Trader Joe's

[jamiel]

Trader Joes is an interesting case. The parallels with Aldi are very striking (also, you will often find the same items (generally the German imports) in both places...frozen strudel, for instance). If you think, though, they're quite similar in concept (narrow selection of fast-moving private label grocery items). Interestingly, not as friendly to work for as you might think (check out HRC for score). Their produce is expensive and heavily shrink-wrapped (I rarely buy anything but bananas, cherry tomatoes and sometimes onions). Their fluid dairy is similarly expensive (they seem to not use local dairies but bring it in from quite far away). I think these both differ from TJs in California, which can do better opportunistic buying Everything else is at a minimum interesting, and some things are really phenomenal. Good pun about the proclivities of the employees...the ones near us give off a Shortbus vibe Whole Foods is OK...the one near us is dire, though; the larger ones are somewhat better. WF in Detroit actually was purchased from a family (it was called Merchant of Vino) who had a 5 yr noncompete...they recently opened up 3 stores called Plum Market which are nicer than WF (and have more of a local vibe)

 

[lordkenmore]

A few years ago, I heard that 2 Buck Chuck's quality is variable from production run to production run. At that time, I was told of one person who was into wine who'd buy one bottle of each type of Two Buck Chuck. Then he'd sit in his car, and have a sample of each. Assuming he found a good one, he'd go in and buy a case of the same type. And hope, I imagine, it was the same production run as the bottle he sampled. (I wonder if what happened if he found nothing acceptable? Did he drive off, and maybe up a stop sign post after all those little samples?)

 

[sudsmaster]

Two Buck Chuck: As I understand it, there is no such person as Charles Shaw, it's a complete fabrication. The stuff is made in a factory, not a winery. Then again, a lot of the cheaper wine labels out there are also made in modern wine processing plants, where different winery names are pulled out of a hopper and slapped on different bottles of exactly the same stuff. But that stuff is actually wine, not a reconstituted collection of 11 secret herbs and spices like TBC.

While I thought the two or three bottles of TBC that I bought a couple of months ago were drinkable, they didn't taste like any wine I'd experienced before. If you know what Merlot or Cabernet or Pinot Noir is supposed to taste like, then the labels on these bottles are some hack chemist's conception of what might pass for the variety to people with severe head colds. Try getting a bottle of the real variety (you might have to spend $5) and comparing it head to head with the TBC. They will be more different than Coke vs. Pepsi. More like Coke vs. instant iced tea.

OSH: Orchard Supply Hardware used to be a fairly good place to find odd fasteners, wire, and other hard to find items. A real hardware store. Then Sears bought it out. It started to lose some of it utility. Then Kmart bought Sears, and the decline accelerated. The latest insult is that the store personnel no longer directly manage the fastener inventory and display. Instead OSH has outsourced this to a third party, who comes in and restocks more or less as needed. The problem is the pricing is much higher, and the selection is at best bizarre. When I really need a fastener these days, I'll first head to a True Value or ACE hardware shop. OSH is some bean counter's idea of what mechanics need.

 

[rp2813]

Yeah Rich, I made reference to Charles Shaw the person, but have forgotten the guy's real name.  He's not very well-liked in the vintners' community, that's for sure.

 

And yeah again, sad commentary on OSH.  It used to be one of those "If you can't find it here, it doesn't exist" type of hardware stores, but no more.

 

Hmmm . . . now I'm hungry for some of that craisin/almond/cashew trail mix I picked up last time I was at TJ's.  It's addictive.

 

[mixfinder]

Buyers for Trader Joes

To sell an item to a grocery chain after settling on size, package and price point the grocery then hands over a list of demands such as marketing or "street" funds printing adds, printing a flyer and offer money off, 2 for 1, rebates, coupons, stocking fees and even a cash price for placing it in a prime location on the shelf.  The order is placed and store pays 90 days from delivery. 

 

To sell an item to Trader Joe they tell you the size, spec and price point they want.  You agree, they place the order and pay upon delivery.  No coupons, no marketing dollars, no rebates, no waiting for cash.   They were a dream customer to call on and enjoyed the relationship for the years I worked as a manufactures rep.  Trader Joe will establish a price margin they feel an item must sell with in.  If the cost of manufacturing increases or landed cost goes outside the acceptable margin the item is no longer offered.  It does make it disconcerting when a favorite item just disappears.  The waste, destruction and shrink in produce is staggering.  Trader Joes offers produce more as a customer service than profit center.  Items are wrapped to prevent customers from mauling the items with germy and ecoli tainted hands, brusing, dining ala carte on grapes and speed up the shopping by not having scales and plu numbers at the check out.  I miss them greatly and looked forward to excellent buys on nuts, dried and frozen fruits and vegetables, dairy products and ethnic food products.

 

[franksdad]

Hey Lawrence/Maytagbear

Yes, we have shopped at Earth Fare in Greer. We also shop some at Whole Foods. My wife tends to prefer Garners on Pleasantburg Drive. We also enjoy shopping at The Fresh Market both in Greenville and Hendersonville, NC.

We have really enjoyed everything we have bought at TJ's. We especially love their whipped cream cheese. I love their Joe's O's cereal as well as their other cereals. And, of course, we love their frozen mandarin orange chicken. When TJ's opened here in Greenville I thought there would be a younger clientel. However, we have discovered there is a large customer base of 50 and 60-somethings there. When they opened I prayed that the SCGOP would not close them down as TJ's management believes in treating their employees as human beings!