Robert Berning
Encyclopedia
Robert Berning was an American
grocer
and principal wine
buyer
for Trader Joe's
specialty grocery store
chain beginning in the 1970s. He was credited with introducing American consumers to low cost, bargain imported wines while working with Trader Joe's.
on Santa Catalina Island, California
, on January 25, 1935. His father worked as a greenskeeper
on a Santa Catalina golf course
.
, in 1951. He was promoted to store supervisor
at King Cole a few years afterwards. Soon he developed an interest in selling wines which had been imported from Europe
.
in 1965. Pronto Markets was in the midst of its transformation from a convenience store to the Trader Joe's specialty grocery chain, which would officially be founded in 1967. Wines became a very important focus of the newly founded Trader Joe's and Berning would play a key part in that success. Joe Coulombe
, the founder of Trader Joe's, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times
that Berning was brought into the company's main office in 1970 because he had expressed interest in wines. 1970 also coincided with the time that Trader Joe's began its "aggressive wine merchandising," which meant that Trader Joe's began offering wines at lower price
s than had been previously available in the marketplace.
Berning quickly became Trader Joe's head wine buyer. He is credited with building Trader Joe's private wine label
program. Berning's program offered wines from around the world under the Trader Joe's label. These wines were allowed to be sold at very inexpensive prices because of the Trader Joe's brand
ed label. Under California law at the time, there were fair trade provisions for alcoholic beverages which made it illegal to sell wines at a cheaper price than branded competitors, such as Gallo's
. Berning's program simply "got around" the alcohol fair trade laws by offering their own wines under the Trader's Joe brand, the Trader Joe's Winery label. The program was a huge success, which helped Trader Joe's stay competitive in wine retailing for eight years until the alcohol fair trade laws
were abolished in 1978.
Coulombe credited Berning with innovating Trader Joe's ability to buy and distribute cheaper cost wines to their own stores without the use of traditional wholesalers. Trader Joe's, in turn, is credited as one of the pioneers which popularized wine in the United States
. Under Berning's guidance, Trader Joe's began offering selections from small California wineries
, some of which later became well known brands themselves, including Heitz Wine Cellars
, Mirassou Winery
and Schramsberg. Berning traveled throughout California and the world to find wines for sale in Trader Joe's. Berning was featured in a series of radio commercials in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
.
Berning retired from Trader Joe's in the middle of the 1990s. However, his legacy of marketing higher quality, low cost wines at the company continue. For example, the popularity of Charles Shaw wine
s, which has been nicknamed "Two Buck Chuck" for its $1.99 price.
, with his family following his retirement from Trader Joe's. He purchased a ranch where he grew limes
and avocados. He continued to work within the wine industry as a consultant for Plume Ridge, import company based in San Dimas, California
, which is owned by his daughter, Christina. He worked for the company until his illness in early 2008.
Robert Berning died at his home in Fallbrook of bone cancer on July 19, 2008, at the age of 73. His wife, Nancy Anne Vigil-Berning died of cancer on October 11, 2005. He was survived by his daughters, Christina, Nanette Berning-Pate and Julia Berning-Escamilla; and his son, Craig.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
grocer
Grocer
A grocer is a bulk seller of food. Beginning as early as the 14th century, a grocer was a dealer in comestible dry goods such as spices, pepper, sugar, and cocoa, tea and coffee...
and principal wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
buyer
Buyer
When someone gets characterised by their role as buyer of certain assets, the term "buyer" gets new meaning:A "buyer" or merchandiser is a person who purchases finished goods, typically for resale, for a firm, government, or organization...
for Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. , Trader Joe's had a total of 365 stores. Approximately half of its stores are in California, with the heaviest concentration in Southern California, but the company also has locations in 30...
specialty grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
chain beginning in the 1970s. He was credited with introducing American consumers to low cost, bargain imported wines while working with Trader Joe's.
Biography
Robert Berning was born in AvalonAvalon, California
Avalon, or Avalon Bay, is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island of the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. Besides Avalon, the only other center of population on the island is the small unincorporated town of Two Harbors...
on Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
, on January 25, 1935. His father worked as a greenskeeper
Greenskeeper
- Basic work description and duties :A professional who maintains a golf course or country club's grounds. This includes all cultural practices along with setting of pins and marking of hazards for regular club play along with tournament play. Greenskeepers work under the direction of the Golf...
on a Santa Catalina golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
.
