• Use numbers 1-9 only • The full grid is 9x9 cells • The full grid is broken into 9 regions, 3x3 cells each • Each region can contain only one of each number 1-9 • Each cell can contain only one number • Each row and column should contain only one of each number 1-9 Sudoku Basics
Grid n°27048 easy
2
9
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4 7
5 3
4 9
5 1
2 7 6
7 9 6 1 4
4 7 5 1 6
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We have all the free sudokus youneed! 400new sudokuseveryweek. Make your own free printable sudoku at www.PrintMySudoku.com BUSINESS PROFILE TRADER JOE’S BUCKS THE TREND The Secrets to the Grocery Giant’s Success
instrumental to its success: a tendency to take a drastically different approach than its supermarket ilk and teams of consistently satisfied, happy employees. You won’t find Coca-Cola on the shelves at any Trader Joes, nor will you find a bag of Lays potato chips. Instead, the company buys products at significant discounts from businesses large and small and sells them under their own brand. True to Coulombe’s original vision of the company as a market for overeducated, underpaid shoppers, Trader Joe’s ruthlessly culls its product line until only high-quality, niche-friendly products remain, whether those products are secretly manufactured by national brands or not. They don’t accept coupons, don’t use an arcane loyalty card system, and don’t offer weekly
The experience opened Coulombe’s eyes to the numerous untapped niche markets that existed in the grocery industry. He began supplying fancy mustards, gourmet cheeses, and other specialized goods. The chain bucked the growing supermarket trend of stores carrying dozens of options for any one product. Instead, they focused on products that fit their demographic, and only those they could sell cheaply relative to their competitors. As Coulombe told Businessweek, “We adopted a policy of not carrying anything we could not be outstanding in, in terms of price.” Now, Trader Joe’s ranks among the most beloved and profitable grocery chains in the nation, consistently ranking in the top three for customer satisfaction in Market Force surveys. Two components are
In 1967, when 7-Elevens began sprouting up like weeds across Los Angeles, Joseph Coulombe’s small chain of convenience stores was in peril. It was clear that the saturated market would be imminently dominated by this leaner, meaner competitor. It was all Coulombe could do to keep his business afloat. That is, until he read a fascinating tidbit: Consumers with higher education were buying more alcohol than their less-educated counterparts. In response, Coulombe began stocking his stores with 17 different brands of local California wines — the largest selection in the state. Soon, he had to restock, and then again. The wines were a huge success, which goes to show that even when a market is mature and seems to work well with the formula it has always used for success, there is still room for innovation.
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