the lines of "Oh yeah, don't they make light bulbs or something?" But the more you look into them, the more you realize just how big and diversified that company is. Taking a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_General_Electric http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_General... is a good starting point, and then start clicking on the links therein and you'll probably find that GE is behind a lot of products and involved in a lot of industries that you'd never have guessed.
- rdtsc 16y ago
  I was surprised to learn that GE owns NBC, Telemundo, and Universal Pictures.
  - shrikant 16y ago
    Clearly you haven't watched/heard of 30 Rock.
    - rdtsc 16y ago
      I know what it is. I don't really watch TV shows much.
  - portman 16y ago
    Well, they sold NBC to Comcast/Kabletown last year.
parallax7d 16y ago
I'm not sure vertical integration is something to be inspired by. In fact, it tends to create a variety of conflicts of interests, and anti competitive environments. Both effects are generally bad for competition and consumer choice.

314159265 16y ago

The vicinity of Trader Joe's is actually a significant consideration whenever I relocate.

rtyuioiujhygf 16y ago
As a european grad student at Caltech - I can say that the pasadena Trader Joe's bread and cheese is the only thing that allowed me to survive American (or at least LA) cuisine.
- Anjin 16y ago
  Uhhhhhh, I'm guessing that you were eating cheap. There's no reason that you'd have to "survive" LA cuisine unless you actually didn't spend money on it and just went to McDonalds. There are amazing restaurants in LA. Lots.
  - waterlesscloud 16y ago
    There's plenty of good cheap places to eat in LA too, especially if you broaden your horizons a bit. The range of cuisines here is quite extensive.
    - rtyuioiujhygf 16y ago
      Well it was Pasadena, so Mexican or McD were the options. Go into an American supermarket and there are dozens of types (or at least shapes) of bread - all the same oversweet soft wonderloaf inside, and dozens of types (or colors) of cheese - that all taste the same. When I lived there, live cheese was banned, pot is being legalized but Brie is illegal !!!!
  - slug 16y ago
    I think you missed the "grad student" part ;)
- mturmon 16y ago
  So you did not go to Europane on Colorado near Mentor for baked goods?

ben1040 16y ago

The Trader Joes return policy is pretty amazing. For the first 5 years I shoped there I never even thought to bring something back, but then once a few years back I felt the need to give it a test -- and honestly I couldn't believe they'd even accept a label off a microwave dish and my word that it tasted awful. The manager was cheerful about it, and told me I wasn't the first person to bring back that particular item. Then he reeled me in: "I'll gladly get you a refund; did you have any other shopping to do today? I can have the checker credit your order." "Oh... I suppose I do." I returned an item that cost less than $2, and then ended up buying a week's worth of groceries at $50. Zappos may be the only other company I can think of that has the kind of return policy that increases revenue in the long run.

portman 16y ago
Amazing timing - I returned my first ever item to Trader Joe's today, and the experience was memorable. My wife bought blackberries this morning. Tonight, after dinner, we realized they were moldy. I went to exchange them at about 8:30 pm, just before closing. The store was out of blackberries, though. I called home to ask if there was anything else I should get. "Olive oil" was the answer. So I walk up to the counter, ready to do an exchange, and the cashier looked at the $8 bottle of Olive Oil, the $3 carton of moldy blackberries, and said: "Yeah those are about even. Have a good night." He then shooed me out the door without even ringing anything up on the computer. That kind of autonomy is not what you expect from ANY retail establishment, let alone a grocery store.
- dieterrams 16y ago
  It was my last day there.
- qq66 16y ago
  I once bought a package of smoked salmon at Trader Joe's. It was gross, so I took it back, and the guy asked me to try a different brand instead. I said "OK," and it was gross again. I went back very apologetic just asking for a refund, and he asked me to try a third type. I refused entirely, until he MADE me take the third type of smoked salmon. That third type was really good and I've probably bought $200 worth of it since that day.

siculars 16y ago

A Trader Joe's is opening in the on 72nd and Columbus in Manhattan that. It's already causing the local groceries to change their game and they haven't even opened yet.

jswinghammer 16y ago

I love Trader Joe's. They have an excellent supply of fancier foods and a pretty good selection of pantry items at good prices. I feel as though I get the same level of quality from them without paying for it like I do at Whole Foods. I love the New Zealand Cheddar they sell there. I have no idea why but it's my favorite cheese. My two year old daughter can't get enough of it either so maybe it's genetic.

