Some Things One Should Know About "Trader Joes"

[Cats Against Frist]

Trader Joes is a place that I love, and short of your local co-op, it's one of the best places to buy good food, cheaply. Trader Joes is also known for paying its people pretty well and offering health benefits and even though it has refused to completely get rid of genetically modified food, they do offer an organic line and steer clear of selling some controversial items because of animal rights.

However, though Trader Joes appears, on the outside, to be an independent, quaint, up-scale bohemian store -- it's actually owned by the Aldi corporation -- that's right -- Aldi, as in the grocery store in the strip mall with the Rent-a-Center, the dollar store, and the Tobacco Outlet.

ALDI corp. is a German behemoth that is the "Wal-Mart" of Europe, and has been criticized for its labor practices and also, like Wal-Mart, criticized for shutting down local stores and small family shops.

HOWEVER, in the U.S., Aldi does something magical -- which is that it rids its stores of national branding -- of which I am in favor -- and sells food that it much closer to its use value, and doesn't pass on all the cost frills to the consumer. The food is largely of good quality, and bought at a discount rate from the same people that make the national brands, but since they don't advertise, they don't pass that cost onto the consumer. This enables poor people to buy quality food (if they shop right -- Aldi sells a lot of crap -- but they have started a gourmet line), and doesn't contribute to the idea of the "national brand name," which I think is a ridiculous construct designed to let food be priced higher. Aldi does NOT offer an organic line, however, but it appears that, at least, they sell fruits and vegetables that other local stores take off of their shelves because they're not "perfect," which cuts down on waste.

When I found out that TJ's was owned by Aldi -- it totally made a lot of sense -- same concept -- in-store brands, obscenely cheap food. But there is the question -- where something is cheap, is someone getting screwed somewhere? Is it cheaper because bad methods are being used to produce the food?

Inquiring minds want to know -- and anyone wanting to do more research on this, can post it in this thread.

I guess my question is: Should I shop at Trader Joe's? Does the "social benefit" outweigh the "social cost" of supporting the ALDI corporation? Or does Trader Joe's just make me feel good, because I can buy a half pound of feta for like $1.90? Does anyone have any opinions? Anyone with insight to help me solve my moral dilemma?

Right now, I'm in grad school and I live in an area where Trader Joe's is about three hours away, instead of three locations about 15 minutes from me, like in Seattle. There is an Aldi here -- and they are prevalent in the Midwest -- and I have been shopping there, especially since they started the gourmet line with artichoke hearts and portabello mushrooms, gourmet pizzas, olive oil, etc. I try to buy as much as I can at the Co-op, but when I'm poorer or can't find something there, I do go to Aldi. I want to know if people think it's a good thing, or not.

About ALDI & Trader Joe's:

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1091106,00.html

http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/54/54910.html

http://www.aldi.de/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. hmm been trying to find info on them

will have to check the truly local store now

[Zorra]

2. Thanks. I am in the process of assembling information garnered from

the threads in this forum in order to make a concise list of goods and services which can be confidently used by Dem/Progressives interested in supporting a democratically/environmentally responsible economy. The purpose of this list, (which will include references for verification) is to provide a quick and easy guide for busy folks that do not have time to research but want to live responsibly.

I have been considering Trader Joe's for this list, and your post will save me some time; as a subsidiary of Aldi, it appears that Trader Joe's will not make it onto this list. Obviously, Aldi has recognized a certain type of market, and is essentially attempting to corporately monopolize this market - smart move from a business standpoint, but IMO, it is nothing but a corporate "co-opting" of what it seems to me that many of us here are trying to accomplish through responsible "consuming" (yuk,I despise that word) and boycotting.

Sort of like a huge corporation buying out all the genuine co-ops, or causing genuine co-ops to fold or just eke by through competitive "Wal-Martization" pricing. They have the big bucks to offer the type of goods that co-ops offer and can do it very efficiently, can offer them at a lower price, and can, through this practice, be a big part in driving co-ops out of business.

This is the insidious trans-national corporate practice that has destroyed Mom and Pop small businesses across America and led to the corporate "strip-mallification" of our country.

So, personally, Trader Joe's is no longer an option for me as a place to shop.

Co-ops, though expensive, still appear to me to be the best bet for engaging in responsible purchasing of many products. It is possible that if enough folks begin patronizing co-ops more frequently, the increase in demand will eventually cause an increase in supplies (and suppliers), and result in the establishment of more co-ops and a lowering of prices as supplies increase and more folks see the possibility of actually earning a living through producing politically/environmentally friendly products and services.

[LeftyMom]

3. I think Trader Joe's can coexist with local coops

Is there a problem besides thier ownership? I'm not terribly familiar with Aldi as we don't have thier flagship store here on the west coast, only Trader Joes.

