Trader Joes Case Study 1

954 Words4 Pages
Trader Joe’s – The case describes the business practices for Trader Joe's and how they reinvented themselves, by setting themselves apart from the 7- Eleven style store they had and how they became top competitors to Whole Foods and Dean and Deluca giants. It begins with a brief history of the retail chain, and goes on to describe various aspects of the retailer's unique business practices which, among other things, involved offering a selection of exclusive, mostly private-label products, and quickly replacing poorly performing products with new ones. T.J., which has a cult following among shoppers, is a small supermarket chain which offers a limited selection of unique food products at reasonable prices, in relatively small stores. It sales most of its products under the private label 'Trader Joe's' and its variants. T.J. targets it’s stores at highly educated and travelled, but not necessarily wealthy, segments of the population. T.J. has a team of experienced buyers, who does extensive traveling and research before bringing new products into the stores. Moreover, the products are tested and tasted before they are offered to customers. (Palmeri, 2008) T.J. also avoids the middlemen in its supply chain, preferring to deal directly with suppliers and manufacturers by contracting early and by locking down prices. This has been able to ensure them strict control over the price and quality of the products it offers. Furthermore, Trader Joe’s competitive advantage also comes from its human capital, they have created a culture of success, where equality exists and everyone’s opinions are respected, where they nurtured their employee’s talents in order to succeed within the organization. (Lewis 2005) How does Trader Joe’s design jobs for increased job satisfaction and higher performance? By creating a job description that requires “ambitious and adventurous, enjoy
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