What’s Next for Trader Joe’s?

In February, Business Week profiled Trader Joe’s, which sells an estimated $1,300 in groceries per square foot, twice the industry average. Joseph Coulombe started the business in the 1960s with a group of small convenience stores. To compete against the fast-growing 7-Eleven chain, he started stocking a large selection of wines, then other specialty items. He then redecorated stores and had employees wear Hawaiian shirts to make shopping more like a vacation. Christopher Palmieri wrote: “Ask a Trader Joe’s employee about a product and he will practically sprint down the aisle, grab a bag of whatever you had questions about and join you in a taste test.”

Since 2006, TJ’s has steadily climbed Supermarket News’s top 75 North American food retailers list, from 28 to 23 this year. In 2006 the company had 250 stores; now it has 310.

In this 2007 article, Barry Silverstein describes Trader Joe’s as “less a grocery store and more a brand with a cult-like following.” He adds: “Somehow, when Joe Coulombe conceptualized Trader Joe’s, he created a retail brand that would attract and retain a loyal customer base—and better yet, turn them into raving fans. Forty years later, even amidst significant expansion, it seems that each individual Trader Joe’s store can still connect with its customers—and make their shopping experience one they won’t soon forget.”

Thousands of residents of Palm Springs, California, signed a petition earlier this year asking Trader Joe’s to build a store in their town, according to The Desert Sun. The council planned to submit the petition to Trader Joe’s corporate office. A similar effort in Long Beach eight years ago was successful.

At Trader Joe’s Fan, customers share recipes, read news about the store and rate products. The site isn’t affiliated with the company, but keeps a close eye on it. One forum thread is dedicated to store openings, and welcomes rumors of new locations.

In 2006, Trader Joe’s hit Manhattan, opening its first store in Union Square. Andy Bowers of Slate offered some of his TJ’s shopping experience to the East Coast newbies. Because items appear and disappear randomly, he says, if you find something you like, hoard it, because it could be gone by your next visit. The store also isn’t a one-stop shopping site. If he takes a recipe to the store, he almost always has to stop someplace else for another ingredient.

Len Lewis wrote an entire book about the store, called “The Trader Joe’s Adventure: Turning a Unique Approach to Business into a Retail and Cultural Phenomenon.”

Check the company’s interactive map to see where the stores are. Scroll down to learn where stores have recently opened, and where they’re set to open.