Early career
Berning began his career in the grocery industry at the age of 16 when he took a job at King Cole Markets in Whittier, CaliforniaWhittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
, in 1951. He was promoted to store supervisor
Supervisor
A supervisor, foreperson, team leader, overseer, cell coach, facilitator, or area coordinator is a manager in a position of trust in business...
at King Cole a few years afterwards. Soon he developed an interest in selling wines which had been imported from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Trader Joe's
Berning was hired by Pronto Markets, a chain of convenience stores based in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1965. Pronto Markets was in the midst of its transformation from a convenience store to the Trader Joe's specialty grocery chain, which would officially be founded in 1967. Wines became a very important focus of the newly founded Trader Joe's and Berning would play a key part in that success. Joe Coulombe
Joe Coulombe
Joe Coulombe is an American entrepreneur. He is a graduate of Stanford University and is a member of Alpha Kappa Lambda. He founded the grocery store chain Trader Joe's in 1967....
, the founder of Trader Joe's, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
that Berning was brought into the company's main office in 1970 because he had expressed interest in wines. 1970 also coincided with the time that Trader Joe's began its "aggressive wine merchandising," which meant that Trader Joe's began offering wines at lower price
Price
-Definition:In ordinary usage, price is the quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services.In modern economies, prices are generally expressed in units of some form of currency...
s than had been previously available in the marketplace.
Berning quickly became Trader Joe's head wine buyer. He is credited with building Trader Joe's private wine label
Private brand
Private branding is when a large distribution channel member , buys from a manufacturer in bulk and puts its own name on the product. This strategy is, with some exceptions, generally only practical when the retailer does very high levels of volume...
program. Berning's program offered wines from around the world under the Trader Joe's label. These wines were allowed to be sold at very inexpensive prices because of the Trader Joe's brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
ed label. Under California law at the time, there were fair trade provisions for alcoholic beverages which made it illegal to sell wines at a cheaper price than branded competitors, such as Gallo's
E & J Gallo Winery
E & J Gallo Winery was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo in Modesto, California. E & J Gallo Winery is the largest exporter of California wines and is a large promoter of wines from Sonoma County.-History:...
. Berning's program simply "got around" the alcohol fair trade laws by offering their own wines under the Trader's Joe brand, the Trader Joe's Winery label. The program was a huge success, which helped Trader Joe's stay competitive in wine retailing for eight years until the alcohol fair trade laws
Fair trade laws
A fair trade law was a statute that permitted manufacturers the right to specify the minimum retail price of a commodity, a practice known as "price maintenance". They first appeared in 1931 during the Great Depression in the state of California...
were abolished in 1978.
Coulombe credited Berning with innovating Trader Joe's ability to buy and distribute cheaper cost wines to their own stores without the use of traditional wholesalers. Trader Joe's, in turn, is credited as one of the pioneers which popularized wine in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Under Berning's guidance, Trader Joe's began offering selections from small California wineries
California wine
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...
, some of which later became well known brands themselves, including Heitz Wine Cellars
Heitz Wine Cellars
Heitz Wine Cellars is a California wine producer located within Napa Valley east of the town of St. Helena. An early modern era Napa Valley presence and pioneering exponent of French oak, the estate enjoys a historical renown with the success of its Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and has...
, Mirassou Winery
Mirassou Winery
The Mirassou Winery was a winery, founded in 1854 by Louis Pellier and his brother Pierre in what is now known as California's Silicon Valley, and for many years an icon of the agricultural heritage of the Santa Clara Valley...
and Schramsberg. Berning traveled throughout California and the world to find wines for sale in Trader Joe's. Berning was featured in a series of radio commercials in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
The Los Angeles metropolitan area, also known as Metropolitan Los Angeles or the Southland, is the 13th largest metropolitan area in the world and the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States....
.
Berning retired from Trader Joe's in the middle of the 1990s. However, his legacy of marketing higher quality, low cost wines at the company continue. For example, the popularity of Charles Shaw wine
Charles Shaw wine
Charles Shaw is a brand of "extreme value" wine . Largely made from California grapes, Charles Shaw wines currently include Cabernet Sauvignon, White Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Valdiguie in the style of Beaujolais nouveau, and limited quantities of Pinot Grigio...
s, which has been nicknamed "Two Buck Chuck" for its $1.99 price.
Later life
Berning moved to Fallbrook, CaliforniaFallbrook, California
Fallbrook is an unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. The Fallbrook census-designated place population was 30,534 at the 2010 census, up from 29,100 at the 2000 census....
, with his family following his retirement from Trader Joe's. He purchased a ranch where he grew limes
Limes
A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
and avocados. He continued to work within the wine industry as a consultant for Plume Ridge, import company based in San Dimas, California
San Dimas, California
San Dimas is a city located in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 33,371. The city historically took its name from San Dismas Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains above the northern section of present day San Dimas...
, which is owned by his daughter, Christina. He worked for the company until his illness in early 2008.
Robert Berning died at his home in Fallbrook of bone cancer on July 19, 2008, at the age of 73. His wife, Nancy Anne Vigil-Berning died of cancer on October 11, 2005. He was survived by his daughters, Christina, Nanette Berning-Pate and Julia Berning-Escamilla; and his son, Craig.