Trader Joe’s Mission, Vision and Core Values
Market Force has ranked Trader Joe’s as #3 for America’s favorite grocery stores (Vasel, 2016). Trader Joe’s is all about customer service, happy employees and offering high quality products at low prices. Their strategy is to compete differently than their rivals, and by offering products that the others can’t. This is reflected in their mission statement below:
“To give our customers the best food and beverage values that they can find anywhere and to provide them with the information required for informed buying decisions. We provide these with a dedication to the highest quality of customer satisfaction delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, fun, individual pride, and company spirit” (Crafting and Executing Strategy: Concepts and Readings, 2016, p. 24). An organization should also have a plan and map out their destination. They should consider where they are, where they want to go, and how they will get here. Trader Joe’s mission statement does not provide where the organization wants to go and what the plan for the future is, but they have established a cohesive and loyal relationship with the customer, which in turn has contributed to the success and advancement of this company. Trader Joe’s is very secretive and has never participated in a major story about its business operations (Beth Kowitt, 2010). There are no financials to be found online or anywhere for that matter. The growth of the organization has
For Trader Joe’s, they are able to demonstrate the importance of each responsibility in the management process by establishing a plan to serve quality products with natural ingredients, inspiring flavors, and buying direct from the producer whenever possible,. They also organize their stores to limit its stock, carrying about 1,500 to 2,000 products compared to retail mega-markets with 25,000 to 45,000 products. Through leading, Trader Joe’s support their future leaders by hiring managers only from within the company. Future leaders enroll in training programs called, Trader Joe’s University that foster in them the loyalty necessary to run stores according to both company and customer expectations. Lastly, Trader Joe demonstrated the responsibility in controlling by placing standards to sell natural based ingredient products, as well as striving to offer the highest quality type foods.
Trader Joe’s is a major food retailer who has developed quite the name for themselves. It has well over 350 stores in over 32 states and is expected to continually grow over the next few years (Bond, 2012). For over 50 years, Trader Joe’s has been providing quality customer services, products and a unique shopping experience for its customers. They have come a very long way from when they first officially opened their doors. Trader Joe’s started when its founder Joe Coulombe wanted to find a way to differentiate his 7-Eleven stores (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien & Hunt, 2012). In the food retailer industry, Trader Joe’s has developed a process that works well and
This paper is intended to explore the work ethic and value of Trader Joe’s as a company and their employees. Hands-on top managers have always been insistent in the company. Now, CEO Dan Bane created the values to reflect on the original traditions of its founder. When reading through the accomplishments of this grocery store, I was pleasantly surprised that they have managed to keep their integrity during their growth. Being a customer at Trader Joe’s myself, I find myself thinking about all the good experiences I have had every time I visited the store. Trader Joe’s has grown from a “mom and pop” grocery to a worldwide chain. Their integrity for selling a good product at a good price with great customer has proven them to be one of the grocery stores to be in high completion with other retailers in their genre. Their focus on giving their customers the options of different goods and the smiling faces of their friendly employees has risen them to a higher level of grocery shopping.
One of Trader Joe’s biggest advantages is in their target market. They have found the niche that appreciates higher quality foods but is on a tight budget and Trader Joe’s has managed to provide high quality food that is at a great price. So you end up with the individuals who are health conscious and in college or recently graduated who value a great deal. Trader Joe’s has realized that and has capitalized on this fact by opening in locations that are easily accessible to both students
Thirdly, Trader Joe’s stores are small and located in non-prime locations, which holds fixed operating costs at bay. Furthermore, the company is able to generate the industry’s highest sales per square feet in its small sized stores. In an effort to diversify from its competitors, Trader Joe’s also relies on a non-traditional marketing strategy. Completely neglecting conventional marketing techniques like commercials or promotional offers, the company focuses on unique and store specific in-store marketing with its newsletter and the occasional radio ad being its major means of communication with its customers. The Trader Joe’s brand with its vast fan base is naturally another part of the company’s competitive advantage.
Trader Joe’s has successfully separated itself from its competitors and will continue to remain successful as their organizational culture values their employees and customers. Trader Joe’s has continually kept prices down, and offer one-of-a kind products while simultaneously keeping their customers and employees happy. Overall, customers want to build relationships where they shop and feel important, something Trader Joe’s has nailed the head
To truly understand the consumer’s needs one must listen to what the consumer wants and desires, it takes very little effort on the part of Company Q to understand the needs of its consumers. The effort we make can be the difference between a store’s success and a store going bankrupt. Insuring that Company Q's stores standout amongst its competitors in the marketplace will help give Company Q a competitive edge.
Dan Bane has been working with Trader Joe’s for over 20 years. In 1998 he become president of the company for three years, where he was then appointed CEO. Trader Joe’s originated as a small chain of grocery stores in 1967, and since then has expanded to over 465 stores nationwide across 41 states. Often referred to as the go-to neighborhood grocery store, Trader Joe’s has established its brand through continuous success under Dan Bane, generating a whopping 15.7 billion in revenue in 2016. Bane’s commitment to serving individual communities throughout the country is evident through the company’s donation of $341 million worth of organic food products to food banks last year. The company’s revenue has been growing at an average of 6.8 percent
“At Trader Joe's, our mission is to bring our customers the best food and beverage values and the information to make informed buying decisions. There are more than 2000 unique grocery items in our label, all at honest everyday low prices. We work hard at buying things right: Our buyers travel the world searching for new items and we work with a variety of suppliers who make
Trader Joe’s occupies a niche position in the grocery market by providing natural, organic and eclectic selection of wines, frozen food, prepared food and groceries at everyday low prices. They have a small area format with limited products which has put them in the top rank for sales per square feet.
Analysts who study specialty grocer TRADER JOE'S attribute the company's financial success to the canny use of private labels, direct deals with producers and very compact stores (Speizer, 2004). Trader Joe’s is known for their critical standards of hiring their employees. Trader Joe’s customer service holds some superiority over other small grocery stores as they focus on that one important standard of their
Such as the Whole Foods core value to satisfy and delight their customers. The way the store employees seem to take this to heart and you can see it in the way they try to be helpful and curious to their customers. The core that seems to most clearly take place is “We appreciate and celebrate the difference natural and organic products can make in the quality of one’s life”(Thompson pg 281). This is evident in the New York whole foods by stocking exotic items like preserved lemons from Morocco or fig jam from Lebanon. By having happy employees and stocking items no one else can provided you create and environment that no one else can copy and brings in customers by the
An established set of core values generally shows the consumer how the company aims to achieve its vision, and also what the company values besides profits. In the case of WFM, the company certainly likes to suggest that its core values do matter. First value on WFM’s list is “We Sell the Highest Quality Natural and Organic Products Available” (“Core Values”), where the company refers to its passion for food, and briefly how the go about making sure each product is up to the Whole Foods standard (“Core Values”). While WFM’s quality standards are only mentioned briefly amongst the company’s core values, Wholefoodsmarket.com has an entire subpage dedicated to the topic. However, in 2015, animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical
Firstly, it is important to remember the current situation of Trader Joe’s in USA, the company has over 400 stores in 30 states and is the leader in customer service in USA. However, the company is not on the top ten supermarkets in sales category. Additionally, Trader Joe’s just operates in USA and does not have experience in other international markets. (Peterson, 2013)
Mission and Goals – The company aims to set the bar high for the food industry.