Could a Trader Joe's survive in Fort Wayne?

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Income too low on average in fort Wayne to support either trader joes or whole foods

That is what was said about NWI..refer to the articles I posted above.

[CuriouserGeorge]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Income too low on average in fort Wayne to support either trader joes or whole foods

I can't say that income is not a factor when shopping at a Trader Joe's, but according to City-data.com, the median household income in Fort Wayne is $42,450, and is actually greater than the median household income for Indianapolis which is $40,854.

Plus, both the median cost of housing and rent are cheaper in FW compared to Indianapolis.

Simply based on those numbers, it would seem that Fort Wayne would be a better choice.

I think a bigger issue would be where to locate a store in order to maximize profits.

[New2Fort.wayne]

Anyone who knows anything about Trader Joes' knows that the people who shop there are religiously loyal to the brand. And I think it's fair to say that having a TJ's in town is a status symbol that many cities would enjoy.

Which begs the question, could a Trader Joe's do well in Fort Wayne?

If so, why? NOPE

If not, why? BECAUSE TRADER JOE'S ONLY OPENS STORES IN AFFLUENT AREAS OF CITIES.

And if there was a TJ's here, where should it be located (for me downtown), and what local stores would be hardest hit by the competition? NO WAY IT WOULD OPEN IN DOWNTOWN FORT WAYNE. POSSIBLY IT COULD OPEN BY THE JEFFERSON POINT MALL, BUT I EVEN DOUBT THAT. HAVING LIVED IN MOSTLY LARGER CITIES IN THE PAST, AND EVEN IN INDIANAPOLIS, I WOULD EXPECT TRADER JOE'S WOULD OPEN IN THE INDIANAPOLIS AREA. BECAUSE IN MOST PLACES TRADER JOE'S OPENS CLOSE TO OTHER HIGH CLASS STORES LIKE WHOLE FOODS. I DO KNOW THAT IN INDIANA, WHOLE FOODS HAS LIKE 2 STORES IN CARMEL, WHICH IS AN AFFLUENT INDIANAPOLIS SUBURB. AND IN THE PAST, I HAVE LIVED IN FISHERS, INDIANA, WHICH IS VERY SIMILAR TO CARMEL, INDIANA. BOTH FISHERS AND CARMEL, INDIANA ARE *** very afluent $$$$$ *** AREAS, AND PEOPLE WHO ARE WELL OFF, DEMAND STORES LIKE WHOLE FOODS AND TRADER JOE'S. HAVING RECENTLY MOVED TO FORT WAYNE, I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT WHOLE FOODS OR TRADER JOE'S WOULD EVER OPEN HERE. IN MY OPINION [JUST MY OPINION] AND DON'T HATE ON ME, BUT FORT WAYNE SEEMS TO BE A WAL-MART KIND OF TOWN, AND NOT A TRADER JOE OR WHOLE FOODS TYPE OF TOWN.

Is there a similar store with TJ's philosophy already in town? THERE IS ONE STORE I HAVE FOUND, I THINK IT IS CALLED "fresh tyme" AND IT IS LOCATED NEAR THE GLENBROOK MALL. THIS STORE IS VERY NICE AND MORE UPSCALE. IT LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO "sprouts farmers markets" WHICH ARE ALSO LOCATED IN AFFLUENT AREAS OF LARGER CITIES, AND THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO SHOP AT SPROUTS FARMERS MARKETS, ALSO SHOP AT WHOLE FOODS AND AT TRADER JOE'S.

FRESH TYME IN NORTH FORT WAYNE IS A NICER AND UPSCALE MARKET, BUT ~~~~ WILL THEY MAKE IT? WILL THEY STAY IN BUSINESS HERE IN FORT WAYNE? THIS IS JUST MY OPINION, BUT AGAIN, FORT WAYNE SEEMS TO LIKE STORES SUCH AS WALMART MORE THAN NICER UPSCALE TYPE STORES.