Jump to content

User:Qwertyxp2000/Costco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Cosco or Cusco.

Costco Wholesale Corporation
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: COST
NASDAQ-100 Component
S&P 100 Component
S&P 500 Component
IndustryRetail
FoundedSeptember 15, 1983; 41 years ago (1983-09-15) (as Costco)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
FoundersJames Sinegal
Jeffrey Brotman
Headquarters
Issaquah, Washington
,
U.S.
Number of locations
838[1] (2022)
Area served
Australia
Canada
China
France
Iceland
Japan
Korea
Mexico
Spain
Taiwan
United Kingdom
United States[1]
Key people
Hamilton E. James
(Chairman)
W. Craig Jelinek
(President and CEO)
BrandsKirkland Signature
ServicesMerchandise
Cash & Carry
Warehouse club
Gas stations
RevenueIncrease US$226.95 billion[1] (2022)
Increase $7.7 billion[1] (2022)
Increase $5.84 billion[1] (2022)
Total assetsIncrease $64.17 billion[1] (2022)
Total equityIncrease $20.64 billion[1] (2022)
MembersIncrease 118.9 million[2] (2022)
Number of employees
Increase 304,000[2] (2022)
Original logo (used until 1993, but carried by stores until 1997)

Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club).[3] As of 2020, Costco was the third largest retailer in the world,[4] and the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016.[5] In 2021, Costco was ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[6]

Costco's worldwide headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington, an eastern suburb of Seattle, although its Kirkland Signature house label bears the name of its former location in Kirkland. The company opened its first warehouse (the chain's term for its retail outlets) in Seattle in 1983.[7][8] Through mergers, however, Costco's corporate history dates back to 1976, when its former competitor Price Club was founded in San Diego, California.[9][10][11] As of September 2022, Costco has 838 warehouses worldwide: 578 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 107 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 31 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 17 in Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 13 in Australia, four in Spain, two each in France and China, one in Iceland,[1] and one in New Zealand.[12][13]

History

[edit]
A Costco in Tlalpan, Mexico City
Australia's first Costco, located in Docklands, Victoria
Hashima, Gifu, Japan

Price Club

[edit]
Main article: Price Club

Costco's earliest predecessor, Price Club, opened its first store on July 12, 1976, on Morena Boulevard in San Diego, California. It was founded three months earlier by Sol Price and his son, Robert, following a dispute with the new owners of FedMart, Price's previous membership-only discount store.[14] Price Club was among the first retail warehouse clubs, beginning with its Morena Boulevard store inside a series of old airplane hangars once owned by Howard Hughes.[10][15] The store, now known as Costco Warehouse #401, is still in operation today.[16][17]

Price Club's sales model was catered towards small business owners, selling items in bulk for a discounted price at no-frills outlets that were accessible only with an annual membership fee.[18] The company launched an initial public offering in 1980 and expanded to 24 locations in the Southwest and 1.1 million members by early 1986.[11][18] Price Club expanded into Canada in 1986, opening a store in Montreal,[19] and followed with a Mexico City store in 1992 as part of a joint venture with hypermarket chain Controladora Comercial Mexicana.[20] The company also announced plans to open stores in Spain and Portugal through their Canadian subsidiary.[20]

Costco opens

[edit]

Jim Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman[21] opened the first Costco warehouse in Seattle on September 15, 1983.[22] Sinegal had started in wholesale distribution by working for Sol Price at FedMart; Brotman, an attorney from an old Seattle retailing family, had also been involved in retail distribution from an early age. During this time, small businesses were given an 8% or 9% discount on inventories.[23] He began his retail involvement as a grocery bagger.[24] A second store opened in Portland in October, and a third in Spokane in December 1983.[7] The company went public in 1985.[22] The company was initially headquartered at its first warehouse in Seattle, but moved its headquarters to Kirkland in 1987.[22]

The "PriceCostco" merger

[edit]

In 1993, Costco and Price Club agreed to merge operations themselves after Price declined an offer from Walmart to merge Price Club with their warehouse store chain, Sam's Club.[25] Costco's business model and size were similar to those of Price Club, which made the merger more natural for both companies.[11] The combined company took the name PriceCostco, and memberships became universal, meaning that a Price Club member could use their membership to shop at Costco and vice versa. PriceCostco boasted 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales.[10] PriceCostco was initially led by executives from both companies, but in 1994, the Price brothers left the company to form PriceSmart,[11][26] a warehouse club chain in Central America and the Caribbean unrelated to the current Costco.[27]

In 1996, Costco moved its headquarters from Kirkland to its location in Issaquah.[22]

In 1997, Costco changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation, and all remaining Price Club locations were rebranded as Costco.[10][11]

Other company milestones

[edit]

In 2005, Costco replaced its first Seattle warehouse with a new warehouse on an adjacent lot.[22] The company was able to arrange to keep the same address for the new building.[22]

On April 26, 2012, CNBC premiered its documentary, The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant.[28]

In 2014, Costco was the third largest retailer in the United States.[29] That year Costco announced plans to open an online store in China using Alibaba Group.[30]

Costco announced the opening of 29 new locations in 2016, the most in one year since 2007.[31][32] Span Construction, led by King Husein, has constructed almost all of Costco's buildings since 1989.[33]

