An average store for average Joes might well be the strapline for Trader Joe’s were it not for the fact that this store, in Brooklyn, is anything but.

An average store for average Joes might well be the strapline for Trader Joe’s were it not for the fact that this store, in Brooklyn, is anything but.

As anyone who has spent time in the US will be aware, Aldi-owned ‘TJ’s’ is a store that offers Everyday Low Prices, but tends to do so in an environment that certainly does not result in the shopper feeling cheap,

Instead, visitors to this branch are greeted by an emporium that uses the grand surroundings of a former insurance company to present a value offer in an attractive and tongue-in-cheek manner.

The store benefits, naturally, from its architecture, but the thing that really captures the attention is the way in which Trader Joe’s localises its offer and gets across the value notion using mock Wild West saloon bar graphics.

“TJ’s bridges the gap between high quality and low prices” is typical of what is on view and while this might sound a little heavy handed, it somehow doesn’t seem to matter owing to the engaging use of font and signage that has a real retro feel about it.

It is also hard not admire the graphic showing Victorian mother and children in which the parent is telling her offspring: “Here my darlings, they’re the same as your favourites minus the artificials and preservatives!” The reply from her son is: “What’cha think?” to which his sister replies: “Well I have been meaning to cut down on my Yellow 5.”

All good fun and the size of the queues testifies to the efficacy of the proposition. If only food shopping could be this much fun this side of the pond.