TheEzEzz 16y ago
My understanding is New Zealand cows are grass fed. Makes a difference, I think. (Irish cows too. Try the Kerrygold Dubliner cheese at TJs. Try the Kerrygold butter too. Now that's butter!)

ryanricard 16y ago

Wow, I've been a regular Trader Joe's shopper ever since one opened up down the street about a year ago. Frankly, I was always a bit worried that between the price and the quality there was a "too good to be true" angle that I was missing. But from this article, it seems like they rely on: * Buying good food * Distributing it efficiently * Paying their employees well. I don't really care how "quirky cool" they are or are not, that's pretty sweet.

pwim 16y ago

Perhaps the most relevant point: A closer look at its selection of items underscores the brilliance of Coulombe's limited-selection, high-turnover model. Take peanut butter. Trader Joe's sells 10 varieties. That might sound like a lot, but most supermarkets sell about 40 SKUs. For simplicity's sake, say both a typical supermarket and a Trader Joe's sell 40 jars a week. Trader Joe's would sell an average of four of each type, while the supermarket might sell only one. With the greater turnover on a smaller number of items, Trader Joe's can buy large quantities and secure deep discounts. And it makes the whole business -- from stocking shelves to checking out customers -- much simpler.

barrkel 16y ago
I see the opposite side of that here in London. All the main supermarkets - Tescos, Asda, Morrisons, etc. - have very little in the way of product choice. Living in east London, I have to go well out of my way to find a different branch of Sainsburys or Waitrose to get certain products. For example, "McCains Simply Gorgeous Chunky Chips", a variety of oven chips in beef dripping, is vanishingly rare; there's a Sainsburys in Bethnal Green which sells them, but that's going well into the city. Similarly, for The Berry Company juices - things like açaí, blueberry, goji berry - I have to go to Waitrose in Canary Wharf. Other Waitrose outlets are hit and miss, with patchy coverage of the line; and there's virtually no chance of finding the products elsewhere. I was amused to find once I went to a Tescos Extra that they largely just had twice the space on the shelf for the same number of SKUs.
- parallax7d 16y ago
  From what I've read, Brits don't have the insane supermarkets we do here in the states.
  - bsil 16y ago
    I actually managed to get lost in a new one, which serves the vast sprawl of nearly prefab housing stretching beyond Canary Wharf down to the Dagenham bend and beyond. Last i looked, there's no update of the views on Google Maps to shock and awe you that housing so many miles from any kind of center could be so close to central prices. But, yeah, big supermarkets are rare. The trend has been to "corner shop" style stores, which is basically the supermarkets gaming the planning system ("local amenities, social infrastructure", erk) so they can game the prices (20% markup on same SKUs compared with their own bigger stores not unusual, but this is just another incentive for them to not keep SKUs in every store, as the Frozen Chips Lament supports)

daveambrose 16y ago

My GF and I have done a lot of shopping at the Chelsea store from the article. Funny the author pointed out "random Manhattan strangers" as I noticed this yesterday when we did our week shopping. I think the Chelsea store opened a few weeks back, as someone from our office stumbled upon it and brought back peanut butter filled pretzels nuggets - which were awesome. Needless to say, once I heard they opened a TJ in the area, I had to stop by and experience it. The Chelsea store is so much more open with high ceilings compared to the Union Square location. If you live in NYC, I recommend shopping in this location.

anigbrowl 16y ago

FYI, the rather reclusive owner of the company, Theo Albrecht, died quite recently. It may surprise you to know he was one of the world's richest men. TJs has the lowest number of different products in it stores of any major supermarket, plays employees significantly above the industry average ($40-60k; managers can earn 6 figures), gets a far greater $/sq foot return than competitors, and does over $8 billion a year in sales. And pretty much everyone likes them. Herr Albrecht is a pretty good role model if you ask me. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/05/theo-albrecht-obituary http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/aug/05/theo-albrecht... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895004575395251115540766.html?mod=europe_home http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870489500457539...