Costco opened its first warehouse in China on August 27, 2019, in Shanghai. The store's opening garnered much attention, which led to its opening day being cut short over safety concerns.[34]

Costco today

[edit]

In the United States, Costco's main competitors operating membership warehouses are Sam's Club (a subsidiary of Walmart) and BJ's Wholesale Club.[35] Costco employs 288,000 full and part-time employees worldwide.[36][2] In 2016, Costco had 86.7 million members.[37] This increased to 90.3 million members in 2017.[38][37] and 94.3 million in 2018.[37] In 2019, Costco had 98.5 million members.[39] In 2020, Costco had 105.5 million members.[40]

Costco was the first company to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in under six years.[10] For the fiscal year ending on August 31, 2012, the company's sales totaled $97.062 billion, with $1.709 billion net profit.[41] As of 2019, Costco is ranked #14 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[42] The ACSI (The American Customer Satisfaction Index) named Costco number one in the specialty retail store industry with a score of 84 in 2014.[43]

From December 2013, Costco's board of directors was chaired by co-founder Jeffrey H. Brotman and included James Sinegal, co-founder and director, and two officers of the company: president/CEO W. Craig Jelinek and CFO Richard A. Galanti. On August 1, 2017, Jeffrey Brotman died.[44] As of August 2017, James Sinegal and W. Craig Jelinek remained on the board. Jim Sinegal stepped down in 2018.[37]

Locations

[edit]
Map of Costco warehouses in the US, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico (January 2021)
Red: Wholesale locations
Blue: Business center locations

As of September 2022, Costco has 838 warehouses worldwide:[1]

  • 578 in the United States and Puerto Rico
  • 107 in Canada
  • 40 in Mexico
  • 31 in Japan
  • 29 in the United Kingdom
  • 17 in Korea
  • 14 in Taiwan
  • 13 in Australia
  • 4 in Spain
  • 2 in France
  • 2 in China
  • 1 in Iceland
  • 1 in New Zealand

International locations

[edit]
The Costco in Perth Airport opened in March 2020
Aerial perspective of the Costco roof at Melbourne's Docklands store in March 2019

Warehouses outside the U.S. are similar to the company's domestic locations, featuring generally identical layout, signage, and even parking lot markings.[45][46][47][48] Food court menus are tailored to international tastes, with meat pies on offer in Australia; poutine in Canada and France; seafood-topped pizza in Asian locations; pastor taco-topped pizzas in Mexico; clam chowder in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan; plokkfiskur in Iceland; and jacket potatoes in the UK.[49] Additionally, Costco has led a strategic initiative to enhance the merchandise mix available at international warehouses by tailoring products to local tastes, offering a selection of both American and local products.

In Canada, it is a participant in the voluntary Scanner Price Accuracy Code managed by the Retail Council of Canada.[50]

In New Zealand, the majority of products sold at Costco are sold in bulk or jumbo-sized,[51][13][52] in competition with local supermarket chains Woolworths New Zealand and Foodstuffs.[53]

Largest locations

[edit]

In 2005, the world's largest Costco by square feet was warehouse #692 in Hillsboro, Oregon.[54] In 2015, Costco completed an expansion in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, making it the new largest Costco at 235,000 sq ft (21,800 m2).[55] In 2019, Costco opened its biggest store in Canada, in St. John's; the store is 182,000 sq ft (16,900 m2).[56]

In 2011, Costco's highest volume store was in Seoul, South Korea.[57] In 2018, Taiwan's Taichung ranked at the top in the number of members and was second in the world in sales volume, behind South Korea's Yangjae store in Seoul. Of the 14 Costco operations in Taiwan, three – Taichung, Neihu, and Chungho – ranked in the top 10 in the world in sales volume.[58]

Costco Business Centers

[edit]

Costco Business Centers are warehouses similar to regular Costco warehouses, and are open to all Costco members, regardless of membership type. Their merchandise caters predominantly to enterprises, with a focus on small businesses. Business Centers do not carry most consumer items like clothing, jewelry, media, and tires, while carrying larger quantities and more options for the business products they do carry.[59] More than 70% of the items that can be acquired from a Costco Business Center cannot be found in a typical Costco store.[60] Some locations do have a food court, a gas station, or both. Unlike regular warehouses, most Costco Business Centers have a Print & Copy Center which provides printing professional services. They have large parking spaces for trucks and are capable of delivering goods to businesses in bulk quantities, with a delivery charge of $25 for orders that are below $250.[60] Costco Business Center operating hours are shorter than regular warehouses (usually opening at 7:00 am on Mondays to Saturdays and closed on Sundays), while discounts and coupons for Business Centers are issued separately from regular warehouses.[61][62]

Locations

[edit]

As of August 2022, there are 22 Costco Business Centers in the United States, located in Orlando, Florida; Stafford, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Phoenix, Arizona; California (Commerce, Hawthorne, Hayward, North Hollywood, Sacramento, San Diego, South San Francisco, Ontario, Westminster and San Marcos); Denver, Colorado; Morrow, Georgia; Bedford Park, Illinois; Hackensack, New Jersey; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Washington (Lynnwood, and Fife).[63] A Business Center in San Marcos, California opened in March 2022.[64]

