Pirate Joe's, the Vancouver store that carried Trader Joe's in a country where Trader Joe's has not gone, has come to a close. Trader Joe's had sued the Vancouver store in 2013. That suit was dismissed by a Washington-state court.
Late last summer, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court ruling bringing the case back to the district court.
The store didn't go down because business was bad or the store couldn't win in court. The problem stemmed from not being able to afford to fight the battle. That doesn't seem very piratey, but litigation costs are a factor even if you think you are innocent.
The location that I recall at 2348 W. 4th Avenue had a bit of poetry because the store was close by the Whole Foods at 2285 W. 4th Avenue. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have a bit of overlap in competing in the United States. The 4th Avenue location was also across from a Safeway as you can tell in the reflections in my pictures. The store had to relocate to 3744 W. 10th Avenue in 2016 because the building was sold off.
Canadian Trader Joe's lovers can get fix in Vancouver
Mike Hallatt fought an amazing fight against a large corporation. That makes the fall of Pirate Joe's that much more shocking.
Hallatt's point, besides making a legal stand and some money, was for Trader Joe's to come to Canada. While the success of Pirate Joe's didn't change the company's mind, the closure of the store reduces the pressure on the company to have Canadian locations.
Hallatt had been banned by Trader Joe's in Bellingham, Washington, the nearest city with Trader Joe's stores to Vancouver. He got around that by paying people to shop at Trader Joe's and bringing him back the groceries.
So if people in Vancouver could buy Trader Joe's food in Bellingham, why would there be a need for Pirate Joe's? The drive is about an hour, not counting customs either way. Some foods can't be brought into Canada so the focus was more on dry goods. Hallatt did charge extra but transportation costs and store rent play their role. The markup made sense for a lot of Pirate Joe fans.
Unfortunately, the closing of the store means the issue of reselling won't be settled in United States or Canadian law.
Pirate Joe's was a way to get an average person to draw the attention of a corporation. Trader Joe's has many fans in Vancouver as Pirate Joe's clearly proved. The question is whether those in Vancouver can someday get Trader Joe's products on their side of the border.
photos credit: me
map credit: Google
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