Nonfiction

Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys

Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys

  • Downloads：6777
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-19 03:31:08
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Joe Coulombe
  • ISBN：1400225434
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Build an iconic shopping experience that your customers love—and a work environment that your employees love being a part of—using this blueprint from Trader Joe’s visionary founder， Joe Coulombe。

Infuse your organization with a distinct personality and culture that draws customers in a way that simply competing on price cannot。

Joe Coulombe founded what would become Trader Joe’s in the late 1960s and helped shape it into the beloved， quirky food chain it is today。 Realizing early on that he could not compete and win by playing the same game his bigger competitors were playing， he decided to build a store for educated people of somewhat modest means。 He brought in unusual products from around the world and promoted them in the Fearless Flyer， providing customers with background on how they were sourced and their nutritional value。 He also gave the stores a tiki theme to reinforce the exotic trader ship concept with employees wearing Hawaiian shirts。  

In this way， Joe laid down a blueprint for other business owners to follow to build their own unique shopping experience that customers love， and a work environment that employees love being a part of。 

In Becoming Trader Joe， Joe shares the lessons he learned by challenging the status quo and rethinking the way a business operates。 He shows readers of all types:


How moving from a pure analytical approach to a more creative， problem-solving approach can drive innovation。
How finding an affluent niche of passionate customers can be a better strategy than competing on price and volume。
How questioning all aspects of the way you do business leads to powerful results。
How to build a business around your values and identity。 

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Reviews

Natillie Painter ，

I enjoy an underdog story and I love the fact that after I read this business memoir/blueprint I can still say I am a Trader Joe's customer。 I hope you enjoy this witty memoir about finding your place in today's crazy business world， let alone a world that is moving to everything being online only where one can NOT stop and smell the roses as they enter the marketplace。 I enjoy an underdog story and I love the fact that after I read this business memoir/blueprint I can still say I am a Trader Joe's customer。 I hope you enjoy this witty memoir about finding your place in today's crazy business world， let alone a world that is moving to everything being online only where one can NOT stop and smell the roses as they enter the marketplace。 。。。more

Greg Kopstein ，

Note: I received an ARC from Net Galley。 This book is in the model of Made in American（Walmart） and Grinding it Out （McDonald’s） and others like it。 It is useful to have a book by a CEO or founder， especially one who has created such an iconic brand。 I shop at Trader Joe’s， and it’s a very different experience and product than other grocery stores。 Because of this difference， I wanted to know more about the brand’s origin。 This book has many useful tips and facts， providing expert advice for fut Note: I received an ARC from Net Galley。 This book is in the model of Made in American（Walmart） and Grinding it Out （McDonald’s） and others like it。 It is useful to have a book by a CEO or founder， especially one who has created such an iconic brand。 I shop at Trader Joe’s， and it’s a very different experience and product than other grocery stores。 Because of this difference， I wanted to know more about the brand’s origin。 This book has many useful tips and facts， providing expert advice for future business entrepreneurs。 I enjoyed this book and Joe was honest and forthright， but sometimes at the expense of organizing his thoughts。 Joe goes back to the earliest days under Rexall， but since he retired in the 80s or early 90s， Trader Joe’s has 30 more years of information and growth that is not covered by this book。I enjoyed this book and I encourage others to read it。 I think there’s a lot here to utilize and expert advice， that is tried and true， is a fantastic resource。 But it’s also， unfortunately， 30 years past its sell-by date。 。。。more

Meg ，

Thank you for the e-arc NetGalley。 Who doesn’t love a Trader Joe’s shopping trip？！ This takes you behind the scenes of how Trader Joe’s came to be from the man himself， Joe Coulombe。 There are some great management takeaways from this book however not being a high level manager in retail some of this went way over my head。 This was an interesting book overall。

Darya ，

I had a chance to hold on my hands the advance reader copy of this book。 The story is interesting and provides a lot of insights on how Trader Joe started and grew。 Engaging story gives ideas and thinking points in how to drive your own business forward

