What do you think?
Rate this book
Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys
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
288 pages, Paperback
First published June 22, 2021
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 420 reviews
June 24, 2021
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.
Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/
IG: @confettibookshelf
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.
Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/
IG: @confettibookshelf
September 27, 2021
Big letdown. This book SHOULD have been amazing because of the topic. Unfortunately the writer/editor failed to turn Joe’s stories and musings into a coherent book. BUT…if you can get over the complete lack of structure, it does share some fascinating TJ’s lore and contrarian business principles that explain how TJ’s takes in more revenue per sq foot than other major grocery chain. Interesting tidbits include: target overeducated and underpaid, no loss leader products, solve for fewer SKUs to drive supply chain efficiency, focus on $ profit per square foot vs. margin on items, don’t sell cheap bulky undifferentiated products like flour and sugar, use almond scraps to make almond butter (long before anyone else was doing this). Also liked that Joe required a “one page only” purchase agreement when he sold to Aldi.
November 7, 2021
Is this the best book I have ever read? No. Is it well written or edited? Also, no. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I bother everyone with TJ facts? Also, yes.
April 21, 2023
An exceptional business book.
Strange arbitrages and legal hijinks abound, all of which are far too good for me to spoil. Rich detail on negotiating lease clauses, managing inventory, and the avoiding risks to cashflows. I don’t know what I expected the eponymous Joe to be like, but our narrator is perpetually canny, quoting Norbert Weiner as readily as Ortega, digressing on the necessity of seasonal outfits for the staff, and guiding us through the strange pivots and turns of the business.
The third chapter is named after “The Guns of August,” and sets out the basic theory behind the company—retailing, like many businesses, is a non-convex problem, and therefore no single strategy is optimal. As a result, a reasonably good strategy will suffice, giving substantial discretion on internal affairs. Less explicitly stated is the idea that there’s some latitude to shape a business towards a form that’s relatively just and aesthetically pleasing—it will surely change which strategy one ends up with, but in a non-convex space, perhaps there’s something to be said for using that discretion to build a healthy and adaptable culture.
Strange arbitrages and legal hijinks abound, all of which are far too good for me to spoil. Rich detail on negotiating lease clauses, managing inventory, and the avoiding risks to cashflows. I don’t know what I expected the eponymous Joe to be like, but our narrator is perpetually canny, quoting Norbert Weiner as readily as Ortega, digressing on the necessity of seasonal outfits for the staff, and guiding us through the strange pivots and turns of the business.
The third chapter is named after “The Guns of August,” and sets out the basic theory behind the company—retailing, like many businesses, is a non-convex problem, and therefore no single strategy is optimal. As a result, a reasonably good strategy will suffice, giving substantial discretion on internal affairs. Less explicitly stated is the idea that there’s some latitude to shape a business towards a form that’s relatively just and aesthetically pleasing—it will surely change which strategy one ends up with, but in a non-convex space, perhaps there’s something to be said for using that discretion to build a healthy and adaptable culture.
December 16, 2021
This was pretty good, as business memoirs go! Really interesting hearing about his strategy to capture market of college educated folks looking for less homogeny, and also his strategy of PAYING WORKERS WELL. Wish more companies understood this principle. Lot of specifics about buying fish, cheese, wine... if you're into Trader Joe you'll enjoy it. Also enjoyed his pretentious history/literature quotes... the man has personality!
January 3, 2024
Was happy to see a book about TJ's - a favorite of mine.
Interesting to learn about Joe Coulombe's beginnings in the chain store business, and the ladder he had to climb. Also interesting to find out his changes and innovations in establishing TJs, actually was presented with more than I needed, but good to have in my back pocket just in case. What was most astonishing was the discovery that this founder sold the business long before I ever stepped foot in the store that is one of my favorites! Who knew?
He went on to consulting and "fixing" companies that came to him for help, and served on boards until he seemed rather weary of all of it. He ends his book with:
Au Revoir. . .
