Pirate Joe’s, the unofficial Trader Joe’s of Canada.

Since 2012, Mike Hallatt has spent over $350,000 at Trader Joe’s locations throughout Washington state, Oregon, and northern California.  That’s a lot of boxes or cereal and cookies, but to Hallatt, it’s worth it.  His business in Vancouver, BC, Canada, depends on Trader Joe’s products, after all.  Mike Hallatt is a reseller who buys Trader Joe’s products and resells them in his storefront, Pirate Joe’s (or Irate Joe’s).  Trader Joe’s is suing Mike Hallatt for buying their products in the US, then reselling them in Canada.

“My right to resell their product is stronger than their right to protect their brand,” said Hallatt.

Trader Joe’s has taken pictures of Hallatt, who routinely crosses the border in search of products, and have distributed them to their Washington stores in an attempt to cut down on his business, which is pretty much a legal form of bootletting since it only involves food and not alcohol or movies.  To Hallatt, he’s providing a service to Canadians; he goes through the pain of crossing the border and buying groceries, they simply pay a few dollars more for a bottle of olive oil or some Joe O’s.  Until he starts hijacking ships of Trader Joe’s Triple Gingersnaps, I figure there’s not a lot they can do about him until they catch him in the store.

Tags: trader joe’s, boogletting, washington state, vancouver, british columbia, canada, pirate joe’s, Mike Hallatt, pirate joe’s store, man bootlegging trader joe’s products, unusual businesses, piracy, bootlegging, trader joe’s bootlegger, trader joe’s reseller, irate joe’s, unusual stores

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