Grocery Wars - Trader Joe's Comes To Town

Trader Joe's in Mt. Pleasant opens next week, on Friday July 29th, at the old location of the Hungryneck Antique Mall, one block north of Whole Foods on Johnnie Dodds Boulevard.

Living near the Ravenel Bridge in Mt. Pleasant has its advantages; halfway between downtown and the beach, the waterfront park and the pier nearby, the bridges' great views and breezes for walking, but the area has the two most expensive grocery stores in town; Whole Foods and Harris Teeter. Consumers in the area are about to get a break - a huge break. Trader Joe's is opening its second store in South Carolina. The rapidly expanding chain has built a new facility, on the Johnnie Dodds' access road, Route 17 or whatever you want to call the roads' current construction debacle.

It's been interesting to watch the existing stores scramble to retain their customers, as the food business leaps into a more competitive realm, one where the consumers win out for a change. Last week Harris Teeter was installing totally new signage in its store "Low Prices Everyday!". Whole Foods started advertising $2 wine (a Trader Joe's staple) about a month and a half ago and I'm sure there's lots of strategizing going on behind the scenes. The bottom line; food will end up being more affordable in Mt. Pleasant.

I have to admit I have a fondness for Piggly Wiggly, it being an old Southern company with the weird name. The Pig has been in business since 1916. My father's first photography studio was situated in the Elizabeth area in Charlotte, North Carolina in an old Piggly Wiggly Store. The 1920's store had a large bay window which was used for display . I spent a lot of time there as a child and there was a spooky charm to the old place even though it was starting to collapse. Its flat roof always seemed to spring a new leak when the last leak was repaired. A hidden door to the cellar, which was flush with the floor, opened to reveal a set of rickety stairs which led to a musty basement/dungeon still packed with the odds and mostly ends from the store's heyday.

I went to find the old store about three years back and the building and the massive Pin Oak that dwarfed the front and buckled the sidewalk I'd swept on every visit, had vanished into rows of non-descript condos. I felt lucky to have had that glimpse into the totally alien world of shopping in the early 20th century. Dig The Pig.

Trader Joe's is a different kind of store, they spend virtually no money on advertising, no sales, no coupons, no customer cards. I don't think they even advertised the positions at the new store, there was a banner out front "Now Hiring" but the word spread fast. The store is self propelled by word of mouth and it works, it's one way they manage to maintain lower prices. They offer their own brands on many items. You don't like it, bring it back and they'll return your money. T.J.'s was also rated one of the 50 best companies to work for in 2011, so their employees tend to be happier, more attentive, in line with the companies better than average compensation and team spirit.

Trader Joe's has only one problem, which is generally a great one for any business that's prepared for it, it's likely to be swamped with customers. Their store in Manhattan has lines 2 or 3 blocks long, with folks queuing up to get in. Someone compared the lines in Manhattan with folks lining up for tickets for a Led Zeppelin Concert. I'll ante up for anything that stretches my dollar these days, that's quality and costs less, but I'll still make an active effort to support the Pig.

Coming to our neck of the woods - Grocery Wars. May the force be with you.