What can be said of board work, can be said about writing this book. It was satisfying, challenging and appropriate to my age. Joseph Conrad said in The Mirror of the Sea,
To deal with men is as fine an art as to deal with ships. Both men and ships live in an unstable element, and are subject to subtle and powerful influences, and want to have their merits understood rather than their faults found out.
I hope you have understood my merits more than you have found out my faults.
[Joe Coulombe died in 2020. RIP]
*A sincere thank you to Joe Coulombe, HarperCollins Leadership, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.* #BecomingTraderJoe #NetGalley
Interesting to learn about Joe Coulombe's beginnings in the chain store business, and the ladder he had to climb. Also interesting to find out his changes and innovations in establishing TJs, actually was presented with more than I needed, but good to have in my back pocket just in case. What was most astonishing was the discovery that this founder sold the business long before I ever stepped foot in the store that is one of my favorites! Who knew?
He went on to consulting and "fixing" companies that came to him for help, and served on boards until he seemed rather weary of all of it. He ends his book with:
Au Revoir. . .
What can be said of board work, can be said about writing this book. It was satisfying, challenging and appropriate to my age. Joseph Conrad said in The Mirror of the Sea,
To deal with men is as fine an art as to deal with ships. Both men and ships live in an unstable element, and are subject to subtle and powerful influences, and want to have their merits understood rather than their faults found out.
I hope you have understood my merits more than you have found out my faults.
[Joe Coulombe died in 2020. RIP]
*A sincere thank you to Joe Coulombe, HarperCollins Leadership, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.* #BecomingTraderJoe #NetGalley
February 5, 2021
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.
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.
March 13, 2021
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.
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.
February 8, 2022
I liked this, thought it was a lot of fun! I don't mind crotchety rambling and appreciate that Trader Joe's was rewarded for good behavior - following demographic trends, serving a segment, competing on price. It's kind of comforting to know that Trader Joe's is deliberately designed to appeal to my milieu of "overeducated and underpaid" postwar people and that companies can deliver on their tailored value proposition. Feels like grand design. The Trader Joe's model of wine merchandising for food - emphasizing product knowledge, locality - really lands with me. I could be a sucker for this in any consumer product.
The epigraphs are good too. I don't think I would be friends with Joe Coulombe but I think we share broad anarchic and existential worldviews lol. Kind of surprising from someone who compared milk regulation to Mussolini. We're bridging the bloody chasm here.
- Umberto Eco: "Perhaps the mission of those who love mankind is to make people laugh at the truth, to make the truth laugh, because the only truth lies in learning to free ourselves from insane passion for the truth."
- Joseph Conrad: "To deal with men is as fine an art as to deal with ships. Both men and ships live in an unstable element, and are subject to subtle and powerful influences, and want to have their merits understood rather than their faults found out."
- Albert Camus: "Like great works, deep feelings always mean more than they are conscious of saying"
- Some business person: "It is better to be vaguely right than exactly wrong. If all the facts could be known, idiots could make the decisions."
The epigraphs are good too. I don't think I would be friends with Joe Coulombe but I think we share broad anarchic and existential worldviews lol. Kind of surprising from someone who compared milk regulation to Mussolini. We're bridging the bloody chasm here.
- Umberto Eco: "Perhaps the mission of those who love mankind is to make people laugh at the truth, to make the truth laugh, because the only truth lies in learning to free ourselves from insane passion for the truth."
- Joseph Conrad: "To deal with men is as fine an art as to deal with ships. Both men and ships live in an unstable element, and are subject to subtle and powerful influences, and want to have their merits understood rather than their faults found out."
- Albert Camus: "Like great works, deep feelings always mean more than they are conscious of saying"
- Some business person: "It is better to be vaguely right than exactly wrong. If all the facts could be known, idiots could make the decisions."
