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When it comes to grocery chains, Trader Joe's isn't your average Joe. With some 375 stores in 30-plus states, the company offers upscale grocery fare such as health foods, organic produce, and nutritional supplements. To keep costs down, its stores have no service departments and average about 12,000-15,000 sq. ft. The company's specialty is its line of more than 2,000 private-label products (70% of sales), including beverages (its signature Charles Shaw brand wine sells for $2 a bottle), soup, snacks, and frozen items. Started by Joe Coulombe as a Los Angeles convenience store chain in 1958, Trader Joe's is owned by German billionaire Karl Albrecht, who founded the ALDI food chain with his late brother Theo.
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