I don't think Trader Joe's is a big threat in terms of monopolization of upscale and natural foods. Thier product line skews toward prepared and procesesed foods and alcohol to such a degree that it would prove difficult to buy all of one's groceries there. My town got a Whole Foods not long ago and there's another gong up out in the 'burbs. We've had Trader Joes for over a decade, they just opened a new location recently. One might expect that the small local health food stores (one only a few blocks from TJ's and a chain grocery with a large natural and organic selection as well) and the food coop would be strained by all the competition. Surprisingly, they appear to be thriving, and the coop is expanding to a second location and might add a third (the new stores are way out in the burbs, but that's different issue.)

Trader Joe's differs greatly from the WalMart paradigm in that thier product range is a great deal smaller. The local food coop has a great deal more selection in terms of bulk items, dairy, health and beauty, even packaged foods and comparable selection (in terms of size, the coop has a great deal more veg stuff) in frozen foods and meat (TJ's has limited organics.) Trader Joe's has great deals but doesn't really offer the one-stop-shopping experience of a WalMart, so they don't pose half the threat to local businesses and may increase the size and accesibility of the natural and upscale grocery markets.

I personally think that Trader Joe's does a lot more good than harm. I hear a lot of people say that they can't afford to eat healthier or to buy organics so I think that stores that make decent food more accesible are definitely a positive influence on a society that has such problems with food.

[Cats Against Frist]

13. Trader Joe's, like Aldi DOES offer limited product selection

Which helps -- you're right -- but I could still do most of my straight grocery shopping at Trader Joe's.

[LWolf]

21. I do all my food shopping at TJs.

Since they put one in a year ago, I haven't bought food anywhere else. (Ok, two trips to a whole foods store with astronomical prices in the next town, but no other grocery chains). I can buy all organic, and get everything I need as far as food goes.

[K8-EEE]

4. I Don't See It!

If they have been bought out by a big corporation -- they still do business the same way from what I see. The manager of my TJs is a regular at the Neighborhood for Peace & Justice & Kerry meet-ups!

Look at the wage & benefits package for first year employees; I don't have any problems with how they do business.

http://www.traderjoes.com/recruit/benefits.asp

They carry a lot of products that are family owned manufacturers, etc...I'm from L.A. so my mom went to this store when I was very little and they seem to operate the same as they always did, carry fewer products and have less waste than the supers.

I'm a TJs afficionado for sure. They would have to be contributing to GWB on a big scale for me to consider giving them up! That's just me, I mean, we all have to put everything through our own filter.

[K8-EEE]

6. I Should Add, Thank You For The Info!

It was interesting, thanks!

[Cats Against Frist]

14. Oh, I agree with you that they run the store fairly responsibly

And I, personally, love it -- and I even like having the option of Aldi. I'm just concerned about where the profit is going.

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. Did you add this link to the PP?

I just read all this stuff. Little disappointed, but they can't all be perfect.

I guess it's better than Albertson's, but not as good as the Farmer's MArket, huh?

FSC

[Cats Against Frist]

15. Yeah, I'm not saying that it's a cut-and-dry situation

I just wanted others' opinions on the matter, so I could make the best choice. :) I love the darn place, though. I actually love it more than my local co-op, and when I was in Seattle, I shopped at TJ's more than PCC -- but still not as much as (cue angel music) ****"THE CENTRAL MARKET"**** which is one of the best grocery stores on the planet. It's a co-op, gourmet cheese shop, seafood and fruit clearinghouse and ghetto grocery and asian specialty store ALL ROLLED INTO ONE. You can buy FIDDLEHEADS there!

[Mandate My Ass]

7. Wow. thanks. Much food for thought (pun intended)

I've always wondered about TJ's. I love the store but I wondered if it was as bohemian as it presented itself to be. Without having done the necessary research, one thing I must say is that the fact that they treat their employees so well (and I'm sure this is true because I make a point to chat with them every time I visit) is at least a step in the right direction. I think they'd lose a lot of their customer base if this wasn't true.

The corporate mindset is to go with what brings in the bucks and as long as TJs is a money making enterprise that it so obviously seems to be, I'd think they'd follow this social benefit/environ friendly/organic/anti-branding/anti frills/ values into their other markets.

I hope they are what they present themselves to be for many reasons, one being that I love to be able to buy great quality extra-virgin olive oil for < $5/bottle.

[Philostopher]

8. Actually, for what it's worth ...

the best I can determine, TJ's isn't directly owned by Aldi, but by one of the Aldi chain's founding brothers, Theo Albrecht. If you to go Wikipedia and run 'Trader Joe's' it gives this information. Apparently, Joe Coulombe, who founded Trader Joe's in California in the late '60s, sold the chain to Aldi in 1979, though he continued to be the American operations manager, and then he retired in 1988 -- this isn't a recent development, and Trader Joe's isn't directly held by the Aldi chain.

Around here, of course, their only competition is (Cincinnati-based Bush donating) Kroger and (thus far mysterious) Meijer, not to mention a WalMart SuperStore within five miles. Given a choice between those alternatives, we go to Trader Joe's because at least we know they treat their employees well.

Wish I had a better choice, but there aren't local groceries here, and there are only farmer's markets during the late growing season. It's a compromise, like anything else. We're still waiting for Costco to come -- reputedly, they've bought property somewhere in the area, and we should have that option within the next couple of years. Until then, I'm going to starve Kroger to feed Joe as much as possible.

