...Case Study: Trader Joe’s In 1958, Trader Joe’s first began as a small convenience store named Pronto Markets. Trader Joe’s didn’t receive their Trader Joe’s name until 1967 when they opened up a store in Pasadena. Mr. Coulombe had transferred his stores into an oasis of value and started putting innovative, hard-to-find foods in the Trader Joe’s name. By doing this Trader Joe’s was able to cut costs and save you money. In 1979, Mr. Coulombe sold the Trader Joe’s chain to the Albrecht’s, own about 9,000 Aldi markets in the United States, Europe, and Australia. “Value” is a concept that both Mr. Coulombe and the Albrecht’s take very seriously. Value not only means providing great prices on great products—no sales, no gimmicks, no special shopping clubs to join, no reward cards required for sales, but also by buying directly from suppliers whenever they can by rotating the “not-so-popular” products from the shelves to make room for something different. At Trader Joe’s their philosophy is great food plus great prices equals’ value. To help contribute to that philosophy, Trader Joe’s believes in promoting from with-in. Trader Joe’s believes that it nurtures its employees with a promote-from-within philosophy, and its employees earn more than their counterparts at other chain grocers. Outlet managers are highly compensated, partly because they know the Trader Joe’s system inside and out because managers are hired only from within the company. Future leaders are enrolled...
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...------------------------------------------------- UGBA 115: Competitive Strategy Trader Joe’s Midterm Case Analysis ------------------------------------------------- Jean Carlo Hoyos The Industry The grocery industry in the United States is currently an attractive industry (a.k.a. profitable). This attractiveness derives from the relative low threat of new entrants, low supplier and buyer powers, and low threat of substitutes. The main factors driving these results are the low concentration of suppliers and buyers, the significant barriers to entry due to high up-front investment costs (for infrastructure and distribution channels) and scale economies, low availability of substitutes, and the threat of retaliation from incumbents (by lowering price, for example). However, it is important to note that there is a heated rivalry among incumbents due to low seller concentration, high price sensitivity from consumers, dynamic price changes and strong exit barriers. Refer to Exhibit 1 for a detailed observation of the forces influencing the industry’s attractiveness. The industry offers opportunities and poses threats in several areas. In the economic environment, the rising oil prices increases costs in the supply chain and/or distribution channels. In contrast, the several free-trade agreements with different countries open the doors for a variety of products from abroad at potentially lower prices or higher quality. Also, the proliferation of high end and low...
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...Trader Joe’s is a privately owned American specialty grocery store chain that specializes in private labeling and providing a unique and fun shopping experience for their customers. The chain comes from humble beginnings as a convenience store in southern California. Joe Coulombe founded the first store in 1958, but at that time it was called Pronto Markets and it was a convenience store in the greater Los Angeles area. In 1967, the name was changed to what we know it as today by Joe himself. This is when he also decided to change the direction of the business away from convenience store products into more of a grocery supplier (“Our Story”). This change was sparked by the rise of the 7-11 convenience stores. Coulombe was worried that those stores would put him out of business so he decided to take a different route and venture into the world of the grocery store (Moskin). The store is known for its’ hawaiian shirt clad employees and the fun, beach and tiki theme that plays heavily into the decor of the store. Coulombe has said that he was inspired while he was sitting on the beach trying to decide how to best handle the new 7-11 competition (Seattlepi). That is where his ideas of tiki torches and hawaiian t-shirts were born. He changed the focus of the store towards low priced gourmet items without any frills to keep it simple. He made his stores small to help keep prices low (Seattlepi). The concept of making the shopping experience a fun and tropical adventure is where Joe...
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...Trader Joe’s Case Study Management Issues – After reading the case a couple of times, I think that Trader Joe’s may only have a couple of issues. One issue that I think may be their largest is the fact that they choose to have small stores. People feel cramped and they tend to become agitated, than in return can rub off on other customers and their employees. I think they can have a slightly larger store, keeping the same amount of products. This would make the store have more room in the isles and for people to move around more easily. The other issue I found could be their locations. They tend to have locations that are out of the ordinary and a place people would not normally go grocery shopping. This tends to turn most people off from shopping at certain locations. Discussion Questions 1. I believe Trader Joe’s uses the management process in many different ways. Planning- Most supermarkets carry upwards of 45 thousand different products, while Trader Joe’s only carries about 4 thousand. This gives people a lesser variety but a greater chance of buying the product. It is less of a chore to pick between 4 different brands than 12. When they have a product that is not making a profit or not enough profit, they remove it from their inventory and bring in something new. They also use customer feedback for this process as well, which keeps their customers satisfied and coming back to their stores. Another way of planning for Trader Joe’s is their marketing. They spend about...