October 17, 2022
Most of this book is a pretty routine memoir of a successful businessman & entrepreneur. It gets mixed reviews, but I happened across it on the new-book shelf at the library & decided, why not? After all, I do most of my grocery-shopping at TJ's, so I was interested enough to invest a few hours in Joe's life story. I'm glad I did, because the last couple or three chapters took a turn into the extraordinary. In 1978, out of the blue, the two brothers who own the very successful Aldi grocery chain in Germany approached Coulombe about buying his company. He said no, but they persisted. He stopped by to meet the brothers during a business trip to Europe, they liked each other, but he said no again. A year or so later, there was a major change in California law that put his personal fortune at risk, mostly from possibly confiscatory tax liabilities. The Germans called again with a much improved offer. Coulombe decided his own and his family's interests would be best served if he accepted. The deal closed in 1979.
Coulombe remained as CEO of Trader Joe's until 1988. In the meanwhile, the brother who had sold Joe on the deal abruptly quit Aldi, frictions arose with the other brother, and Joe decided that, after 30 years, it was time to hang it up. So he did. He died in 2020, at age 89.
So. It's worth reading his memoir just for the last few chapters, and you might start out reading there: it's Section 3, "First I sell, then I leave." 5-star stuff, and brings up the book to 4 stars overall, if I squint a little. His post-sale consultancy stuff is interesting too. At the least, pick it up for that stuff. Recommended reading.
Coulombe remained as CEO of Trader Joe's until 1988. In the meanwhile, the brother who had sold Joe on the deal abruptly quit Aldi, frictions arose with the other brother, and Joe decided that, after 30 years, it was time to hang it up. So he did. He died in 2020, at age 89.
So. It's worth reading his memoir just for the last few chapters, and you might start out reading there: it's Section 3, "First I sell, then I leave." 5-star stuff, and brings up the book to 4 stars overall, if I squint a little. His post-sale consultancy stuff is interesting too. At the least, pick it up for that stuff. Recommended reading.
December 9, 2021
all business and politics and none of the spunk, creativity, and fun i wanted from a book about the origins of traders joe’s. basically just joe non-stop flexing that he went to stanford...
February 22, 2022
If you're someone who regularly reads business books and expects a linear, IACOCCA-style account, Joe Coulombe is not your guy. I put him more in the category of free-roving intellectual, someone obsessively devoted to their field, yet informed by a range of interests as wide as the horizon.
Joe opines and jokes around and draws unusual comparisons. He digresses, circles back to a point he made before and makes it all over again. And I'm guessing he just sat and wondered a lot. A week ago, I didn't know a damn thing about running a grocery chain, and now I can't imagine anything more exciting or intellectually stimulating. It's the same way I felt after reading the idiosyncratic memoirs of people like physicist Richard Feynmann, race car builder Smokey Yunick, or the composer Constant Lambert.
Joe opines and jokes around and draws unusual comparisons. He digresses, circles back to a point he made before and makes it all over again. And I'm guessing he just sat and wondered a lot. A week ago, I didn't know a damn thing about running a grocery chain, and now I can't imagine anything more exciting or intellectually stimulating. It's the same way I felt after reading the idiosyncratic memoirs of people like physicist Richard Feynmann, race car builder Smokey Yunick, or the composer Constant Lambert.
February 20, 2021
*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
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
June 23, 2021
Becoming Trader Joe by Joe Coulombe is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early June.
Coulombe speaks of being involved with grocers and markets since the 1950s, and his accomplishments in purveying, fair trade, creating a store brand, business management. Whoa, and he is hella babbly and grandiose with a whole world and timeline of food products to draw from; it's great for someone whose attention wanes and is attracted to shiny speech, but definitely not an easy read for everyone.
Coulombe speaks of being involved with grocers and markets since the 1950s, and his accomplishments in purveying, fair trade, creating a store brand, business management. Whoa, and he is hella babbly and grandiose with a whole world and timeline of food products to draw from; it's great for someone whose attention wanes and is attracted to shiny speech, but definitely not an easy read for everyone.
October 18, 2021
This book is underrated. It’s not well-written literature, nor is is all that excellently organized, but wow does it deliver an answer to these questions:
What makes Trader Joe’s work?
How did Trader Joe’s become such a phenomenon?
What does smart retail look like?
This is a rare book in the genre of corporate biography, hence four stars.
What makes Trader Joe’s work?
