Why Is Trader Joe's A Good Retailer For International Expansion

Introduction As the world we live in today continues to flatten, new channels begin to emerge across the globe. The technological age that we live in today has forever changed they way retailing functions, creating new opportunities for international success. However, the thought of internationalization can be daunting for many retailers, especially due the large history of retailers who have expanded internationally and then failed. Although this type of expansion can be overwhelming, if done properly, the new retail format can generate a great deal of success for the retailer. Trader Joe’s is a small, American grocery store chain that would benefit from expanding internationally into the Canadian market. As we have seen in recent months, Target Corp. just pulled all of their locations out of Canada, but this is largely due to the fact that their international strategy did not fit well with the Canadian market. This paper will outline why Trader Joe’s is a good retailer for international expansion, why Canada mixes well with their business strategy as a country to expand to, the strategic plan Trader Joes should engage in during expansion, and five strategic recommendations that lead to Trader Joe’s advantages in

Their assortment includes a wide variety of their niche cult following products along with the everyday essentials. Trader Joe’s specializes in natural, organic, and gourmet products. The merchandise assortment when entering Canada must remain limited and carefully edited, keeping the with the average SKU count between 2,500 and 4,000 that consists of 80% private label goods (Watson, 2014). The product categories offered would include bakery, beverages, dairy, frozen, grocery, produce, refrigerated, snacks sweets, and supplements. Trader Joe’s should initially exclude the inclusion of beer and wine in their Canadian assortment to avoid complications with Canadian liquor