AAmerica is not It's simply the land of red-blooded capitalism. It also has an esoteric tradition of capitalist altruism. Take Trader Joe's, an own-label grocery chain MAndS in the UK. Despite having 549 stores, it somehow maintains a local-community feel, like an indoor farmers market with great prices and great staff. Whole Foods Market, a 530-store mecca for health freaks and foodies, has a similar vibe. Or at least it did until 2017, when it was sold to Amazon for $13.7 billion. Its co-founder, John Mackey, recently published a book with lots of great products. joy of living about his 42-year tenure. “The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life and Capitalism” comes just a few years after an even more bizarre memoir written by the late Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe's. They are strikingly different characters who approached the retail business in unusual ways. Each has offered good lessons in entrepreneurship.
Mr. Mackay's book begins with a college dropout, LSD-fueled epiphany: “It was me. And it was me, and I was there. And that was all.” Don't despair. Whether or not would-be entrepreneurs should drink acid for inspiration, in his case it worked. The Texan's quest for soul-searching leads to a new philosophy of natural-food retailing that conquers America. There's no New Age vibe to Coulombe's book, “Becoming Trader Joe's,” even though his chain began in California in 1967. As a lesson in how to beat the big guys in business, it does exactly what it says on the tin. His first anecdote is about the virtues of relabeling Peruvian tuna as pilchards to avoid import quotas and cut prices.