While it’s doubtful most retailers would want to copy Trader Joe’s outright, they can learn some important lessons on how to make their private label lines as appealing to consumers. What lessons does Trader Joe’s success offer those looking to develop their own private label programs?

Private label sales grew faster in specialty food stores such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods than at supermarkets between 2005 and 2009, according to the Private Label Food and Beverage in the U.S. report by Packaged Facts. How effective are traditional supermarkets at private label brand building?

Writing for The Faster Times, the online investigative website, Amy Westervelt said private label food items have a “transparency” problem. As part of an ongoing “Generic Foods Investigation,” she has launched a probe to find out who produces many of Trader Joe’s popular items. Should retailers provide the names of manufacturers that produce their private label products?

Warren Thayer recently asked Phil Lempert, editor of SupermarketGuru.com, for some data on Trader Joe’s shoppers, about what percent of shopping they do there, how often they visit…. What can Trader Joe’s do to increase the overall grocery spend from its loyal customers?

Gristedes recently revamped its 14th St. location in Manhattan with a new format, sign and name – Trader John’s. Trader Joe’s, whose wildly-popular first store in New York City is located three blocks away, sued the New York City supermarket chain for outright copying its formula. What do you think Gristedes was thinking with Trader John’s?

Trader Joe’s success rests on the strength of its private label products. It’s the products that bear the Trader Joe’s brand that are responsible for the cult following the retailer enjoys. Why do you think Trader Joe’s has been so successful with its private label assortments?

On the morning of Sept. 26, about 200 Brooklynites stood in the rain to be the first ones to enter the latest Trader’s Joe opening in Cobble Hill, its first Brooklyn store. Why is Trader Joe’s doing so well in New York City? How does it create so much buzz wherever it goes?

You know what they say about real life being stranger than fiction. Traveling around to retail stores over the last several months has provided George Anderson with a number of those “you’ve got to be kidding me” moments. Do you have retail moments (negative or positive) that left you shaking your head?

Among the things that really burn customers up are walking into a store to buy something only to find it is out-of-stock. The vast majority of customers can understand this happening once or perhaps even twice but at some point, if the situation persists, they are going to take their business to another retailer. That brings us to our gripe of the day… Where do out-of-stocks, alternatively having stock on shelves, fit within the customer’s perception of the level of service offered by a store?

In excerpts from his book, Trader Joe’s Adventure, run in Workforce Management, Len Lewis spells out the philosophy and tactics behind how Trader Joe’s achieves high levels of employee loyalty and low levels of employee turnover. Can a loyalty program, or any other customer-facing program, succeed if your employees aren’t happy to be there?

The business has been abuzz over Trader Joe’s for some time, but it is only by chance that Bill Bittner had the opportunity to visit one as he was driving through Westwood, NJ the other day. He says, “First, let me take this opportunity to publicly apologize to the driver behind me when I slammed on the brakes.” In today’s time pressed environment why are consumers willing to make an extra shopping trip to a store such as Trader Joe’s?

Retailers seeking the Holy Grail of differentiation need look no further than their store brand offerings, according to private label industry executives. Are retailers using their store brands to create a point of difference between their business and competitors in the minds of consumers? For retailers who sell both national and store brands, what is the key to finding the right balance between the two?

Trader Joe’s is being praised by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) for its decision to stop buying bags from Weyerhaeuser, a company the environmental groups calls “the number one destroyer of old growth forests in North America.” However, the retailer doesn’t appear ready to return the compliment. How can a retailer publicly disagree or take issue with the approach of a group that appears to represent a core constituency of the company without alienating those customers? Are you aware of similar situations where a similar type of conflict occurred?

It’s amazing, in a day and age when businesses spend so much time talking about customer service, how little of it customers feel they actually get. Do you agree that the general level of customer service is declining? What is behind this and what will it take to remedy the situation?

Trader Joe’s plans to add at least five new stores to the 12 it currently operates in the Chicagoland market by the end of next year. What impact will a larger Trader Joe’s presence have on the Chicagoland grocery market?

A new survey from CareerBuilder.com, Trends in Retail, says forty-six percent of retail workers plan on looking for a new job this year. The common complaints of low pay, unsatisfying work environment and lack of a direct career path were given for the high numbers of workers in search of greener pastures. Why do retailers, knowing the turnover reality, not focus more on training and career path counseling with employees?

Between 1997 and 2002, sales of private label items across all channels grew 38 percent compared to 19 percent for brands. At the same time, private label entered into 88 new product categories bringing its total presence to 75 percent of those tracked by ACNielsen. How do you explain the growth in private label? What is the future of store brands?

Trader Joe’s concentrates on offering unique specialty and natural food items, mostly under its own store labels, at prices at or below mainstream supermarkets.Chief executive officer and chairman, Dan Bane described what makes his company different to the New York Times. “It’s a company that is kind of a loose-tight company. We’re very controlling and tight about the cost structure and processes; we’re very loose about how we want the stores to run.” Why aren’t there more Trader Joe-like companies in food retailing?

Jim Hertel of Willard Bishop Consulting writes in the July 2003 Competitive Edge, “the old paradigm of stock-up, routine, fill-in shopping trips made to supermarkets doesn’t really apply anymore.” Instead, consumers load up on a short list of products they prefer to buy at one store and then go to a different store to purchase another set of items. Why do supermarkets (seemingly) have such a difficult time differentiating themselves from each other and competitors in other formats?

A survey of more than 300 drinkers of California Super Value Wine (Price points of $3 or less) found most are regular wine drinkers who are trading down from higher priced bottles. The research established that super value wines are attracting only a small number of new consumers to the wine category. Does the growing popularity of super value wines represent a fundamental shift in wine purchasing behavior?

Charles Shaw wine, sold exclusively in Trader Joe’s, is the fastest growing brand in the history of the industry. Trader Joe’s sold over two million cases of Charles Shaw (nicknamed Two Buck Chuck) in its first nine months. Are other retailers likely to achieve the type of success enjoyed by Trader Joe’s/Charles Shaw with their own proprietary label wines?

The blizzard of 2003 has passed, but the cleanup and the cost accounting continues. Fortunately, according to a Reuters’ report, “The massive storms that paralyzed most of the U.S. Northeast may only have a temporary impact on local governments and retailers.” How can retailers maximize the opportunities associated with weather events such as the blizzard that hit the East this weekend?

Industry statistics show duck consumption increased 11.5 percent between 1995 and 1998. Animal activists, however, have protested the handling of ducks farmed for their meat and foie gras and last year, Trader Joe’s announced that it was discontinuing the sale of duck meat. Should other grocery stores and restaurants follow Trader Joe’s example?

A growing number of people are willing to go great lengths to find “pure, high-quality, locally grown food”, says The Boston Globe. Are traditional grocers and large-scale manufacturers moving quickly enough to benefit from the consumer desire for locally grown and organic foods?

One of the hottest selling and highly regarded wines is also one of the least expensive. Consumers are flocking to Trader Joe’s stores in California and elsewhere to stock up on Charles Shaw wines that retail for under $3 a bottle. How is the grape glut affecting the consumer wine market?

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that by the end of 2003, Trader Joe’s will become the sole tenant of a new building being constructed at the Suburban Square Mall in Ardmore, Pa. How will Trader Joe’s do in a mall setting?

As seen at this week’s Private Label Trade Show in Chicago, private label wines are emerging as one of the next growth categories for the segment. Wal-Mart, Kroger and Albertson’s all offer exclusive brands for the most popular wine varieties, and store brands are already a major factor in wine sales throughout Europe. Can private label succeed in a category like wine?