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...Case Analysis: Trader Joe's Problem Trader Joe's offers products aimed at sophisticated consumers interested in finding good bargains. It has expanded with this demographic for years, and it's assumed that the expansion will continue in the following five years. It is better for Trader Joe's to keep current demographic, but it has limited selection of products. For example, some customers are complaining that Trader Joe's doesn't have coke, so they have to go somewhere else to get it. Analysis Trader Joe's has had success in the past with a demographic of well-educated customers. Trader Joe's stores are fairly small are typically located near colleges. They offer products that cannot usually be found anywhere else. Most of the products are very healthy and organic. However, some things have changed and now there is competition. For example, Wal-Mart has adopted a small business strategy to compete with small stores. This is a big threat for Trader Joe's because Wal-Mart has many customers and has a large variety of products. Whole Foods Market also competes and provides natural and organic food. It maybe harder for Trader Joe's to keep current customers or attract new clients. Trader Joe's should have a wide selection of products to attract customers and gain market shares. Alternative Trader Joe's could survey what new products its customers would prefer to have, and allow customers leave feedback on what products they like. Since the stores are small and it's impossible...
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...Job Satisfaction Trader Joe Kimberly Love Dr. Thomas Schaefer Business 520 Leadership and Organizational July 20, 2014 Trader Joe’s founder had a perception for his stores after vacationing in the Caribbean. He perceived that the customers would try new things while on vacationing. Also realized that less is better. Many time customers buy more when there is less to choose from in that store. Their attention is only selective when there is not a big variety of supplies. Trader Joe case describes the business practices and how they reinvented themselves. Trader Joe’s set themselves apart from the 7- Eleven style store they had and they became top competitors to Whole Foods and Dean and Deluca giants. The case gives a description on the history of the retail chain and various aspects of its unique business practices. The retail store offered a selection of exclusive, which were mostly private-labeled products, and replaced poorly performing products with new ones. Trader Joe’s is a small supermarket chain which offers a limited selection of unique food products at reasonable prices. It sales most of its products under the private label 'Trader Joe's' and its variants. T.J. targets its stores at highly educated and travelled, but not necessarily wealthy, segments of the population. Trader Joe has a team of experienced buyers, who does extensive traveling and research before bringing new products into the stores (Palmeri, 2008). Trader Joe also avoids the...
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...Velma Lewis Instructor: Kellie Erich Principle of Mgt. & Org. Behavior 8/30/2013 Trader Joe’s Case Study Trader Joe’s Personal Touch Case Questions Answers Management Process 1. Ans. Planning and Organizing: In 1958, “Trader Joe’s,” started like any other convenience store chain. In 1967, founder “Trader,” Joe Coulombe, renamed the store to of course, “Trader Joe’s. He had the concept of offering a one-of-a-kind foods at below average prices in twenty odd states. They offer a laid-back enthusiastic consumer service. It was more of a cozy and intimate feel than that of the big spacious “Whole Foods,” chains. Joe’s has a faux- nautical theme, his management crew and crew members are to wear a loud tropical-print shirt. Leading and Controlling: “Trader Joe’s,” limits it stock and selling quality products at low prices. Joe’s sell twice as much per square foot, than other supermarkets. Most retail-mega stores, like “Whole Foods” carry between, 25,000 to 45,000 products. Whereas, Trader Joe’s stores carries only; 1,500 to 2,000 products. The scarcity benefits both Trader Joe’s and its customers. It is suggested by David Rodgers of DSR Marketing Systems expect Trader Joe’s model toward a smaller store size to include excessive competitive floor space, development costs, and the aging population. 2. Ans. It would probably be political and economic change. It would not be able to operate effectively if or when the government of other countries has a negative impact on the...
