Trader Joe’s controlled growth keeps expanding as rivals close stores

The grocery maps that matter to Trader Joe’s are still being redrawn. Walmart, Publix and Kroger are closing some stores even as they open others, a pattern that is shifting which neighborhoods win traffic and which banners are pulling back.

Kroger closed 12 locations in May, while Walmart shut a store in Lincolnwood, Illinois, and Publix closed one in Marietta, Georgia. At the same time, Walmart and Publix each opened two stores. That kind of churn means grocery growth is not happening in one clean direction. It is happening block by block, with one chain retreating in one market while another leans into a different one.

For Trader Joe’s crew, the point is not just where rivals are shrinking. It is where Trader Joe’s is still choosing to plant stores of its own. The company describes its strategy as “controlled growth” and says it does not expand by buying another chain and rebranding it. Instead, it looks for dense population, traffic patterns, parking availability and neighborhood opportunity before it commits to a site. In the company’s own telling, that process can take time, and it is common for shoppers to mount social-media or letter-writing campaigns to push for a store nearby.

That measured pace has not slowed the chain’s footprint. Trader Joe’s said it opened 34 new stores in 2024 and expects dozens more openings in 2025. One of those openings is already on the calendar: Woodinville, Washington, is slated to open Friday, May 15, 2026. For crews, that kind of expansion creates obvious staffing demand, but it also opens transfer possibilities when nearby stores need experienced captains, mates and crew who already know the Trader Joe’s style of service.

The broader customer data suggests the chain is still gaining ground even as rival stores wobble. Placer.ai said Trader Joe’s visits rose 6.2% in 2024 from 2023, while visits per location rose 3.2%. It also found that fewer shoppers were stopping at other grocery stores before or after Trader Joe’s, a sign that the chain is becoming a primary destination rather than a side trip. The trade area around Trader Joe’s also skews relatively affluent, with a median household income of $110.1K.

That matters because Trader Joe’s is competing in the same customer-experience race as the larger chains. In the 2025 American Customer Satisfaction Index supermarket study, Trader Joe’s and Publix tied for first at 84 out of 100. And Trader Joe’s has shown it can add a store near an existing one without treating it as self-cannibalization. In Boston, the company described a new store opening just a 10-minute walk from another one, saying the overlap eased lines and made shopping more comfortable. In a market where other grocers are closing and reopening stores in the same breath, that is a clear sign Trader Joe’s sees controlled overlap as a feature, not a flaw.