Trader Joe's is a privately owned chain of specialty grocery stores that has its headquarters in Monrovia, California in Los Angeles. It is estimated that Trader Joe's had approximately 457 stores in the United States of America as of 22 April 2015 (Llopis, 2011). Although Trader Joe's has locations in thirty-eight states in the U.S., the heaviest concentration of its stores is in California. The company is considered as the market leader in the fresh food and organic groceries in the United States of America. Joe Coulombe founded the company in the year 1979 and since then, it has been owned by a family trust established by Aldi Nord. The company stocks approximately four thousand items, eighty percent of the items always bear one of its brand names. The products stocked by Trader Joe's include organic foods, imported foods, gourmet foods, vegetarian foods, imported wine and beer, and unusual frozen foods (Kowitt, 2010). It also stocks alternative staples and alternative food items such as eggs, bread, coffee, and dairy. The SWOT analysis and the external factors affecting Trader Joe's are discussed in this paper. The SWOT analysis is a business evaluation technique that evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that are involved in a business endeavor. Strengths are the features of the company that give it an advantage over its rivals. The strengths of Trader Joe's include being a credible brand having been in the market for more than fifty years (Kowitt, 2010). Its distribution network of more than four hundred stores across the U.S., customer loyalty, unique products, strong brand name, and timely delivery of products to customers are also the strengths of the Trader Joe's. Weaknesses are the characteristics that put the business at a disadvantage relative to its competitors. The company's weaknesses include poor geographical location leading to low market share and limited product selection (Kowitt, 2010). Customers do not consider Trader Joe's as a \"one stop shop.\" Opportunities are the elements that the business could exploit. The opportunities that Trade Joe's has include; growing demand for organic foods globally, the expanding markets for private food labels, and the online market due to the rapidly advancing technology (Trader Joe's Company, 2012). The threats are the elements existing in the business environment that prevents it from achieving its objectives. The threats that Trader Joe's faces include; stiff competition from other companies such as the Safeway Inc., Kroger Company, and the Whole Foods Market Inc. The availability of substitute products is also a threat that Trader Joe's face (Trader Joe's Company, 2012). The external factors are the outside influences that have positive or negative effects on the business objectives. They are the elements in the business environment that the business has little or no control of; for instance, the external factors that affect Trader Joe's include technology, wellness and health, the government, and the environmental factors. Since the company deals with organic foods mainly, wellness and health factor is the main factor affecting Trader Joe's. The growing demand for organic foods by most consumers in the U.S. is an advantage for the company as it boosts its sales (Trader Joe's Company, 2012). Consumers consider the organic foods to be healthy compared to other foods. However, the newly adopted USDA standards requiring all organic certified products to be free of GMOs are a challenge to the company since it is almost impossible to have foods with zero traces of GMOs (Llopis, 2011). There rapidly advancing technology also affects Trader Joe's operations. For instance, online groceries are increasing at a high rate posing competition threat to the company. Technological changes have forced the company to develop computerized payment systems. The company also sells some of its products online through Amazon leading to increased profits (Llopis, 2011). The government regulations also affect Trader Joe's; for instance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires grocery stores to label all food items containing GMO elements, which according to Trader Joe's Company is hard. In conclusion, Trader Joe's Company's strengths include strong brand name, loyal customers, unique products, and timely delivery of products to customers. The company needs to maintain its strengths, improve on its weaknesses, take advantage of its opportunities, and develop strategies to eliminate its threats. It is apparent that SWOT analysis will enable the company to formulate policies and strategies to ensure it remains at the top of the grocery store industry. Trader Joe's also need to consider its external factors to ensure it achieves its business objectives. References Llopis, G. (2011, May 9). Why Trader Joe's Stands Out From All the Rest in the Grocery Business. Retrieved July 12, 2015. http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2011/09/05/why-trader-joes-stands-out-from-allthe-rest-in-the-grocery-business/ Kowitt, B. (2010, August 23). Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's. Retrieved July 12, 2015.http://fortune.com/2010/08/23/inside-the-secret-world-of-trader-joes/ Trader Joe's Company: Company Profile and SWOT Analysis. (2012, July 21). Retrieved July 12, 2015