How did Trader Joe’s become such a phenomenon?
What does smart retail look like?
This is a rare book in the genre of corporate biography, hence four stars.
July 12, 2021
so this guy wasn't involved in Trader Joes since 1989- he sold it to the Germans.
So a lot of this is really old news and only occasionally interesting. For example- he said people won't buy groceries on the internet. Mkay.
So a lot of this is really old news and only occasionally interesting. For example- he said people won't buy groceries on the internet. Mkay.
January 22, 2023
Had high hopes for this, but it was fine.
February 6, 2023
I *love* Trader Joe’s. I did not love this book. While interesting at points and there were a few fun facts, it was scattered, unorganized, and hard to follow.
Written to be used as a sort of textbook in marketing/business classes, the book is a miss for me. I would be so interested in talking with the editor to discuss why they ordered the book as they did—it was mostly incoherent ramblings.
I’m sad about this because I think if the editor had organized the stories better it could have been a much more engaging and appealing read.
Written to be used as a sort of textbook in marketing/business classes, the book is a miss for me. I would be so interested in talking with the editor to discuss why they ordered the book as they did—it was mostly incoherent ramblings.
I’m sad about this because I think if the editor had organized the stories better it could have been a much more engaging and appealing read.
November 21, 2021
This was very poorly written but a nonetheless enjoyable read. Quoting Economist articles from the 90s is the fastest way to my heart.
September 16, 2021
As a marketing professor and Trader Joe's consumer, this book piqued my interest right away. Interesting to see the beginnings of Trader Joe's, the iconic store for all things different and inexpensive. Laughing as I found their target audience was me way back in the days of grad school and first jobs, listening to public radio and having not many dollars to spend on food and wine.
Coulombe depicts life behind the scenes in corporate America pretty well. Mergers, acquisitions, special deals and working between the lines of taxation and regulation come up frequently.
For the reader, the fast pace dialogue and slightly disorganized time lines can be difficult to follow.
Coulombe depicts life behind the scenes in corporate America pretty well. Mergers, acquisitions, special deals and working between the lines of taxation and regulation come up frequently.
For the reader, the fast pace dialogue and slightly disorganized time lines can be difficult to follow.
October 2, 2021
Joe is very full of himself. Yes, there are insights that show he's a smart businessman but he's more irritating than inspiring.
February 2, 2023
Really interesting book, tho the writing was often unclear and badly structured. In the 1960s, Joe read that college education rates were skyrocketing & airfare was plummeting. Joe predicted the rise of a well-educated, well-traveled, underpaid class whose tastes would diverge from those of “the masses” who bought big-brand products from supermarket chains. Thus he became Trader Joe!
It sounds like Trader Joe just had really good business intuition. He found regular ways to undercut competitors’ prices by carefully researching grocery products, the companies that manufactured them, and the regulations around them. For ex, he found this tuna canner in Peru that started labeling their tuna cans as some synonym for tuna & selling them at a steep discount once they hit the US. import limit. TJ bought the cheap “tuna” and sold it with some fun TJ name. And he set up systems for his employees to replicate this sort of success consistently. He identified and understood his customers with impressive precision, personally driving around each neighborhood to check out the demographics before opening a store in it. He shifted company strategy quickly and decisively when economic circumstances changed. He had some clever marketing tactics, like partnering w opera houses (popular among his demographic) & an early version of “content marketing” (a food magazine). Very impressive
--
I think this passage from a New Yorker review also sums up why I liked the book personally:
It sounds like Trader Joe just had really good business intuition. He found regular ways to undercut competitors’ prices by carefully researching grocery products, the companies that manufactured them, and the regulations around them. For ex, he found this tuna canner in Peru that started labeling their tuna cans as some synonym for tuna & selling them at a steep discount once they hit the US. import limit. TJ bought the cheap “tuna” and sold it with some fun TJ name. And he set up systems for his employees to replicate this sort of success consistently. He identified and understood his customers with impressive precision, personally driving around each neighborhood to check out the demographics before opening a store in it. He shifted company strategy quickly and decisively when economic circumstances changed. He had some clever marketing tactics, like partnering w opera houses (popular among his demographic) & an early version of “content marketing” (a food magazine). Very impressive
--
I think this passage from a New Yorker review also sums up why I liked the book personally:
[W]e gain plenty of insight into [Joe] Coulombe through how he describes the trajectory of his company. He comes off as obsessive and well-read, citing obscure quotations from economists, François Rabelais, Scientific American articles from the seventies, Goethe, Jean Renoir, and more. He disliked traditional forms of advertising, instead choosing to publish an offbeat and educational periodical called Fearless Flyer to help sell consumers on Trader Joe’s. Perhaps most crucially, he harbored an outsized disdain for the standard business practices of corporate America, condemning things such as a “Byzantine management atmosphere,” venture capitalism (what he calls “vultures”), investment banking, corporate consultants, and money borrowing. In the current climate of rampant venture capital, the ruthless pursuit of unicorns, and private-equity takeovers, Coulombe’s rudimentary, instinct-driven business philosophies can feel like revelations.