The first Costco Business Center outside the U.S. opened in Canada in Scarborough, Toronto in March 2017.[65] In September 2020, the second Canadian Costco Business Centre opened in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, near Montreal.[66] A third Canadian Business Centre opened in the Ottawa neighborhood of Gloucester in June 2022.[67]

Finances

[edit]

For the fiscal year 2022, Costco reported earnings of US$5.844 billion, with an annual revenue of $226.954 billion.[1]

Year Revenue
in mil. USD$ 		Net income
in mil. USD$ 		Price per Share
in USD$ (year end)[68] 		Warehouses Employees Ref(s)
2005 52,935 1,063 49.47 433 115,000 [69]
2006 60,151 1,103 52.87 458 127,000 [70]
2007 64,400 1,083 69.76 488 127,000 [71]
2008 72,483 1,283 52.50 512 137,000 [72]
2009 71,422 1,086 59.17 527 142,000 [73]
2010 77,946 1,303 72.21 540 147,000 [74]
2011 88,915 1,462 83.32 592 164,000 [75]
2012 99,137 1,709 98.73 608 174,000 [76]
2013 105,156 2,039 119.02 634 184,000 [77]
2014 112,640 2,058 141.75 663 195,000 [78]
2015 116,199 2,377 161.50 686 205,000 [79]
2016 118,719 2,350 160.11 715 218,000 [80]
2017 129,025 2,679 186.12 741 231,000 [80]
2018 141,576 3,134 203.71 768 245,000 [37]
2019 152,703 3,659 293.92 782 254,000 [39]
2020 166,761 4,002 376.78 795 273,000 [40]
2021 195,929 5,007 567.70 815 288,000 [81]
2022 226,954 5,844 838 304,000 [1]

Business model

[edit]
Costco warehouse interior in Mountain View, California

Costco is a membership-only warehouse which generates a majority of its revenue from retail sales and a small percentage from membership fees. Customers must buy memberships to access the warehouse and make purchases. This is executed through the direct sourcing and efficient inventory management techniques.[82]

Costco divides its business into three segments: United States Operations, Canadian Operations, and Other International Operations. These three business segments are reported by revenue and operating income.[83] Of the three, the United States Operations was the largest, followed by Canadian Operations.[82]

Sales model

[edit]

The company's rule is that no regular item may be marked up more than 14% over cost, and no Kirkland Signature item may be marked up more than 15% over cost.[5] The company runs very lean, with overhead costs at about 10% of revenue and profit margins at 2%.[5] Costco's annual membership fees (US$60/year for Gold Star, US$120/year for Executive as of 2019)[84] account for 80% of Costco's gross margin and 70% of its operating income.[85]

If Costco feels the wholesale price of any individual product is too high, they will refuse to stock the product. For example, in November 2009, Costco announced that it would stop selling Coca-Cola products, because the soft-drink maker refused to lower its wholesale prices.[86] Costco resumed selling Coca-Cola products the following month.[87][88]

Although the brand engages in visible efforts to reduce costs, the stores themselves are expensive. In 2013, Costco spent approximately $80 million on each of the new stores it opened.[89] The cost is partly driven by the cost of real estate, as each new store means that they need enough space to support a building of approximately 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) in size, a large parking lot, and often a gas station.[89]

Lighting costs are reduced on sunny days, as most Costco locations have several skylights. During the day, electronic light meters measure how much light is coming in the skylights and turn off an appropriate percentage of the interior lights. During an average sunny day, it is normal for the center section of the warehouse not to have interior lights in use.[90] The company has no public relations department and buys no outside advertising.[5] A typical Costco warehouse carries only 3,700 distinct products, while a typical Walmart Supercenter carries approximately 140,000 products.[5]

Like many other retailers vertically integrating their food supply chains, Costco has brought in-house poultry production for their rotisserie chickens, which are a major driver of customer traffic and sales.[91][92][93] This is to allow keeping their pricing intact while maintaining a consistent quality control of its chickens as a result of annual growth of per-capita chicken consumption in the United States.[94][93]

Costco is known for its "exit greeters", who briefly compare receipts against shopping cart contents as customers exit. They are trained to quickly count cart contents and serve as a form of customer service to verify that customers were charged correctly, have redeemed any voucher-based items (e.g., tickets), and have not missed items placed in their cart's lower racks. Costco has used exit greeters since its first store in 1983.[95]

Online shopping

[edit]

Costco primarily focuses on getting members to come in to a warehouse for purchases, instead of ordering products online.[96] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Costco's online sales increased dramatically, with more online sales growth in 2020 than the previous 5 years combined.[97]

The company opened its online shopping site at Costco.com on April 17, 2001.[98] Costco.com is for United States members; costco.ca is for Canadian members, and other countries, such as Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and the UK, each have their own online Costco shopping website.

