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Trader Joe’s founder Joe Coulombe dies at 89

CEO Dan Bane calls Coulombe ‘the perfect person at the right time for Trader Joe’s’

Russell Redman

March 2, 2020

3 Min Read
Trader Joe's store in Portland, Maine
Joe Coulombe opened the first Trader Joe's store in Pasadena, Calif., in 1967. Today, the chain has more than 500 stores nationwide.Trader Joe's

Joe Coulombe, the founder of groundbreaking specialty grocery chain Trader Joe’s, passed away at age 89.

Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe’s announced over the weekend that Coulombe died on Friday, Feb. 28, in Pasadena, Calif. — the city where the first Trader Joe’s Market opened more than 50 years ago. The chain now has more than 500 stores in 42 states and the District of Columbia and annual sales of over $14 billion.

"Joe was the perfect person at the right time for Trader Joe’s. He was a brilliant thinker with a mesmerizing personality that simply galvanized all with whom he worked,” Trader Joe’s CEO Dan Bane said in a statement. “He was not only our founder; he was our first spokesperson. He starred in captivating radio ads for years, always signing off with his unique, ‘Thanks for listening.’ Joe developed a cadre of leaders that carried on his vision and helped shape Trader Joe’s in the early years.”

Coulombe opened the first Trader Joe’s in Pasadena in 1967, evolving the 7,500-square-foot store from a Pronto Market, a convenience chain he started in 1955. Then in 1972, he launched the retailer’s first private-label grocery product — granola — in what would become a company hallmark.

Today, Trader Joe’s is known for its small, easy-to-shop stores with a curated selection of high-quality, better-for-you, private-brand food, beverage and grocery items and a robust assortment of fresh produce, including a wide selection of organic fare plus cut and meal-ready vegetables and fruit. The chain also offers its own beer and wine and a smart selection of nonfood items. Its stores, too, are renowned for their tropical theme, colorful displays, sampling stations, and casual work environment and culture.

Related:Ex-Trader Joe’s President Doug Rauch named to Sprouts Farmers Market board

“Joe was an extraordinarily smart and accomplished entrepreneur who built a company that introduced something welcomingly different in the grocery retail space,” Trader Joe’s stated in announcing his passing. “Notably thrifty and insightful, Joe went against conventional industry norms at the time, moving away from national brands and introducing Trader Joe’s private label in 1972.”

German grocer Aldi Nord acquired Trader Joe’s in 1979. Coulombe stepped down in 1988 and was succeeded as CEO by John Shields, who expanded the chain beyond California and grew its U.S. presence. Bane took the reins as chairman and CEO in 2001 and has since grown Trader Joe’s into a full national retailer.

“Joe's curiosity, philanthropic generosity and irreverent sense of humor were woven into the fabric of the culture that defines Trader Joe's stores,” the company said. “Joe retired in 1988, but that culture carried on and is evident in Trader Joe's stores today.”

Related:Trader Joe’s to end grocery deliveries in New York City

Coulombe was named to the Supermarket News Hall of Fame in 2010. In an interview with SN, he discussed how Trader Joe’s successfully carved out a unique niche without having to cater to the bigger mass market.

“Everyone from underpaid musicians to out-of-work PhDs could come to Trader Joe's and find elements of the lifestyle they aspired to for not too much money,” Coulombe, then 80, told SN. “They wouldn't find branded items, but the merchandise was always of the highest quality and priced within the reality of a schoolteacher’s salary that offered glimpses into a much more affluent lifestyle.”

At the time, Coulombe also acknowledged that Trader Joe’s has stayed true to its roots as the retailer has evolved. “My successors at Trader Joe's have taken a 30-store chain nationwide with remarkable adherence to the basic concepts we started out with,” he said.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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