Becoming Trader Joe

    At the risk of sounding a little absurd, I must confess that Trader Joe's is associated with some very positive childhood memories. These range from the daily presence of its branding on the sunflower seeds added to my father's breakfast to the samples they offered in the back corner of the store. With the later, it's specifically the coffee - my father always got that sample, so my brother and I, in an attempt to be "grown up" did as well - a cup of the milk with a just enough coffee to make it slightly off-white.

    And I'm not the only person with positive feelings toward the grocery chain. I've seen many articles discussing passionate fans. This brand loyalty perennially makes Trader Joe one of the leading grocers in sales per square foot of stores. Many factors play into this, but an important one to me is the atmosphere. Joe Coulombe, the name sake Joe, has an autobiography titled Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys. So of course, I read it.

     The bravado from the title really spills over into the work itself. As with any autobiography, one would expect a significant amount of tooting one's own horn. Mr. Coulombe's efforts in this regard are... extensive to say the least. It actually occasionally became grating. It's also vaguely condescending at times, approaching a holier-than-thou tone. For instance, he doesn't let more than a chapter or two pass between reminders that his company paid slightly above median wages in California. As such, I wasn't too huge a fan of the attitude or the writing style. 

    However, there are some redeeming qualities. Coloumbe relates many instances where he was able to find loopholes in laws or convention which gave him a sporting edge over his competitors. When ignoring the self-praise, it is an interesting insight into creative thinking. Smart moves like purchasing a old winery license for $10,000 over a new one for $300 are not initially obvious, but the older one has perks grandfathered in, like being able to provide tastings of other brands. The success of his business lies at the summation of a lot of such decisions, and it could be insightful for some future entrepreneurs. Otherwise, this book isn't particularly special and I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to track it down.