Name Joe Coulombe | Spouse Alice Coulombe (m. 1953) Role Entrepreneur | |
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Full Name Joseph Hardin Coulombe People also search for Theo Albrecht, Theo Albrecht, Jr., Karl Albrecht Sr. | ||
Alice and Joe Coulombe - Taste of Colburn
Joseph Hardin Coulombe (born June 3, 1930) 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.
Contents
- Alice and Joe Coulombe Taste of Colburn
- Trader joe coulombe interview
- Early life
- Career
- Personal life
- References
Trader joe coulombe interview
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 Pronto Markets, a store brand to compete against 7-Eleven. After running six Pronto Markets in the Los Angeles area, Rexall asked Coulombe to close them down. Coulombe decided to buy them out instead.
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.
He has served on the Boards of Directors of Cost Plus and True Religion Apparel.
Personal life
He is married to Alice Steere Coulombe, a philanthropist. She served on the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Opera. 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.