Joseph Hardin Coulombe (June 3, 1930 – February 28, 2020)[1] was an American entrepreneur. He founded the grocery store chain Trader Joe's in 1967 and ran it until his retirement in 1988.[2]
Coulombe started his career at Rexall, a chain of American drugstores. In 1958, he was asked to test the launch of Pronto Markets, a store brand to compete against 7-Eleven. After running six Pronto Markets in the Los Angeles area, Rexall asked Coulombe to liquidate them; he decided to buy them out instead.[2] In 1967, Coulombe changed the name Pronto Markets to Trader Joe's. He led the chain to success and sold it in 1979 to German billionaire Theo Albrecht, co-founder of the Aldi supermarket chain.[2][7] Coulombe continued with Trader Joe's as chief executive officer until retiring in 1988.[2]
In 1952, Coulombe married Alice Steere, whom he met at a party while they were students at Stanford. Alice served on the board and is a life trustee of the Los Angeles Opera.[9][10] They had three children, Joe, Charlotte, and Madeleine. Coulombe and his family lived in Pasadena, California.[4]
^Kowitt, Beth (August 23, 2010). "Meet the original Joe". Fortune Magazine. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2010 – via CNN.com.