May 8, 2022
I found the business content of this book fascinating. I’m grateful to have insight into the foundations of a store I’m a regular at, and feel more connected to the products knowing the work that went into them being available at this store.
I agree with other reviewers that this book isn’t perfectly organized and there’s room for improvement in the areas of grammar, detail exploration, and fluidity. As to (unfortunately) be expected from a businessman in the 50s-80s, there’s also outdated notions about women and the changing demographics of the U.S. that made me have a hard time giving this a higher rating.
I agree with other reviewers that this book isn’t perfectly organized and there’s room for improvement in the areas of grammar, detail exploration, and fluidity. As to (unfortunately) be expected from a businessman in the 50s-80s, there’s also outdated notions about women and the changing demographics of the U.S. that made me have a hard time giving this a higher rating.
December 3, 2022
If I am frank, there are some issues with the writing and the structure. There is also a lot of statistical business detail that I skimmed over.
Having said that, I still thought that it was an interesting book. I had never been in a Trader Joe’s until I moved to California, and I enjoyed learning more of how one store in Pasadena turned into what it is today.
Having said that, I still thought that it was an interesting book. I had never been in a Trader Joe’s until I moved to California, and I enjoyed learning more of how one store in Pasadena turned into what it is today.
April 30, 2022
This book is somewhat disorganized but Trader Joe’s is a fascinating business, so different from traditional grocery stores. He successfully targeted “profit per square foot” and “over-educated and underpaid” customers. As his refusal to use the word “consumer” illustrates, he was very focused on knowledge: it was important to him to have educated employees and to attract educated customers. He used 19th century literature and art as inspiration for his newsletters, products, and packaging!
Read
May 1, 2022Found this book incredibly slow, and way less interesting than I had hoped :(
July 5, 2023
One of the weirder business story books I've read. Probably the only one to quote Camus' The Rebel when discussing the feeling of selling a company. I like the Coulombe lays out the high level strategy (his "five year plans") and then illustrates in great detail what they looked like in practice. I have a very clear idea now, for example, why Trader Joe's doesn't sell brand sodas!
Fun, authentic, would recommend.
Fun, authentic, would recommend.
November 29, 2021
Wouldn't recommend it.
November 26, 2021
An interesting look atthe grocery business from the 60s to the 90s. Joe is definitely a capitalist--it doesn't take more than 5 pages for him to begin railing against the "fascist" milk price controls in CA from the 40s to the 70s--but/and he repeatedly stresses how paying his employees well, not pursuing growth for growth's sake, and having a clear idea of his clientele and their interests allowed him to keep prices low and develop a unique range of delicious products. I'd be interested in another deep dive into how TJ's business developed from 1989, when Joe stopped being involved in its operations, to now.
November 21, 2021
Interesting story about Trader Joe. An interesting fact like Nobody had last names until the 15th century. Cool management practices like Trader Joe has a program where managers of managers talk to the employee and do an interview with them 6 in 6 months. Besides, that is very retail specific.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 420 reviews