The Trader Joe's grocery chain, which has long cultivated a funky neighborhood vibe, is going national and opening bigger stores. Will communities still love a big box TJs?
Reporter Shan Li says the company has been on an "expansion binge", opening 40 stores a year for the last 3 years. Li talks with Burt Flickinger, managing director of retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group in New York, about the company's strategy:
"Flickinger, who has followed the chain for decades, said the company is seeking to expand the size of its shops by building new stores and also renting bigger retail spaces in new markets. A 13,000-square-foot Trader Joe's opened in Hollywood last year. Some stores, such as a location in Silver Lake and another in Eagle Rock, have already expanded.
The average Trader Joe's store probably will increase from between 10,000 square feet and 15,000 square feet now to 15,000 square feet and bigger, Flickinger predicts."
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