bsil 16y ago
Not in any way meaning to disrespect the man, but i'm not sure which Herr Albrecht you mean, of the brothers, and we know so very little about them. In Europe ALDI goes hand in hand with all the same complaints attributed to WalMart, often with good reason, but possibly with less scope of impact due to sharper anti-monopoly enforcement. Actually, on very narrow lines, if you're in America, looking at Europe from a distance, ALDI (AlbrechtDiscount) = WalMart. Even the business names are in the same style :) I wasn't aware of Trader Joe's (not living in the territory) until this discussion ~ it sounds a very cool place, way beyond the comparatively - by the sounds of things - stiff and terrifyingly expensive up-scale food outlets i see in London. (but then comparing food prices is always going to be a shock between such vastly different scale markets) I'm actually shocked that they (Trader Joe's) offer a wage you might be able to live on in a major city. That's a model business. Just not sure about the role model thing, as that's so personal. This is all good, but ~ not checked into this ~ presumably, like ALDI, Trader Joe's is a private company, and so we've little insight into profitability. Anyone got any intel on that? The oddest thing is why a known ruthless operator would do almost the opposite style so thoroughly. I can only put it down to the sibling dynamics where they locked each other out of territories. Hmm, maybe there's a business model in that. 1. Have twins 2. . . .
d_c 16y ago
Here is some more information: http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,708881,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,708881,0... http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,709937,00.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,709937,0... Aldi is feared in Germany by their suppliers. Once they pressured farmers to sell their milk at such low prices that the farmers went on strike and poured their milk onto the fields instead of selling it. The working conditions seem to be average for a discounter. Meaning: Not very good but that is to be expected.

Cowboy_X 16y ago

This fan-made commercial says it all:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdB7GDZY3Pk&feature=youtube_gdata_player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdB7GDZY3Pk&feature=youtu... And now it's stuck in your head! ding

illumin8 16y ago
Great commercial. I recognized almost every product there. TJ really does have a unique and eclectic mix of food. The thing I notice is that I can find 99% of all the items I need when grocery shopping there but I only end up spending $50-60 a week instead of $100 or more that the same items would cost at a Stop and Shop or Whole Foods. The one thing they seem to be lacking is a meat and seafood department. All their meat is shipped in; it's not bad, but it can't compare to Whole Foods. My solution is to get everything at TJ, then stop by Whole Foods to buy a pound of fish and chicken. Best of both worlds...
- amalcon 16y ago
  This works extremely well for me also. The Cambridge Trader Joe's is extremely close to a whole foods.

YiddishPolice 16y ago

Trader Joe's, come to Colorado, you can make the long haul work, I promise.

matrix 16y ago
Hey, not before they come to Utah first! Kidding aside, I used to live one block away from a Trader Joe's and am sort of over them now. It can be a frustrating place to shop when you just want 'regular stuff', rather than paying the markup for fancy varieties of things. It's very nice to have as a supplement to a normal grocery store though.

iamelgringo 16y ago

Trader Joe's is a boostrapper's dream: cheap, tasty and quick meals. Their prepared foods and marinated meats are really pretty good. Their cheese and wine selections are quite good. I found a Petite Syrah I absolutely _love_ there for $3.99. We buy it by the case. Bread is consistently some of the better bread I've found outside of dedicated bakeries here in the US (our bread generally sucks). A glass of wine ($3.99 a bottle), a loaf of bread ($1.99 a baguette lasting a day or two), a bit of low fat goat's milk brie ($2.99 a round lasting several days), a bit of sliced salami ($2.99 a for 2 salami's lasting 4 meals), some dried almonds ($3.00 for a pack of 20 mini bags), and I have very tasty no-cook meals for a day or two. If you're in Silicon Valley (or anywhere that has a Joe's), and trying to eat well on a budget visit Trader Joe's.

joe_the_user 16y ago

Trader Joe's is pretty clever. I go there and there are about fives things I want and which are good deal. Then there are ten things I'd buy if I was in a hurry and are only a good deal if want I to pay premium for processed stuff. I get a good deal there but I suspect most customers throw down a lot of money for convenience that isn't cheap or healthy - but I suppose that's what they want.

zwieback 16y ago

It's a real tragedy when TJs discontinues one of your favorite items. Still mourning the loss of those flat New Zealand buiscuits filled with apricots and raisins. Also the pomegranate syrup is gone...

analyst74 16y ago

Among a generally critical-minded crowd like HNers, Trader Joe has not gotten a single bad comment. I am impressed.

dang 3y ago

https://web.archive.org/web/20100825182626/http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/20/news/companies/inside_trader_joes_full_version.fortune/index.htm#joe https://web.archive.org/web/20100825182626/http://money.cnn.... https://fortune.com/2010/08/23/inside-the-secret-world-of-trader-joes/ https://fortune.com/2010/08/23/inside-the-secret-world-of-tr...