Dara ，

Fun view into the world of Trader Joe’s。 I really appreciated learning more about how the company was built out。 They were definitely ahead of the trends in many ways。 For instance， producing almond butter from leftover almond scraps before most other retailers and introducing many imported wines into the California market （ultimately becoming the #1 retailer for imported wine in California at the time）。My biggest complaint is that the book feels a little scatterbrained at times - jumping across Fun view into the world of Trader Joe’s。 I really appreciated learning more about how the company was built out。 They were definitely ahead of the trends in many ways。 For instance， producing almond butter from leftover almond scraps before most other retailers and introducing many imported wines into the California market （ultimately becoming the #1 retailer for imported wine in California at the time）。My biggest complaint is that the book feels a little scatterbrained at times - jumping across time frames and alluding to elements that we learn about later on。 Additionally， while I liked it overall， I didn’t find all the chapters necessary - for instance those that covered Joe’s career outside of TJ’s。 。。。more

Regina ，

We all have our favorite Trader Joe’s products， right？ Mine are the Speculoos Cookie Butter， Conte di Bregonzo Amarone red wine （under $20！！！）， and the Dark Chocolate Bar with Caramel and Black Sea Salt。 Sadly， this particular Trader Joe’s product， Becoming Trader Joe by Joe Coulombe， doesn’t make the cut。 The best way I can describe it is to borrow the famous phrase from Anne Lamott。 It reads like a $hitty First Draft。 Coulombe’s story is undoubtedly a fascinating one for people interested in b We all have our favorite Trader Joe’s products， right？ Mine are the Speculoos Cookie Butter， Conte di Bregonzo Amarone red wine （under $20！！！）， and the Dark Chocolate Bar with Caramel and Black Sea Salt。 Sadly， this particular Trader Joe’s product， Becoming Trader Joe by Joe Coulombe， doesn’t make the cut。 The best way I can describe it is to borrow the famous phrase from Anne Lamott。 It reads like a $hitty First Draft。 Coulombe’s story is undoubtedly a fascinating one for people interested in business， and his book is chock-full of detail on pricing， real estate， supply chain， marketing， and human resource strategies。 It’s important to note though that he left TJ’s in 1989， about 10 years after he sold it to the German brothers who also own Aldi。 The chain’s explosive growth since then is obviously not covered。Alas， Becoming Trader Joe is not well written or well structured。 Grammatical errors abound， and there are a lot of clunky bits like ‘make sure to read such and such chapter。’ It’s surprising to me that a co-writer is credited， since the book is still in need of a big polish。 Without it， the reading experience is like trying to find a space in the TJ’s parking lot。 You circle in frustration but remain determined to get to all the good stuff inside。 I received an advanced readers copy from HarperCollins Leadership via NetGalley。 Becoming Trader Joe is scheduled for publication in June 2021。 。。。more

Melissa ，

*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's copy from NetGalley。It's always a treat to go shop at Trader Joe's。 Interesting products， new stuff added， a fantastic cheese selection; there's not much more you could ask for （except for those horrible parking lots）。 So to find out the origin story was pretty appealing。I learned a lot from this book。 Both about Trader Joe's and the general running of a grocery type store。 Coulombe talks a lot about supply and demand， the various regulations tha *This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's copy from NetGalley。It's always a treat to go shop at Trader Joe's。 Interesting products， new stuff added， a fantastic cheese selection; there's not much more you could ask for （except for those horrible parking lots）。 So to find out the origin story was pretty appealing。I learned a lot from this book。 Both about Trader Joe's and the general running of a grocery type store。 Coulombe talks a lot about supply and demand， the various regulations that were around and changed， how to handle inventory and employees。 It kind of runs the gamut。 About Trader Joe's itself I was surprised to find out how long they've been around。 And the various changes they've made as a store to focus on different things before becoming what it is today （I wish they still sliced cheese in-house）。The narrative was very much what I'd call 'old man rambling'。 Which is not a bad thing， but it's a meandering narrative that keeps referring back to other stories （or in this case other chapters）。 Some of it got a bit too technical for my taste; just because I don't have plans on ever running a grocery store like that and don't need to know all the intricacies of buying and selling。 However， for a business major， that may be a key feature of this book。 There were a few turn of phrases that had me groaning a bit too; his outlook is generally pretty good and progressive， but some of the comments about introducing women workers in the store or business as a whole （honestly it's just probably reflective of the time） or making a time-off bank because employees would prefer to use their days for vacation rather than sick time。 But thankfully most of what was there was good; Coulombe is pretty progressive on wages， employee treatment， outlook on the store and changing demographics and needs。An interesting book， but definitely don't go into it thinking it's a lighthearted read on your favorite grocery store; it's more that mixed up with a whole lot of business lore。Review by M。 Reynard 2021 。。。more

