Stephen Dubner

And that is Michael Roberto. He's a business professor at Bryant University, formerly of the Harvard Business School. There's one lecture he likes to start by giving his students this fictional Shark Tank pitch.

And that is Michael Roberto. He's a business professor at Bryant University, formerly of the Harvard Business School. There's one lecture he likes to start by giving his students this fictional Shark Tank pitch.

And of course, you're supposed to think, there is no way I'd invest in that company. That sounds like the stupidest company ever. And of course, you get a lot of consternation. That's when Roberto reveals that not only does such a grocery store already exist, but they're crushing the competition.

And of course, you're supposed to think, there is no way I'd invest in that company. That sounds like the stupidest company ever. And of course, you get a lot of consternation. That's when Roberto reveals that not only does such a grocery store already exist, but they're crushing the competition.

And of course, you're supposed to think, there is no way I'd invest in that company. That sounds like the stupidest company ever. And of course, you get a lot of consternation. That's when Roberto reveals that not only does such a grocery store already exist, but they're crushing the competition.

So it sounds like customers love this place, but you might think a store like this would be brutal to work for. And yet, it's ranked among the 100 best American companies to work for. So what's it called? Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's.

So it sounds like customers love this place, but you might think a store like this would be brutal to work for. And yet, it's ranked among the 100 best American companies to work for. So what's it called? Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's.

So it sounds like customers love this place, but you might think a store like this would be brutal to work for. And yet, it's ranked among the 100 best American companies to work for. So what's it called? Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's.

There's a good chance that you have never shopped at a Trader Joe's, maybe never even heard of it. It's got just over 600 stores. The big chains like Kroger and Albertsons have well over 2,000. Walmart sells groceries in more than 4,000 of its stores. And as Michael Roberto told us, Trader Joe's doesn't advertise or do a lot of things the typical grocery store does.

There's a good chance that you have never shopped at a Trader Joe's, maybe never even heard of it. It's got just over 600 stores. The big chains like Kroger and Albertsons have well over 2,000. Walmart sells groceries in more than 4,000 of its stores. And as Michael Roberto told us, Trader Joe's doesn't advertise or do a lot of things the typical grocery store does.

There's a good chance that you have never shopped at a Trader Joe's, maybe never even heard of it. It's got just over 600 stores. The big chains like Kroger and Albertsons have well over 2,000. Walmart sells groceries in more than 4,000 of its stores. And as Michael Roberto told us, Trader Joe's doesn't advertise or do a lot of things the typical grocery store does.

The grocery business is famous for low profit margins, lots of competition, and lately an even bigger problem. American consumers now spend more money in restaurants and bars than in grocery stores. Trader Joe's does seem to be bucking this downward trend. It doesn't just have customers, it has fans.

The grocery business is famous for low profit margins, lots of competition, and lately an even bigger problem. American consumers now spend more money in restaurants and bars than in grocery stores. Trader Joe's does seem to be bucking this downward trend. It doesn't just have customers, it has fans.

The grocery business is famous for low profit margins, lots of competition, and lately an even bigger problem. American consumers now spend more money in restaurants and bars than in grocery stores. Trader Joe's does seem to be bucking this downward trend. It doesn't just have customers, it has fans.

It's never been easy to run a grocery chain, but Trader Joe's makes it look easy and weirdly fun.

It's never been easy to run a grocery chain, but Trader Joe's makes it look easy and weirdly fun.

It's never been easy to run a grocery chain, but Trader Joe's makes it look easy and weirdly fun.

So how do they do it? That's the question we'll try to answer today. A question made more difficult by the fact that Trader Joe's is a fairly secretive company. I think that some of the secrecy is probably due to who owns them. So we put on our Freakonomics goggles in an attempt to reverse engineer the secrets of Trader Joe's. which, it turns out, are incredibly Freakonomical.

So how do they do it? That's the question we'll try to answer today. A question made more difficult by the fact that Trader Joe's is a fairly secretive company. I think that some of the secrecy is probably due to who owns them. So we put on our Freakonomics goggles in an attempt to reverse engineer the secrets of Trader Joe's. which, it turns out, are incredibly Freakonomical.

So how do they do it? That's the question we'll try to answer today. A question made more difficult by the fact that Trader Joe's is a fairly secretive company. I think that some of the secrecy is probably due to who owns them. So we put on our Freakonomics goggles in an attempt to reverse engineer the secrets of Trader Joe's. which, it turns out, are incredibly Freakonomical.