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Trader Joe’s is fascinating. Their own products are unique and you develop a craving for them. That creates serious retention. And over time they’ve designed ou
by nilsbunger 6y ago
Trader Joe’s is fascinating. Their own products are unique and you develop a craving for them. That creates serious retention. And over time they’ve designed out more and more third party stuff, replacing it with their own (instead of selling both alongside each other). I’ve never read a business case about them but it seems like a killer strategy
- distances 6y agoTrader Joe's is Aldi's chain, right? Do you have Aldi too in addition?
- saithound 6y agoAldi was split into two groups in 1960, along geographical lines (Nord and Süd, serving resp. the North and the South of West Germany). Aldi Nord operates as Trader Joe's in the U.S., while Aldi Süd operates as Aldi.
- twalla 6y agoSome more background on this because I find it really interesting: Aldi was formed by 2 brothers and then split after a disagreement about whether or not to stock alcohol. The reason I find it interesting is actually because Aldi isn't the first big brand formed by two German brothers to split into two (big, recognizable) brands. That honor would go to Adidas and Puma.
- frosted-flakes 6y agoAdidas and Puma are direct competitors though, but Aldi seems to have divvied up the countries between them so they don't compete with each other, with the exception of the USA.
- chromaton 6y agoThere are also 2 Mercks: the original in Germany, and the USA Merck which was split by the government due to WWI.
- woobar 6y agoAldi owns Trader Joe's, but I wouldn't call them same chain. For instance, Kroger owns multiple chains with the store format, branding and products that differ a lot. From my experience the US Aldi (which is part of an Aldi Sud) is a dimlit, bottom of the barrel discounter with a small selection of basics. Where Trader Joe's is a quirky "Hawaiian-themed" specialty grocer with a good selection of the unique-to-US products.
- quercusa 6y agoIn the US NE, Aldi is replacing the old dark stores with nice new bright stores with good selections.
- woobar 6y agoThis is a good trend. We have a few Lidl stores around, and they feel like a right combination of discounted/german stuff.
- kipchak 6y agoThe newer/larger stores seem like they might have also helped with inventory/space management, at least in my experience the smaller stores would be more likely to have things on extreme clearance.
- kergonath 6y agoMarks & Spencer seem to be doing that as well. The vast majority of what they sell is their own brand, and apparently it is keeping them in business, COVID notwithstanding. I won’t comment on the quality though, I very rarely shop with them.
- dingaling 6y agoMarksies' own brand is good quality, never subpar compared to mainstream brands. In Northern Ireland it's still mocked gently as being a bit pretentious, where the 'ladies who lunch' from Malone do their shopping. But at the same time there is a great affection for the brand as it was the only mainland supermarket company to have a presence in NI throughout the Troubles.
- kergonath 6y agoInteresting, I had no idea. M&S is also apparently the only place where one can buy decent British food on the continent. > In Northern Ireland it's still mocked gently as being a bit pretentious Waitrose seems to be filling that role in England.
- a9h74j 6y agoRelated to the poster's question. ... A former coworker had a father who packaged nuts to TJ specifications. He described Trader Joes as a generic food store with better packaging.
- eru 6y agoFor what it's worth: Trader Joe's is owned by German Aldi. They are the king of store brands.