Instacart offers Costco delivery in a select number of states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.[99]

Similarly, in March 2017, Costco initiated a partnership with Shipt, an online grocery delivery service. Unlike Instacart, Shipt charges its own membership fee, $99 a year or $14 a month, in exchange for free delivery on orders over $35. As of November 2018, Shipt offers Costco delivery in select Florida markets.[100]

In October 2017, Costco launched same-day and two-day grocery delivery options for members.[101]

Products

[edit]

Costco has a frequently changing inventory and is known for carrying products for a time, then discontinuing them or using them as seasonal products.[102] Over the years, Costco has gradually expanded its range of products and services. Initially, it preferred to sell only boxed products that could be dispensed by simply tearing the stretch wrap off a pallet.[citation needed] It now[when?] sells many other products that are more difficult to handle, such as art, books, caskets, clothing, computer software, fine wine, furniture, home appliances, home electronics, hot tubs, jewelry, perishable items (such as dairy, fresh baked goods, flowers, fresh produce, meat, seafood), solar panels, tires, and vacuum cleaners.[citation needed][103] Many warehouses also have gas stations, pharmacies, hearing aid centers, optometrists, eye and sunglass centers, photo processors, and tire garages.[citation needed]

Some locations have liquor stores kept separate from the main warehouse in order to comply with liquor license restrictions, while in some states alcohol is sold in the warehouse with the rest of the merchandise. In some states (such as Texas), the liquor store must be owned and operated by a separate company with separate employees.[104] In 2006, Costco lost a lawsuit against the state of Washington in which it was seeking to purchase wine directly from the producer, bypassing the state retail monopoly.[105] In Australia, Costco has to comply with regulations set by each state they choose to trade in;[106] their first store in the Australian state of Victoria benefits from liberal-oriented alcohol licensing laws in that country, with retailers permitted to sell alcohol on shelves within the store in a manner similar to most European countries.[citation needed] In New Zealand, the country's sole warehouse in West Auckland cannot sell alcohol due to The Trusts' monopoly on liquor stores in the area.[107]

Kirkland Signature

[edit]
Kirkland Signature logo
Kirkland Signature logo
Kirkland Signature branded bottled water, pictured in 2005
Kirkland Signature "Extra Fancy Mixed Nuts", pictured in 2022.

"Kirkland Signature" is Costco's private label brand, used for a variety of products sold at Costco's warehouses and website. Costco introduced Kirkland Signature in 1995, deriving the name from the location of Costco's then corporate headquarters, Kirkland, Washington.[108][109] It accounts for almost a third of all Costco sales and is growing faster than Costco sales.[110]

The idea for the private label was to provide the appearance of brand name quality products at discounted prices.[111] To counteract the consumer confidence problem common in private labels, some of its products are co-branded with the name brands of their manufacturers,[112] such as Chinet, Jelly Belly, Keurig Green Mountain, Ocean Spray, Stearns & Foster, and Starbucks.[113] Some Kirkland Signature products still carry white-label brands but are otherwise manufactured by a partner, such as Duracell and Niagara Bottling.[113]

Publications

[edit]

Costco Connection

[edit]

Costco Connection is a magazine sent free to the Costco executive members; it can also be accessed online by anyone, free of charge.[114] Until the end of 2018, the magazine was known as The Costco Connection. But with the January/February 2019 issue, "the", the definite article was dropped from the name and now the magazine is known as just Costco Connection.

The magazine was established in 1987 as a newsprint publication and converted to a magazine in 1997.[115] It features articles which regularly tie into the corporation along with business, celebrity features, cooking, entertaining, health, home improvement, and social articles, as well as coupons and ads. MediaPost reports: "While about 90% of the magazine's advertising is co-op, increasingly national advertisers such as Procter & Gamble are buying space, notes Roeglin -- presumably because of the pub's gargantuan reach and the data it has on its subscribers (whose average household income is $156,000 a year). 'We see about 56% of our subscribers a month buy something at one of our stores based on something they've read in the magazine,' says Roeglin."[116] The magazine is one of the largest-circulation print monthlies in the United States[116] and presently is the third in circulation figures in the United States after AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin.

Other publications

[edit]

Costco also publishes the Costco Household Almanac, an annual edition started in 2007. The 200+ pages almanac carries a lot of helpful tips to Costco readers and carries ads from suppliers. Costco also publishes a cookbook series.

Services

[edit]

Concierge service

[edit]

Costco offers a free "concierge" service to members who purchase electronics, to help answer questions regarding setup and use and avoid potential returns due to not understanding how to use the products.[117]

Costco Auto and Home Insurance

[edit]

Costco has an agreement with CONNECT, powered by American Family Insurance, for auto insurance, home insurance and umbrella insurance.[118]


Costco business services

[edit]

On March 9, 2005, NOVA Information Systems (NOVA) partnered with Costco to market and support payment processing services to Costco Canada's Business Executive Members.[119]

Costco photo services

[edit]

Costco Photo Center is a multi-functional photography printing service offering photo items through its website, costcophotocenter.com. The website provides free unlimited digital file storage with a current membership. Prior to February 14, 2021, in-store photo centers offered many services such as same day photo printing (on select sizes/material) and online order pickup. In-store service/pickup is no longer offered, as all in-store photo centers closed permanently on February 14, 2021.

