Gold's Gym

[Jeff Endress]

David

Exactly.....the parallel I drew is even more accurate.

Right?

Jeff[/quote]

[David Lay]

David

Exactly.....the parallel I drew is even more accurate.

Right?

Jeff

Exactly.

[c. dawson]

Actually no, Trader Joe's really is owned by Aldi's ... Aldi's is actually a German company, owned by the two Albrecht brothers (both of whom are among the world's wealthiest and most reclusive people). Years ago, they divvied up Aldi's between them, turning it into Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud (north and south, though my German may be slightly incorrect). Aldi Nord, owned by Theo Albrecht, expanded into the US ... and purchased Trader Joe's, started by Joe Columbe, in 1977. Perhaps in the business structure, Trader Joe's may be under Aldi's American operations, but it's wholly owned by Aldi Nord, which is a private company. The two companies do share some similarities, particularly the reliance on private-label products, and bare-bones operation. But for the most part, Aldi's leaves Trader Joe independent, because the Trader Joe business model works, and the Albrechts are all about making money as simply and efficiently as possible (and it's even more interesting that here Aldi's is viewed as the "ghetto grocery," when it's considered one of the top grocery markets in Europe ... though if you notice now, Aldi's is building more and more stores in more prime locations, like Westlake).

[David Lay]

From Wikipedia:

Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. As of April 2007, Trader Joe's has a total of 279 stores.[2] Its stores are located most densely in Southern California, but the grocery company has locations in 22 other states and Washington, D.C. Trader Joe's was founded by Joe Coulombe and is currently owned by a family trust set up by German billionaire Theo Albrecht, one of the two brothers behind Aldi.[3]

It doesn't necessarily mean that it's owned by Aldi.