Charles Shaw flourishes without the actual Charles Shaw

I was very surprised to read the Charles Shaw case. Given the ubiquity of “Two Buck Chuck” in Trader Joe’s, I was expecting that the namesake would be making bucks (no pun intended). Reading about his struggle while his brand is reaching millions of households is a stark lesson on entrepreneurial empire building.

From the case, Charles Shaw was not actively pursuing Trader Joe’s as a major partner, but rather use them as excess inventory control. However, outside investment stripped Shaw off control of his namesake brands, and he was gradually shut out of the business. It is a very interesting case study; when an entrepreneur attaches his/her name to a brand, it is usually seen as more authentic with the entrepreneur caring more and pouring more effort into the “namesake”. But without a clear strategic direction, the mere name association is far from enough to keep both the business and the entrepreneur well off in the long run.