Costco Optical

[edit]

Costco Optical ranks as the fifth-largest optical company in the US, as of 2015.[120] Optometrists working at Costco locations will see patients without Costco memberships,[121] although a membership is required to fill a prescription at the optical department.[122]

Costco Travel

[edit]

Costco Travel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Costco Wholesale and offers leisure travel to Costco members of the United States and Canada.[123]

The program offers vacation packages to the Caribbean, Europe, Florida, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico, and the South Pacific.[124]

Food service

[edit]
Food concession stand at the Costco warehouse in Overland Park, Kansas

If you raise the [price of the] effing hot dog, I will kill you.

Jim Sinegal to W. Craig Jelinek, when Jelinek suggested increasing the price of the hot dog.[125]

In 1985, Costco started to sell freshly prepared food through a hot dog cart at its original Seattle warehouse.[22] Most Costco locations now have a food court.[126] They can be indoors or outdoors,[127] but the menu is essentially the same: hot dog with drink (one of the most popular items), pizza, frozen yogurt/ice cream, Pepsico beverages, baked items, and sandwiches.[128] Costco offers a quarter-pound 100% beef hot dog and 20 US fluid ounces (590 ml) drink (with refills) for US$1.50, the same price since 1985. Some US locations also offer Polish sausage or bratwurst in addition to hot dogs, at the same $1.50 price.[129][130][131] In Australia, the hot dog is made of pork and is sold with a large soda for AUD$1.99. In Canada, the price for a hot dog and soda with refills is C$1.50.[132] In Mexico, the hot dog is made of 100% beef and includes a drink (with refills) for MXN$35. In the UK, the hot dog is also made from beef and customers also get a drink (with refills) for £1.50. Costco sold more than 137 million quarter-pound (113 g) hot dogs in its food courts in 2017.[131] In Taiwan and Japan, the hot dog is made of pork as well. Japan's price for their 120-gram hot dog & refillable 600-ml drink is ¥180.[133]

As of June 2022, cheese or pepperoni pizza (along with pre-ordering of full pizzas to take home), chicken bakes, ice cream (vanilla), ice cream sundae (vanilla, with very berry or chocolate sauce toppings), fruit smoothies, latte freeze (without chocolate), mocha freeze (with chocolate), and twisted churros (in select stores) are offered at all United States locations.[134] Some food court items are only available in certain countries.[135] For example, the bulgogi bake and mango boba tea are only available in Australia, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan;[136] poutine is available in Canada and France. There are, however, temporary menu items available exclusively in several countries, like the pastor taco-topped pizzas in Mexico.[137][138]

United States menu changes in March 2020
Original Item Replacement Item
Veggie/Combo Pizza No longer offered (this includes the discontinuation of the "Italian Sausage" pizza topping as well)
Frozen Yogurt Vanilla Ice Cream (with addition of chocolate sauce sundae)
Turkey Provolone No longer offered
Twisted Churro Replaced with dual-flavor churro in late 2020/early 2021, name remained same
Chicken Caesar Salad No longer offered
Chicken Bake Replaced with factory-made item of same name, no longer hand-made in store (at most locations)
Diced Onion (topping) No longer offered
Sauerkraut (topping)
Deli Mustard (condiment)
Relish (condiment) Offered in select locations, expected to resume at all locations (no time period for return)

Due to slow sales, in 2009, the pretzel was replaced by the churro.[139] In April 2013, Pepsi replaced all Coca-Cola fountain drinks at U.S. locations because Coke had raised its prices; this helped keep the hot dog combo with soda at its original US$1.50 price.[140]

In select Costco food courts, Costco was selling cheeseburgers for a limited time to experiment sales. The cheeseburger was not successful, and never spread to more than a few locations.[141][needs update]

Costco credit card

[edit]

On April 1, 2016, in US, Citigroup became the exclusive issuer of Costco's branded credit cards. Prior to that, Costco credit cards had been issued by American Express since 2001, and Costco accepted only American Express cards for credit transactions. After the switch of its co-branded cards to Citi, Costco ceased accepting AmEx and began exclusively accepting Visa. AmEx cited the reason for the split that Costco was asking for lower transaction fees than AmEx was willing to grant.[142][143][144] In Canada, Costco ended its AmEx relationship in 2014, and starting in 2015,[145] it partnered with Capital One Mastercard for branded credit cards.[146] In 2020, Capital One announced it would be ending the partnership in late 2021.[147] It was announced that beginning in March 2022, Costco will begin a partnership with CIBC Mastercard.[148] Costco branded credit cards from both issuers also serve as alternate Costco membership cards, with a customized reverse side containing membership info.[149]

Costco Audiobook App

[edit]

In March 2021, Costco started selling audiobooks and launched a corresponding iOS and Android app to listen to purchases.[150] The app is free, however the books are exclusive to Costco members. The retailer sells audiobooks in bundles grouped by genre or author, with prices ranging from $5 to $50. Audiobooks are currently only available at U.S. locations.[151]

Labor relations

[edit]

Employee rights

[edit]

