On Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:54:43 -0700, sf wrote:

>On Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:08:27 -0700, Jed
> wrote:
>
>>It was only after TJ's was acquired by Aldi(?), a German company, that
>>TJ's began to contract with manufacturers to make products for them at
>>a reduced price. The founder stayed on as a consultant for a while and
>>kept things much as they were, but after he retired completely, we
>>began to see the evolution of Trader Joe's to what it is today.

The store was sold to Theo Albrecht (he ran the European Aldi's
companies, his brother ran the US ones) in 1979. So the Aldi's you
know in the US has nothing whatsoever to do with TJ's.

>Thanks for the history lesson. I only knew that TJ's is just a shadow
>of its former self.... a reliable shadow, but not as exciting or
>interesting as it used to be.

When are you talking of the "former self" existing? More than 30 years
ago when it was sold to Albrecht? Coloumbe, the original owner, left
in 1989 - almost 20 years ago. Is that the former self you recall?

Boron