Jason NashMKT-302

3 November 2014

Mission Statement

• The mission of Trader Joe's is to give our customers the best food and beverage valuesthat they can find anywhere and to provide them with the information required to make 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.

People

Trader Joe's target market• Health conscious consumer• The well-educated and well-traveled consumer

– Someone who can appreciate sprouted wheat bread, black rice, unpressed soap, soy milk, a canny Argentine merlot, and a frozen spinach lasagna

• They cater to different cultures– Asians, Indians, and Hispanics

• Consumers who appreciate a good value

Products

• Quality, healthy, gourmet food

– Wide variety of gluten-free foods

– No artificial flavors or preservatives

– Non-synthetic food coloring

– No genetically modified organisms

• Unique specialty products– About 80% of their products are private-label

products

• Constantly bringing in new products

Products

• They carry a limited assortment of products– Only about 2,000 products versus

larger supermarkets who typically carry about 30,000

• They do not carry familiar mass-market brands– So they don’t have to compete on

price

Products

• They typically stock only one kind of laundry detergent, but 10 kinds of hummus

• The products are great-tasting

• Hard to find in other supermarkets

• Come from around the world

Competitors

• When Trader Joe's opened in 1967, their competition was 7-Eleven– Today, Trader Joe’s has 420 stores– Whole Foods – 350 stores– Safeway – 1,300 stores– Kroger – 2,640 stores (nation’s largest chain)– Tesco (6,784 stores), the UK $90 billion grocery and

general merchandise chain, opened 200 stores in California, Arizona, and Nevada in 2007 (Fresh & Easy). They offered products similar to those at Trader Joe's, but went out of business in 2013 due to weak sales

Place

• Trader Joe's has 420 retail stores in 40 states. Approximately half of their stores are located in California.

• Fresh Format - emphasize perishables, are about half the size of a Traditional Supermarket, and dedicate a greater proportion to fresh foods — produce, meats, prepared foods — and a relatively smaller portion to “center store” items such as cereal and ketchup.

Place

• Stores average between 8,000 - 12,000 square feet

– Versus 50,000 square feet found in traditional supermarkets

• Stores are always found in dense population areas where the community has a high level of education

• They seek to make your shopping excursion resemble a vacation

– Employees wear Hawaiian shirts

– Hand out food and drink samples from little tasting huts

– The atmosphere is a fun tropical adventure theme

Promotion

• Rely on word of mouth advertising

• Advertising is very limited– No TV commercials, newspaper ads, E-mail advertising, social media,

coupons, or loyalty cards– A small amount of radio ads

• The Frequent Flyer (newsletter), featuring new products and store locations is mailed to customers three times each year and during holiday periods.

• Trader Joe's doesn't conduct public interviews or share their strategies

Pricing

• Everyday low price strategy– Prices can be described as both reasonable and fair

• They only carry products where they're able to offer an outstanding price – 80% private-label brands are bought directly from the

manufacturer to keep the prices low– They don't carry any mass-market brands so they don't

have to compete on price

• No coupons, discounts, or sales

Profit / Financials

• Trader Joe's is a privately held company so financials are not made available to the public

• Reportedly:– $6.5 billion in sales in 2007– $8 billion in sales in 2009– Equals 11% growth per year

• The growth of Trader Joe's has been achieved without debt as they're fully self-financed

2007 $6.5 B

2008 $7.2 B

2009 $8.0 B

2010 $8.9 B

2011 $9.8 B

2012 $10.9 B

2013 $12.1 B

2014 $13.4 B

2015 $14.9 B

Environmental Factors - Social

• Trader Joe's has some advantages– First, they have discovered that alcohol consumption rises

along with education levels• They have responded to this by offering a large selection of both

beer and wine.

– Second, market research has revealed a relationship between education and consumer choices• The more highly educated tend to travel more and therefore, are

more inclined to be attracted to the unique product lines offered by Trader Joe's

– Finally, they're very culturally aware• Actively cater to the growing populations of Asians, Indians, and

Hispanics

Environmental Factors - Economic

• Trader Joe's is positioned to perform well in all economic conditions– They perform well in a weak economy because they

have low prices

– They perform well in a strong economy because they have unique products

• They basically carry luxury products at reasonable prices, which is quite rare

Environmental Factors - Technological

• Trader Joe's is slow to adapt to new technology

– They didn’t start experimenting with scanning bar codes at the checkout until 1999

– Still rely on handwritten customer response cards

– Do not utilize any form of loyalty system

– They aren’t currently taking advantage of social media, E-mail, or smartphone apps

Environmental Factors - Competitive

• Whole Foods is their biggest competition– Other than that, Trader Joe's doesn't currently have a lot of strong direct competition

– I believe that will change• The demand for organic, gluten-free, and non-GMO foods is growing rapidly

Consumer Perception on Quality (YouGov BrandIndex)

Environmental Factors - Competitive

• YouGov BrandIndex tracks public perception of thousands of brands across the world– Consumer perception of Trader Joe’s is significantly higher than Whole Foods.

– Trader Joe’s is winning the price-war in a big way and consumers are aware of this.

– Consumers view Trader Joe’s as inexpensive but high-quality

Consumer Perception on Value (YouGov BrandIndex)

Environmental Factors -Competitive

Trader Joe's Whole Foods

Sales per square foot $1,734 $930

Bag of quinoa $4.99 $9.99

Gluten-free cheese pizza $4.99 $7.49

2013 revenue $12.1 billion (est) $12.9 billion

Number of stores 420 350

Today, major grocery chains still capture a huge share of our grocery dollars- Kroger, $98.4 billion- Safeway, $36.1 billion- Publix, $28 billion

Environmental Factors -Regulatory

• The external regulatory forces work in favor of Trader Joe's – They specialize in organic, gluten-free, and non-

GMO foods

– Due to the regulatory forces in place, products which are labeled as such cannot be falsified

– Sales at Trader Joe's could potentially suffer if another company started selling cheap gluten-free products, which weren't truly gluten-free

SWOT - Strengths

• Low prices

• Unique products

• Constantly bring in new products

• Quality products

• Strong brand name

SWOT - Strengths

• Trader Joe’s sells 2 - 3 times as much per square foot than other supermarkets

• Product guarantee (no questions asked on returns)

• Cheerful employees (casual and chatty cashiers)

• Culturally aware

• They encourage consumer feedback

SWOT - Weaknesses

• While Trader Joe’s has weaknesses, most of them stem from their strategy (which is clearly effective)

– Slow to adapt to new technology

– Size of store

– Lack of stores in some cities

– Typically have smaller parking lots

– Limited selection (lacking basic products)

– Lack of social media presence

SWOT - Opportunities

• Opportunity lies in the Fresh Format concept

• Growing demand for organic foods

• Expand private-label market

• Expand into the online market

• Expand internationally

3.6%

10.6% 12.7%

19.0%22.9%

31.2%

38.4%

92.2%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

Projected % increase in sales 2013 - 2018

SWOT - Threats

• Competition is going to get stronger– It's only a matter of time before retailers close the gap (of supply and

demand) for healthy food

• Existing supermarkets will expand product selection

• Completely new retailers will open stores (Tesco, Fresh & Easy)

• Rising labor costs

– But they pay above minimum wage (average hourly wage is $12.24 - $13.20 per hour for crew members)

Conclusion

• I would want to work for Trader Joe’s because...– Average hourly wage is $12.24 - $13.20 per hour for

crew members– Full-time employees make at least the median

household income for their communities and part-time employees earn health-care benefits

– Turnover among full-time crew is only 4% annually

• I would invest in Trader Joe’s, but you cannot because they’re a private company