While some former Price Club locations in California and the northeastern United States are staffed by Teamsters,[152] the majority of Costco locations are not unionized, although there was a drive in 2012 to unionize some locations in Canada.[153] The Teamsters claim that over 15,000 Costco employees are union members.[154] The non-union locations have revisions to their Costco Employee Agreement every three years concurrent with union contract ratifications in locations with collective bargaining agreements. The Employee Agreement sets forth such things as benefits, wages, disciplinary procedures, paid holidays, bonuses, and seniority. The Employee Agreement is subject to change by Costco at any time and offers no absolute protection to the workers. As of June 2022, non-supervisory hourly wages ranged from $17.50 to $28.45 in the U.S., $16.00 to $28.70 in Canada, and £9.75 to £13.90 in the United Kingdom. In the U.S. as of 2005, eighty-five percent of Costco's workers had health insurance, compared with less than fifty percent at Walmart and Target.[155] Health benefits include coverage through Aetna,[156] remote primary care through Teladoc, second opinions and clinical navigation by Grand Rounds, varieties of health insurance agencies with Custom Benefit Consultants Inc. (CBC),[156] and wellness coaching by Omada.[citation needed]

In February 2021, Costco announced that it would be raising the starting rate for its hourly store workers in the United States to $16 an hour. Costco has been actively raising their minimum wage starting with $14 during 2018, and into $15 during 2019. They further add that 20% of their hourly employees will be subject to the minimum wage change.[157]

Contractors

[edit]

Product-demonstration (e.g., food samples) employees work for an independent company. In the western U.S., the company is called Warehouse Demo Services, Kirkland, Washington.[158] Costco also uses Club Demonstration Services (CDS), based in San Diego, California.[159] Demonstration employees receive a pay and benefit package that is less than that of Costco employees. As of August 1, 2017, demonstrations/samples are provided by CDS in Canada.[160]

Public health

[edit]

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the first Costco store in Perth, Australia, unexpectedly opened on March 19, 2020, without an opening ceremony and earlier than its planned time of 8:00AM due to high demand, especially for toilet paper products, to ease panic buying in mainstream supermarkets in Australia, although toilet paper was limited to only one per transaction. Carts and other objects were cleaned regularly to minimize the risk of contracting the virus.[citation needed]

As of March 6, 2020, Costco contractor CDS has temporarily stopped providing free food samples in several Costco stores globally amid public health concerns regarding COVID-19.[161]

On December 23, 2020, a Costco store in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, was forced to temporarily close after the store ignored restrictions on store capacity.[162]

Discontinued concepts

[edit]

Costco Home

[edit]

The first Costco Home warehouse opened in 1983, and was rebuilt / expanded in 2002, in Seattle.[163] The warehouse's concept was to combine the value, setting and members-only elements of Costco's warehouse clubs with the product array one would find at an upscale home store, such as Fortunoff or Crate & Barrel. The Costco Home warehouses sold furniture, housewares, kitchen products and accessories from higher-end brands such as Lexington, Ralph Lauren and Waterford[164] in a warehouse-club setting. Costco claimed that, similar to its main warehouses, it accepted lower margins in return for greater volume with minimal overhead.

On April 2, 2009, the company announced that it would be abandoning its Costco Home concept, closing the two existing stores in Kirkland, Washington and Tempe, Arizona on July 3, 2009, and abandoning plans for a third store on the West Coast.[165] The company cited cutbacks in consumer spending on home products and its interest in focusing on its core business as the main reasons.

Controversies

[edit]

In 2010, Mercy for Animals conducted an undercover investigation at Buckeye Veal Farm, a veal supplier to Costco.[166] Immediately following the investigative release, Costco adopted a policy against purchasing veal from producers that use the crate-and-chain production method.[167] The case prompted Ohio lawmakers to vote in favor of a veal crate phase-out in the state.[168]

In 2012, Mercy for Animals conducted another undercover investigation of a pork supplier to major retailers such as Costco, Walmart, Safeway, Kroger, and Kmart.[169] Before the public release of the investigation, Costco announced they would begin requiring their pork suppliers to phase out gestation crates.[170][171]

In 2014, The Guardian reported that Costco is a client of Charoen Pokphand Foods. Over six months, The Guardian traced down a supply chain from slave ships in Asian waters to leading producers and retailers. Costco has published a statement saying it has had a supplier code of conduct since 1999 which does not allow this practice, and that independent auditors check for violations regularly.[172][173][174][175]

In 2015, The Humane Society of the United States conducted an undercover investigation at an egg supplier to Costco.[176] An undercover worker at Hillandale Farms, a major egg supplier to Costco, filmed conditions in which egg-laying hens lived in tiny, wire cages.[177] Following the investigations, several celebrities including Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling publicly wrote to Costco to address this issue.[178] Following efforts by animal protection nonprofits including The Humane League,[179] Costco released an updated commitment to source exclusively cage-free eggs in its operations.[180]

In 2016, a follow up to Costco's shift to cage-free eggs by animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) reported cannibalism and high mortality at a cage-free Costco egg supplier.[181][182] Costco denied the allegations, but the video sparked a discussion about animal welfare problems continuing to exist at cage-free egg farms.[181] Writing in The Huffington Post, DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung argued that the new investigation, rather than suggesting that Costco should keep birds in cages, indicated that hens should have the right not to be raised for food or kept on farms at all.[183]