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...Case Study 1: Examining Emotions, Attitudes, and Job Satisfaction Leadership and Organizational Behavior (BUS 520) Dr. Antoinette Bridges KB Gause January 26, 2015 Case Study 1: Examining Emotions, Attitudes, and Job Satisfaction When grocery stores come to mind, we often tend to think of the typical family-friendly environments we’re accustomed to—like our local Publix or Food Lion supermarkets. They are generally set up the same way, they offer almost all the same products, and they’re management operates in almost the same or very similar fashions. The employees are usually pleasant and friendly, their hours of operation are about the same, and most local supermarkets tend to sell products grown or manufactured locally. So what sets these regular supermarkets apart from one another? Aside from price differences and a few differing product offerings from store to store, there aren’t very many differences. This is where stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s come in and break the “boring” grocery store mold. Unlike other chain supermarkets and grocery stores, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are specialty foods stores. They offer a variety of the freshest foods and ingredients grown both locally and from around the world. These stores are also very popular for their sustainability efforts that range from the organic products they sell to the paper bags they use when bagging customers’ purchases. These companies are also very well known for not only satisfying...
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...Team D’s real life experiences of personal values that drive actions, behaviors as it is aligned between personal values, actions and behaviors. Team D will analyze the degree of alignment between Trader Joes organization stated values and the organizations actual plans and actions. This paper will explicate the differences of degree of alignment between Team D’s group members individual values and the organizations values of Trader Joes; as reflected by Trader Joes plans and actions. Trader Joe’s was established in the 1950s as a convenience store. In 1967, Trader Joes changed its course and created larger grocery stores that offered hard to find, great tasting food (Our Story, 2012) with the Trader Joes brand name. The idea was to have innovative products that customers could save money on. Trader Joes does not believe in carrying an item that sits and does not sell. Doing this will eliminate product waste and different products can be brought in that will be higher in demand. This also saves both Trader Joes and the consumer money. Trader Joes vision is “great food plus great prices equals value” (Our Story, 2012). Trader Joe’s does not charge a suppliers fee to stock products on shelves like other grocery stores. This saves also saves the consumer money. Trader Joe’s two main goals are great products and great prices. This is important because consumers want to save money on products, yet eat...
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...Case Study 1: Examining Emotions, Attitudes, and Job Satisfaction Trader Joe’s Strayer University Examine the approach Trader Joe’s uses to promote a positive work environment for its employees. Determine at least three (3) ways in which Trader Joe’s is able to increase job satisfaction and performance. Whether or not Trader Joe’s knows it or not, they are in an environment that is experiencing emotion and mood contagion. This works both ways from the customer to management and vice versa. Customers go to the store in anticipation of a fun and friendly environment. This is exactly what they get. This is generated by a positive philosophy that starts from the top and works its way down. This is also driven by the concept of emotional labor; a situation where a person displays organizationally desired emotions in a job, (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien, & Hunt, 2012). Trader Joe’s founder Joe Coulombe states that his store have “cheerful guides sporting Hawaiian shirts” (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien, & Hunt, 2012). The tones of his stores are friendly and upbeat and his hiring practices ensure he has people that meet those needs. Directly from Trader Joe’s website; “Where fun, food and opportunity align” and “A Career For The Adventurous” (Trader Joe's: Home>Careers, 2014) Trader Joe’s also hits on all five of the components of job satisfaction. The work itself; he hires people that have a passion for food and want to work for a company that has the same general...
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...Andrew Wash GBA 490-321 Written Case 1 February 12, 2014 Table of Contents Issue #1 ……………………………………………………………………………… 2 Issue #2 ……………………………………………………………………………… 3 Issue #3 ……………………………………………………………………………… 4 Recommendation ……………………………………………………………………. 5 Dominant Economic Characteristics ………………………………………………... 7 PESTEL Analysis …………………………………………………………………… 8 Five Forces Analysis ……………………………………………………………….. 10 Drivers of Change in the Industry …………………………………………………... 12 Current Strategy …………………………………………………………………….. 13 Competitor Analysis ………………………………………………………………... 15 SWOT Analysis …………………………………………………………………….. 17 Financial Analysis ………………………………………………………………….. 19 Issue #1 Trader Joe’s first problem is that information is occasionally leaked regarding the identity of their private label suppliers. Trader Joe’s thrives off keeping the identity of their suppliers a secret to all consumers and media in order to maintain the integrity of their products. Since 80 percent of the products sold at Trader Joe’s are private label, the identity of the supplier is not known because the product is sold under the Trader Joe’s brand name. Information leaks regarding Trader Joe’s suppliers could damage their brand image because it could cause Trader Joe’s to lose its charm to consumers and because it could make other companies wary of supplying their goods. First, information leaks could cause Trader Joe’s to lose its charm in the eyes of the consumer. There were news reports spread within...
