Understanding Trader Joe’s May 2006 Coriolis Research Ltd. is a strategic market research firm founded in 1997 and based in Auckland, New Zealand. Coriolis primarily works with clients in the food and fast moving consumer goods supply chain, from primary producers to retailers. In addition to working with clients, Coriolis regularly produces reports on current industry topics. Recent reports have included an analysis of Retail Globalization: Who’s Winning” and “Understanding Costco.” The coriolis force, named for French physicist Gaspard Coriolis (1792-1843), may be seen on a large scale in the movement of winds and ocean currents on the rotating earth. It dominates weather patterns, producing the counterclockwise flow observed around low-pressure zones in the Northern Hemisphere and the clockwise flow around such zones in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the result of a centripetal force on a mass moving with a velocity radially outward in a rotating plane. In market research it means understanding the big picture before you get into the details. PO BOX 10 202, Mt. Eden, Auckland 1030, New Zealand Tel: +64 9 623 1848; Fax: +64 9 353 1515; email: [email protected] www.coriolisresearch.com Understanding Trader Joe’s PROJECT SCOPE & LIMITATIONS The objective of this document is to give the reader, whether retailer or manufacturer, a deep understanding of Trader Joe’s – This overview of Trader Joe’s has a number of key objectives: – Clearly explain the origin and development of this unique concept – Develop an understanding of historic growth and, by implication, future growth potential of the chain – Explore all facets of this complex store concept from multiple points-of-view – The key limitation of this report is the extremely limited amount of publicly available information on Trader Joe’s – Trader Joe’s is a private company owned outright by reclusive German Billionaire Theo Albrecht, who along with his brother Karl, founded and still owns the global Aldi supermarket group – Theo bought Trader Joe’s in 1979 from Founder Joe Coulombe. However, Coulombe stayed on under contract for ten years to manage the business. – As a result, there are no publicly available financial disclosures of any form – We believe this report captures 99% of the information available in the public domain about this fascinating company – We would like to thank Trader Joe’s founder, Joe Coulombe, for giving selflessly of his time in an interview that was invaluable to the completion of this project – We are passionate about retailing and retail store formats. This report is part of a series of reports we are developing on stores and store formats that interest us. We welcome your corrections, comments and feedback, as well as suggestions for future topics. Trader Joe's 3 Understanding Trader Joe’s “I think we should be traders on the culinary seas.” Joe Coulombe, Founder, Trader Joe’s, 1967 Trader Joe's 4 Understanding Trader Joe’s DOCUMENT OVERVIEW This report is divided into three sections: 1. history and development, 2. a concept summary and 3. the business model History & Concept Business Development Summary Model Trader Joe's 5 Understanding Trader Joe’s DOCUMENT OVERVIEW This first section looks at the history and development of Trader Joe’s History & Development Trader Joe's 6 Understanding Trader Joe’s STORE NUMBER GROWTH Trader Joe’s has shown rapid growth in store numbers since the retirement of founder Joe Coulombe, adding 203 stores in 16 years Number of stores (units; actual; 1967-2005) 230 217 205 CAGR (88-04) 21% 174 +203 stores 155 140 132 116 100 86 74 67 62 49 42 37 27 27 29 22 24 25 18 18 18 19 20 21 1 1967 1973 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Joe Coulombe John Shields Dan Bane Source: various published articles and interviews; various estimates; Coriolis analysis and estimates Trader Joe's 7 Understanding Trader Joe’s SALES GROWTH Trader Joe’s has shown strong sales growth since 1988, growing at a compound rate of 21% per year over the period Group sales (US$; millions; 1988-2004) CAGR (88-04) $3,000 21% $2,700 $2,400 $1,900 $1,670 $1,500 $1,200 $1,000 $774 $710 $604 $500 $360 $260 $200 $145 $159 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Source: various published articles and interviews; various estimates; Coriolis analysis and estimates Trader Joe's 8 Understanding Trader Joe’s SALES/STORE/WEEK GROWTH Trader Joe’s has grown sales per store per week at a compound rate of 6% per year since 1988 Average sales per store per week CAGR (US$; actual; 1988-2004) (88-04) $265,252 $265,863 6% $253,283 $235,732 $229,396 $218,531 $198,939 $192,308 $184,511 $173,364 $174,000 $155,087 $141,287 $119,048 $103,276 $105,438$103,950 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Source: various published articles and interviews; various estimates; Coriolis analysis and estimates Trader Joe's 9 Understanding Trader Joe’s TIMELINE The history of Trader Joe’s spans over fifty years 1952 Joseph H. Coulombe graduates from Stanford with a BA in Economics 1954 Coulombe graduates from Stanford MBA and is hired by Owl Rexall Drug Co. 1957 Coulombe starts first Pronto Market for Rexall Drugs Late 50’s Coulombe leaves Rexall and works for Hughes 1966 Coulombe buys six Pronto Markets from Rexall 1966 Coulombe vacations in St. Barts, French West Indies – Vision of Trader Joe’s realised 1967 First Trader Joe’s opens in Pasadena; Coulombe begins to convert Pronto units to Trader Joe’s 1967 First “Insider’s Report” on imported wine started as a photocopied handout 1978 “Fair Trade” regulations lifted from wine 1979 Coulombe sells chain to Theo Albrecht and family, owners of Aldi Nord; Joe agrees to remain as CEO for 10 years 1979 Trader Joe’s launches first Trader Joe’s branded products 1983 Last Pronto Market closes 1987 Expands to San Diego 1988 Coulombe retires as CEO remains as Chairman; John Shields takes over as CEO 1989 Coulombe finishes 10 year contract to manage chain 1989 Expands to Northern California 1992 Expands into Arizona 1996 Trader Joe’s East created; expands to East Coast; opens first store in Boston 2000 Expands into Chicago market 2002 John Shields retires; replaced by Dan Bane 2002 Launches Charles Shaw “Two Buck Chuck” wine Trader Joe's 10 Understanding Trader Joe’s EVOLVING MODELS The Trader Joe’s concept has evolved over its lifetime from a conventional convenience store into an upmarket Aldi-type offer Trader Joe’s Trader Joe’s Trader Joe’s Pronto Market1 (version 1) (version 2) (version 3) Time Period 1957-1966 1967-1970 1971-1977 1977-2000 Concept Conventional Gourmet Gourmet, health Discount liquor, Summary convenience store convenience store & liquor store gourmet and health stores # of stores 1-18 Store Size 2,400-2,700 sqft 4,000-10,000sqft 4,000-10,000sqft 5,000-12,000 sqft # of sku 5,000 5,000 6,000 1,100 (1980’s) 2,200-3,300 (current) New Categories Bread, beverages, Gourmet Health foods Discount wines, Added to Mix snacks and liquor groceries, party private label supplies Ownership Joe Coulombe Joe Coulombe Joe Coulombe Theo Albrecht (Aldi Nord) Chief Executive Joe Coulombe Joe Coulombe Joe Coulombe Joe Coulombe, John Shields, Dan Bain 1. Some Pronto Market stores continued to operate following the founding of Trader Joe’s; Source: various published articles and interviews; Coriolis analysis and estimates Trader Joe's 11 Understanding Trader Joe’s THE ARRIVAL OF 7-ELEVEN Joe Coulombe acquired six Pronto Markets, a chain he had helped to found, just as 7-Eleven was arriving in California – “The genesis of Trader Joe's began with Pronto Markets, which had a considerable presence in Orange County in the 1960s. But when parent company Rexall Drug Co. decided to sell off its retail ventures in 1966, Pronto president Coulombe had to decide whether to fight Southland Corp.'s burgeoning 7-Eleven empire for the corner foodstand market or to find a new niche in retailing.” Orange County Business Journal, Aug 1990 – “When I saw 7-11 stores coming into California in 1967, I started converting the Pronto to Trader Joe's, because I didn't want to compete with them.” Joe Coulombe, Founder, Trader Joe's, Nov 1986 – “The system was born of necessity. Founder Joe Coulombe launched a small convenience-store chain in Southern California in 1958 called Pronto Markets. Then came the 1960s and the arrival of the powerful 7-Eleven chain. Coulombe realized that he had to change or get run over.” Workforce Management, Sep 2004 – “Something of an enigma, the California-based chain has continually adapted itself to the needs and tastes of its consumer base. Trader Joe's was born as a handful of convenience stores, originally known as "Pronto Markets." When 7-Eleven moved in, Coulombe could see that he had to offer something special.” Seattle Times, Jun 1996 – “When Coulombe first thought of his idea, he was owner of Pronto convenience -- store franchises in California. Pronto was facing stiff competition from 7-Eleven, which had deeper pockets and could afford better locations. Unfortunately for Coulombe, the adage that 90% of a convenience store's success depends on location was proving true.” Investor's Business Daily, Oct 2004 Trader Joe's 12 Understanding Trader Joe’s THE TROPICAL VISION Joe had the vision for Trader Joe’s while sitting on a beach in the French West Indies – “Joe Coulombe lay in a hammock on St.