In January 2017, Costco was brought to court in the US for lax pharmacy controls by violation of the Controlled Substances Act. Allegations such as Costco "filling prescriptions that were incomplete", or were for substances "beyond various doctors' scope of practice". The case was settled after Costco paid US$11.75 million.[184]

In August 2017, a federal judge ordered a "deceptive" Costco to pay Tiffany & Co. $19.4 million for misleading consumers into thinking they could buy legitimate Tiffany merchandise at warehouse club prices.[185][186]

Costco was criticised in 2019 by the Natural Resources Defense Council and SumOfUs for using virgin Canadian boreal forest to make its toilet paper. NRDC says that over the previous twenty years, 28 million acres of Canadian boreal forest had been cut down to make toilet paper.[187][188]

In September 2020, CBS News reported that Costco has stopped selling Palmetto Cheese after the owner of the pimento cheese brand called Black Lives Matter a "terror organization." Costco posted a note to the item in their Myrtle Beach location indicating that the item will not be reordered, and over 120 Costco's throughout the US will no longer be carrying the item.[189]

In October 2020, Costco dropped Chaokoh coconut milk over the allegations of forced monkey labor. PETA accused the manufacturer, Theppadungporn Coconut Co., of using forced monkey labor, finding cruelty to monkeys at their farms and facilities. Ken Kimble, Costco's Vice President of Corporate Food and Sundries, stated Costco has launched an investigation regarding the issue and have ceased purchasing from the supplier/owner of the brand Chaokoh condemning the use of monkey labor. Kimble also stated that Costco will continue to monitor the implementation of the harvest policies and once satisfied will resume purchasing.[190]