[Cats Against Frist]

16. You're right, it's not held by the Aldi chain

and on closer inspection, it appears that it isn't even owned by the same brother that operates the USA chain of Aldi (remember -- the brother's split the original Aldi corporation), but is held by the Theo Albrecht, as you said, that runs his Aldis in a number of other countries.

Even though it's an independent subsidiary, the money still goes to the same owner -- but I do feel that TJ's pays their employees well and does other good things and THAT'S PRECISELY why it's a "moral dilemma" for me.

[Kellanved]

9. Aldi is quite ambivalent

I can only speak of the European Aldi, which is AFAIK virtually identical to the US one.

While being extremely anti-Union, Aldi pays wages far over the average. So most people are more than willing to take a job there, although other aldi-esque stores (Lidl) are considered to offer better career chances.

Also, to my knowledge, TJ is an independent subsidiary.

[K8-EEE]

10. TJ's Is Not Union, But....

Their employees get a better than Union deal. It was awful what happened here in CA with the grocery strike...I lost a friend over that. He casually mentioned that he "loved the strike" because "there was never any lines at the store. Of course I told him he was a complete asshole. Or words to that effect. I don't know anybody else personally that crossed the picket line -- L.A. is a Union town! He then went on to say how all checkers do is (making the scanning movement & 'beep' sound)

I had no idea he was SUCH an ASSHOLE! Sho nuff he turns out to be one of the few people I know who voted for GWB!

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Oh we came back from Hawaii at the time to San diego

and my expereince was very few people crossed the line. At the time I had no choice, I was on crutches and going to any co-op with crutches was not an option... especially when crowded...

But I had a hard time... even though I knew I had no choice... because the risk of furhter injury in a crowded place was too high... and quite honestly I avoided surgery by "this much."

Once I could walk on a cane though I did go to TJ... and left the local ralphs behind

[K8-EEE]

12. Yeah...

Oh, do you live in SD now?

I think the grocery stores made a huge mistake starving them out like that, if for no other reason, people realized they had a lot of options, and a lot of them have never returned.

I found that by shopping at Costco & Trader Joes in bulk and ma & pa stores for every day stuff (lettuce, milk) I was actually SAVING money, even though I had been one of those who used Club Cards and coupons etc....it's all as scam, you get a great price on something and 10 other things go up 5 cents!

[cliss]

17. I think Trader Joe's is much more of a threat

than we realize. Here in Portland, we have 3 Trader Joe's. It's a wonderful store. I love the atmosphere. Employees are treated well, they're happy. The selection is nice. The food is great. Every time I go into a TJ's store, it's packed.

One of the stores has a big stream of people who drive up from Salem because they don't have the store. Now as the Xmas holiday approaches, the stores are jammed.

I believe Safeway and Fred Meyer (Kroger) are lookin at TJ's with narrow eyes. They're fuming because TJ's has a much bigger profit margin. They're not open long hours. They treat their employees better = less turnover. Also, they only offer about 4,500 products where the average grocery store has 45,000 = lots more work.

TJ's is a specialized line of food which tends toward vegetarian families (even though they do offer meat, but it's a limited selection). They also have their own brand which is highly popular; Trader Ming, Trader Giuseppe etc.

They have been outrageously profitable; I believe last year they made $4 billion in profits (correct me here); they're a privately held company so they don't have to disclose this. So their profit margin would be much higher than ordinary grocery stores.

I suspect our local grocery stores HATE TJ's.

[Glenda]

18. Around here, we have 1 Whole Foods, 1 new TJ's

and another Whole Foods going to open up sometime in the future. I'm in heaven!!

TJs is nice because some of the stuff is 1/2 of what Whole Foods is. But I think these kind of stores are gaining in popularity.

[K8-EEE]

19. I'm Making TJ Gift Baskets For My Out Of State Relatives...

Kind of a CA theme...putting in that citrus body wash that I LOVE it's only $4, and some orange-scented candles, Coppola chardonnay, some of those chili-lime cashews and burning a CD of surfer Xmas tunes. Oh and a big hunk of that broken Ghiradelli's chocolate! They are way out of TJ territory (Buffalo NY) so these will be nice surprises for them I think...you can get a lot for $25 at TJs!

[Glenda]

20. Oh this is a great idea!!

Last year I made gift packages with a golf theme for my family. They are all health nuts too, so I might be able to make a basket of that this year. Maybe throw in "Don't Blame Me - I Voted for Kerry" items too :)

[Philostopher]

22. Hey, I'd be happy to shop a local grocery ...

but here in our small Midwestern city, Kroger is the closest thing we have to one that wouldn't be so far away it would be ridiculous (I grew up near Cincinnati, back when Kroger really was a local chain).

We have lots of selection -- Kroger, WalMart, Meijer, Cub Foods, Aldi. All national or multi-national chains. Given a choice between those places and Trader Joe's, and knowing there's no 'local grocery' -- not even an IGA -- within five miles, I'll take TJ's.