Customer Reviews

The Trader Joe's Adventure: Turning a Unique Approach to Business into a Retail and Cultural Phenomenon

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This will be a book referred to in all schools....unfortunately, not in the business schools, but in journalism schools; and worse, as an example of how not to use unwanted "flowery" language and poor editing (same sentences are used sometimes on 3 or 4 different occasions). Despite the great story "idea" (it remains an idea through out the book), the giddy writing style takes away any quality of the book. Part of the reason for disappointment is the author's own fault - setting high expectations - his introduction lists 9 questions which would interest any business buff. However, these questions are dealt with at a very superficial manner and never with a crticial perspective. It is almost as if the author decided to be a cheer-leader first and then rationalize it.

On the plus side, the book is short and is very light reading material. The summary history of Aldi is a welcome aspect of this book and informative. One does learn some important characteristics of the store, but mostly through comparisons with supermarket stores. I love the store, not this story.

It is ironic that an organization so careful about image and customer service should be the subject of so poorly written and edited a book.

The author, a grocery industry "expert" refers to "Jewel T" rather than "Jewel Tea" stores. He speaks of a firm's general "council" rather than "counsel." At best, it is a pitiful first draft.

And as someone else mentioned, there are quite a few sentences that are repeated several times in the text.

Don't buy it. I felt ripped off after finishing it -- and I just invested time, having taken it out of the library.

If you must, read the cover blurbs and call it a day.

This book is great if you are new to the grocery retail industry and you want to learn about differentiation. However, the author could have condensed this book to 50 pages instead of 200. Lewis is like a broken record bringing up the same points in every chapter, which makes it exhausting to read. The book is very general when it comes to specific strategies since the author is just like you or me looking from the outside in.

I wanted this book to be good, but it isn't. The writing is repetitive and too general. The book feels fluffy and bloated as a result.

Much time is spent on the parent company Aldi, which starts to feel like it could be an interesting retail case to examine on its own, but considering that the German giant bought Trader Joe's long after TJ's founder had set the course and established the model and brand, Aldi just doesn't seem to be that important to understanding Trader Joe's.

I was hoping for real insight, but instead I got overview material. It felt like a survey - a primer for someone who hasn't shopped Trader Joe's.

This book should have been a tightly written magazine article instead. Too bad.

Being a professional in the food industry and regular Trader Joe's shopper, I had looked forward to reading this book. And, it started off well with good insight and easy reading...but soon after the first chapter, it became redundant. The book reminds me of having to add fluff to a paper in order to achieve the minimum page length that my high school teacher asked for. The same point is made over and over and over. Trader Joe's remains an enigma to me after reading this book...or should I say...half of the book...because I couldn't finish it.

I love to visit retailers, especially the ones with innovative concepts, or the ones undergoing change. Trader Joe's is one of the innovators in the industry, and I was delighted to see a book written about their philosophy and strategy.

Now the unfortunate thing about this book is that this book could have been summarized on 1 or 2 pages. Unless you have Alzheimer's, it's really not worth continuing to read after page 20, as the book will repeat itself time after time.

The book was not very revealing, and easily one to miss without feeling you missed something.

On page 22 authors says, "Aldi Sud owns Trader Joe's."
In fact Aldi Nord owns Trader Joe's. Aldi Sud owns the Aldi grocery stores in the USA and although they share the name, each organization is serperately managed and operated.
Easily confirmable factual errors of this magnitude, combined with the repetitive nature of the book would cause me not to reccomend it's purchase.
If you want some insight into the company behind Trader Joe's, read BARE ESSENTIALS by BRANDES instead.

I really wanted to find out more about Trader Joe's. This book gives only the surface details. Most of the book read like a lazy magazine article, with no real insight into the story behind the press release. I was also bothered by the Trader Joe's can do no wrong attitude. I learned nothing; I stopped reading.

Len Lewis took on an exciting task by attempting to write about Trader Joe's, one of my favorite stores. However, probably due to his lack of material, the book has little substance. Lewis' writing is full of hyperbole, which doesn't belong in an inside look at a business. In addition, as other reviewers have stated, the same few facts are repeated over and over again. I appreciate the effort here, as those few facts happen to be interesting, but I'm not sure why the same material wasn't released as a single chapter in some other book.

Author Len Lewis teaches us how to write a book without knowing anything about the subject. Not only same sentences are repeated several times throughout the book, even entire paragraphs. And it is not an edition mistake. Mr. Lewis uses cliches, and then explains the cliches. All that is said in 200 pages can be said in 10. Mr Lewis source appears to be the Fearless Flyer, which by the way it's 300 times better. Don't waste your time nor your money.