Trader Joe’s
Current owner: Aldi Nord, German discount supermarket chain
Trader Joe’s dates back to 1967 when California-based convenience store owner Joe Coulombe decided to start stocking obscure and discontinued foods in order to give himself an edge over impending competition from 7-Eleven. The first Trader Joe’s store is still open in California, but the business has since changed hands. It was bought by Theo Albrecht, owner of the German supermarket brand Aldi Nord, in 1979.