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...Case Study #1 – Trader Joe’s: Managing Less with More Due Date: No later than 9:40 AM Thursday, February 7, 2013 Remember the importance of deadlines, both in and out of class. Please do not ask to hand in the assignment past the due date. If you miss this one for some reason, there will be another. Thanks! ------------------------------------------------- Directions (use this as a checklist): * Read Chapter 1 thoroughly * Read both cases. One is about Trader Joe’s and the other is about Chobani Greek Style Yogurt. * Answer each of the four questions with significant thought and further research. Rushing through this the last minute will show loud and clear. * Your paper should be a total of 1,600 words (more is fine) and typewritten double spaced with 1” margins. * Please use no larger than 11 point font (this helps conserve paper). * Please conserve paper and fill each page (similar to the second page) * Please check for spelling and grammar * Please edit thoroughly. Any sloppy and haphazard papers will not earn full credit. * Each answer (if you want to divide 1,600 words by 4 questions, this should be 400 words for each answer, but you can decide how you want to allocate your words). * Remember that you can print (do so 48 hours in advance) in Cloud Hall 111. * Get started this week. I think you’ll find that managing your time is as important as managing any other precious resource. * Have a great time! I hope...
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...Steven White BA914-E1 Organizational Behavior Case 1A – Trader Joe’s 1. Trader Joe’s has built their business on knowing and connecting with their customers. They place this same belief in their hiring process. They strive to attract friendly individuals with strong family values and experience in a retail environment. Trader Joe’s believes in providing their customers with a friendly face, knowledge of their product lines, and developing a personal relationship with the locals shopping at their stores. They create job descriptions that highlight a more light hearted and emotional approach to working for them. This allows them to attract a more dedicated, friendly individual. This type of dedicated employee is more likely to have more positive interactions with their customer base. 2. A good manager is the foundation of an evolving, growing company. Following the management process can propel employees and the company as a whole. Trader Joe’s focuses on each aspect of this process to maximize their success. a. Planning - Based on this article the planning process for Trader Joe’s starts before the hiring phase. They researched early on about how to connect with potential employees in a feel good approach. This fosters a good relationship for a new incoming hires from day one. b. Organizing – Trader Joe’s sees a value in their employees. By providing a comprehensive benefit package for its employees they help their employees organize their...
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...Trader Joe’s No average Joe Trader Joe’s is an American privately held chain of grocery stores founded by Joe Coulombe. Trader Joe’s have been successful business for long time with their unique innovative strategy of selling natural and organic food products with only one brand of an item for low price. Their unique culture of relaxed beach environment and helpful knowledgeable employees makes their customer to stay loyal to the brand. Eighty percent of Trader Joe’s has in-house products that differentiate them from competitors and hard to imitate. Trader Joe’s target young educated people who want to eat healthy for low prices. They can really expand their business by investing in marketing, social media, loyalty- card program and building parking garages and gain bigger broader market segment in food industry. This also will help them competitive advantage over their competitors as they will have solid brand image and be successful over the long term. SWOT Analysis The strengths of Trader Joe’s are selling organic & fresh grocery at low prices, introducing new products to their stores frequently and offering friendly customer service. Trader Joe’s sell natural and organic food at cheaper price than its competitors. They buy in bulk one item rather than buying lot of similar items, which gives them competitive advantage over other supermarkets. Trader Joe’s introduce 10-15 new products every week and had special season items and; thus customers liked trying new...
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...[pic] TRADER JOE’S Description: Trader Joe’s has become a multi-billion dollar national chain partly through its ability to find cheap real estate, skip name brands and smartly manage its supply chain. It’s also due to its workforce management practices. Below, excerpts from a book Trader Joe’s Adventure, review the company’s management compensation, encouragement of multitasking, screening and wages, careful use of money, fun culture, sense that its people are its brand, and communication style. Learning Objective: Our focus with this case is on immersing students in the fundamentals of organizational culture. Organizational culture is defined as a complex set of shared beliefs, guiding values, behavioral norms, and basic assumptions acquired over time that shape our thinking and behavior; they are part of the social fabric of the organization—its genetic code. As such, culture drives the organization and guides the behavior of everyone in that organization—how they think, feel, and act. In other words, the culture forms a behavior template. Davis and Landa succinctly captured the essence of culture when they say, The factors which define culture are in part internal, deriving from the unique character of the organization and, in part external, determined by the background and experiences managers and employees bring to the enterprise. Culture is a major determinant of productivity; it shapes organizational responses to external pressures; and suppresses or enhances...
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