I came across this recently so am sharing it; It does give us insight into Trader Joe’s business workings direct from the Source. Actually there are a lot of interesting nuggets of information in the podcast.
https://www.stitcher.com/show/inside-trader-joes/episode/episode-15-you-asked-we-answered-62129503
If you prefer to read it here’s a transcript of the podcast
A FEW USEFUL GLEANINGS ….
guest: Mitch Heeger, Executive Vice President for Marketing and Merchandising. (Wow; he’s been with TJ’s for 42 years! They must take good care of employees there.)
Q: How do you get to know what customers want?
A: It’s a good question. And you know, we pride ourselves on listening to our
customers and we always say that, you know customer votes with their dollars. We’re always looking at you know, products that sell really well. We’re always looking at products that may not sell as well. So if something’s not selling as well, we’ll discontinue that product
THAT’S PRETTY CLEAR, so the next time you are wondering why they dropped your favorite item, the answer is it’s nothing personal, “It’s just business”! Sales. Numbers. Period.
Q: Is it possible to get advanced notice if a product’s going to be discontinued?”
Mitch: We have tried that before. And it seems like every time we try, we fail. Either the product is in some areas really successful, so stores just jump all over it and it goes to one area. Or stores see that, “Oh, that’s gonna be discontinued. And it’s kind of a bad seller anyway,” so they don’t order it, and it sits in a warehouse
Wait – Trader Joe’s used to make custom sandwiches?!? (In the Mid 80’s it seems)
Q: We know early on you offered made-to-order sandwiches. Is that something you’ll consider bringing back in the future?
A: Absolutely not!
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
Jul 15, 2022 @ 12:22:31
I just read the transcript … fun and interesting!
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