Serena B ，

As an avid Trader Joe’s customer， I was immediately intrigued with this book title and description。 This book leans heavily into the nuts and bolts of operating the Trader Joe’s company and how it evolved over time。 There is a lengthy discussion on the wine industry and how Trader Joe’s started as more of a convenience store model with alcohol （in a wider range and quality than competitors） and some consumer goods and foods， which then evolved into its current reputation as a health food store w As an avid Trader Joe’s customer， I was immediately intrigued with this book title and description。 This book leans heavily into the nuts and bolts of operating the Trader Joe’s company and how it evolved over time。 There is a lengthy discussion on the wine industry and how Trader Joe’s started as more of a convenience store model with alcohol （in a wider range and quality than competitors） and some consumer goods and foods， which then evolved into its current reputation as a health food store with unique products and high quality alcohol at good prices。 This book would appeal to people in the retail industry and those in other business fields， given the themes of lean business management， how to value employees， and strategies for keeping the business profitable。 My key take-aways include an understanding of the phases of the Trader Joe’s brand and the context of that within the greater society （for example， increased interest in health foods， the wine industry and regulations） and understanding what continues to make Trader Joe’s unique。Many thanks to HarperCollins Leadership and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Dave ，

Trader Joe's is the iconic upstart Southern California market that has for decades been a must-go for many of us from the discount wines to the unique specialty products you can't get anywhere else like the classic corn salsa to the gluten-free panettone。 In the interests of full disclosure， we shop there all the time。 The stores are smaller than regular supermarkets which often now are many times bigger than football fields。 There are few brand names which you don't notice except when you look Trader Joe's is the iconic upstart Southern California market that has for decades been a must-go for many of us from the discount wines to the unique specialty products you can't get anywhere else like the classic corn salsa to the gluten-free panettone。 In the interests of full disclosure， we shop there all the time。 The stores are smaller than regular supermarkets which often now are many times bigger than football fields。 There are few brand names which you don't notice except when you look for specific sodas or cereals。 And， perhaps because of the Hawaiian 🌺 shirts， the staff lacks the almost-universal surliness of standard markets。 Here， the founder of Trader Joe's， Joe Coulombe himself， tells the business story from its inauspicious beginnings to its iconic place in American culture。 It's primarily a business story about buying and selling and dealing with truckloads of government regulations and anti-competitive brand names who have most retailers by the balls。 Center to the story is the homogenization of brand name products through advertising and product placement。 Joe started his upstart business to mimic the 7-Elevens which had not yet reached California。 He paid his staff better than industry standard and found his niche in buying products such as wine and liquor。 Eventually， the key became to sell products under the store brand， eschewing all the big name brands。 Thus， began the quirky little store everyone loves。Much of the book is about balance sheets and learning on the fly to operate the business。 Chapters are spent on leases and store sites and shelving decisions。 Chapters focus on how different some of the decisions were。 Remarkable too is how the chain was sold four decades ago and still manages to echo the founder's ideals。 This is a fascinating business story and a must-read fir fans of this unique enterprise。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0