Joe Coulombe

Joe Coulombe
Born Joseph Hardin Coulombe
(1930-06-03) June 3, 1930
San Diego, CA, United States
Known for Founder of Trader Joe's
Spouse(s) Alice Steere Coulombe

Joseph Hardin "Joe" Coulombe (born June 3, 1930)[1] is an American entrepreneur. He is a graduate of Stanford Business School and is a member of Alpha Kappa Lambda. He founded the grocery store chain Trader Joe's in 1967.[2]

Biography

Early life

Joseph Hardin Coulombe was born on June 3, 1930 in San Diego, California. His family has Norman French ancestors. He received an MBA from the Stanford Business School in 1954.

Career

He started his career at Rexall. In 1958, he was asked to test the launch of a store brand to compete against 7-Eleven, Pronto Markets. After running six Pronto Markets in the Los Angeles area, Rexall asked Coulombe to close them down. Coulombe decided to buy them out instead.[3]

After a decade of refining his strategy in a competitive environment, Coulombe renamed his venture from Pronto Markets to Trader Joe's in Pasadena in 1967. He led the chain to success and sold it to German billionaire Theo Albrecht in 1979. Coulombe continued with Trader Joe's as chief executive until retiring in 1988.[2]

He has served on the Boards of Directors of Cost Plus and True Religion Apparel.[4]

Personal life

He is married to Alice Steere Coulombe, a philanthropist.[5] She served on the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Opera.[5] Alice's parents taught at the University of Michigan and father William was a director of the New York Botanical Garden, and they were devout Christians.[6][7][8]

References

  1. ↑ California Births, 1905 - 1995, Joseph Hardin Coulombe
  2. 1 2 He Brought Trader Joe's to Main Street February 2006
  3. ↑ Kowitt, Beth (23 August 2010). "Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's". Fortune Magazine. Cable News Network. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  4. ↑ Kowitt, Beth (23 August 2010). "Meet the original Joe". Fortune Magazine. Cable News Network. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  5. 1 2 Diane Haithman, Holding onto a high note, The Los Angeles Times, October 08, 2006
  6. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/24/classified/paid-notice-deaths-steere-dorothy-osborne.html
  7. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=103645129
  8. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=103601356

Further reading

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