In December 2020, Costco announced plans to end the use of eggs from caged chickens throughout its operations worldwide.[191] It became the first US retailer to issue a global policy on the confinement of animals in its supply chain.[192] Josh Dahmen, Costco financial planning and investor relations director also said that "We are in the process of making that transition to cage-free eggs. We will continue to increase the percentage over time, with a goal of eventually getting to 100%."[193]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter And Fiscal Year 2022 Operating Results" (Press release). Costco Wholesale. September 22, 2022. Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022 – via GlobeNewswire.
  2. ^ a b c "Corporate Profile". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  3. ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation Company Profile". Hoover's. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  4. ^ "Top 250 Global Retailers (2020)". National Retail Federation. March 4, 2020. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e Gabler, Neal (December 15, 2016). "The Magic in the Warehouse". Fortune. pp. 184–189. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  6. ^ "Costco Wholesale". Fortune. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Bartel, Frank (December 18, 1983). "Costco: The new 'wholesale' club". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B1. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  8. ^ "Death of Costco co-founder John Cusko, 74, 'a complete shock'". The Seattle Times. August 1, 2017. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  9. ^ and the Canadian head office is situated in Ottawa, Ontario. "Costco Wholesale shareholder info". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  10. ^ a b c d e "About Costco". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Costco Wholesale Historical Highlights" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. February 12, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
  12. ^ https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/129998864/wellington-and-christchurch-are-next-in-line-for-a-costco-followed-by-another-in-auckland-but-where-else
  13. ^ a b https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/costco-nz-opening-what-makes-new-store-globally-unique/URN4JK5QCSHTGWAYSCXR7FLHYY/
  14. ^ Ramirez, Anthony (February 2, 1982). "Sol Price Knows How to Spur Competition". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, pp. 1, 15. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Monteagudo, Merrie (August 1, 2021). "From the Archives: First Price Club opens in San Diego 45 years ago". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  16. ^ "Morena Warehouse". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  17. ^ Michelson, Alan. "Hughes Aircraft Company, Warehouse #401, San Diego, CA". Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Kraul, Chris (May 4, 1986). "No-frills shopping produces plentiude for penny-pinchers". The Bradenton Herald. Knight-Ridder Newspapers. p. F7. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Bryan, Jay (September 11, 1986). "Second giant discount shopping club set to open in Montreal". Montreal Gazette. p. E1. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b "Price Club moving into Spain, Portugal". San Francisco Examiner. Associated Press. December 17, 1992. p. D3. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Chesley, Frank (June 6, 2007). "Biography of Jeffrey Brotman". Historylink.org. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g Conroy, Bill (September 2019). "Costco's First Warehouse Store Was a Springboard to Global Growth". Seattle Business. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  23. ^ "First Costco discount warehouse opens in Seattle on September 15, 1983". www.historylink.org. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  24. ^ "Costco CEO's legacy continues as he steps down". Reuters. September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  25. ^ Price, Sol; Helyar, John; Harrington, Ann (November 24, 2003). "Sol Price On Off-Price". Fortune. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  26. ^ "Costco, Form SC 13E4, Filing Date Nov 21, 1994". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  27. ^ "PriceCostco Company History". FundingUniverse. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
  28. ^ "The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant". CNBC. April 11, 2011. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  29. ^ "Top 100 Retailers (2014)". National Retail Federation. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  30. ^ "Costco to enter China through Alibaba's Tmall". Reuters. October 14, 2014. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  31. ^ "Costco to Open 28 Locations in 2013". Produce Industry News. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  32. ^ "Costco Wholesale Historical Highlights" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. December 15, 2016. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  33. ^ "King Husein: On the back of a simple concept, Husein has built a business that has transformed an industry" Archived March 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Metal Construction News, October 31, 2014. Retrieved on March 27, 2020.
  34. ^ "Costco just opened its first store in China and the response is insane". finance.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  35. ^ "BJ's Smaller in Store Size but Mightier in SKU Count". Home Textiles Today. Reed Elsevier. July 20, 2009. Archived from the original on November 1, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  36. ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports January Sales Results". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  37. ^ a b c d e "2018 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. October 18, 2018. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  38. ^ "Costco Corporate Profile". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on March 10, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  39. ^ a b "2021 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. October 10, 2021. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  40. ^ a b "2020 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. October 7, 2020. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  41. ^ "Costco, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Oct 19, 2012" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  42. ^ "Costco". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  43. ^ "Benchmarks by Company". American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  44. ^ Horowitz, Julia (August 2017). "Costco's co-founder and chairman dies". Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  45. ^ "Costco Villa Coapa · C. Puente 186, Coapa, Amsa, Tlalpan, 14380 Coapa, CDMX, Mexico". Costco Villa Coapa · C. Puente 186, Coapa, Amsa, Tlalpan, 14380 Coapa, CDMX, Mexico. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  46. ^ "Costco Chingford · 1, Off Shadbolt Ave, Harbet Rd, London E4 8GP, United Kingdom". Costco Chingford · 1, Off Shadbolt Ave, Harbet Rd, London E4 8GP, United Kingdom. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  47. ^ "Costco Wholesale Iceland · Kauptún 3, 210 Gardabaer, Iceland". Costco Wholesale Iceland · Kauptún 3, 210 Gardabaer, Iceland. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  48. ^ "コストコホールセール 多摩境倉庫店 · 3 Chome-6-1 Oyamagaoka, Machida, Tokyo 194-0215, Japan". コストコホールセール 多摩境倉庫店 · 3 Chome-6-1 Oyamagaoka, Machida, Tokyo 194-0215, Japan. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  49. ^ "Costco Melbourne Docklands Prices List – Comparison *Updated*". BuckScoop. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  50. ^ Harris, Sophia (November 28, 2021). "Attention shoppers: Overcharged for an item at checkout? You might be able to get it for free". CBC News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  51. ^ https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/130006625/shoppers-get-first-taste-of-costco-in-new-zealand--but-is-it-cheaper
  52. ^ https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/09/28/a-look-at-the-giant-sized-offerings-as-costco-auckland-opens/
  53. ^ https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/09/29/costco-bulk-buying-saves-cash-but-may-have-hidden-costs-expert/
  54. ^ Desjardins, Doug (December 19, 2005). "At 40% larger, new Costco prototype redefines big". DSN Retailing Today. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  55. ^ "Salt Lake Costco becomes largest in the world". Deseret News. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  56. ^ "Largest Costco in Canada opens in St. John's". BNN Bloomberg. June 28, 2019. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  57. ^ "Retiring CEO of Costco takes a look back on his legacy". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 26, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  58. ^ Shapiro, Don (September 20, 2018). "Costco's Taiwan Success Story". Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  59. ^ "First Costco Business Center in Las Vegas opens". Las Vegas Sun. February 20, 2009. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  60. ^ a b Loeb, Walter (December 3, 2018). "Costco Gets Bigger, Better And More Profitable With New Business Centers". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  61. ^ "7 Benefits of Shopping at Costco Business Center". Costco. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  62. ^ "Costco Business Center is better than regular Costco, some say". Business Insider. July 7, 2018. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  63. ^ "Costco Business Center Locations". Costco Business Center. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  64. ^ "New Locations". Costco. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  65. ^ "Costco Business Centre". Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  66. ^ "St hubert business centre Saint-hubert, QC Costco Warehouse". www.costcobusinesscentre.ca. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  67. ^ "Costco Opens 3rd Canadian 'Business Centre' Storefront with Several More Planned". www.retail-insider.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  68. ^ "Costco - 34 Year Stock Price History | COST". www.macrotrends.net. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  69. ^ "2005 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  70. ^ "2006 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  71. ^ "2007 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  72. ^ "2009 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  73. ^ "2010 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  74. ^ "2011 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  75. ^ "2012 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  76. ^ "2013 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  77. ^ "2014 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  78. ^ "2015 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  79. ^ "2016 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  80. ^ a b "2017 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  81. ^ "2021 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. October 6, 2021. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  82. ^ a b Pratap, Abhijeet (June 27, 2020). "Business Model of Costco". notesmatic. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  83. ^ Reiff, Nathan. "How Costco Makes Money: merchandise sales and membership fees". Investopedia. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  84. ^ "Join Costco". Costco. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  85. ^ Lewis, Robin (February 16, 2016). "'Costcoholics': Costco's $113.7 Billion Addicts". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  86. ^ Fredrix, Emily (November 16, 2009). "Costco nixes Coke products over pricing dispute". The Street. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
  87. ^ Joe Guy Collier (December 10, 2009). "Coke returns to Costco next week". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on December 16, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  88. ^ Melissa Allison (December 10, 2009). "Costco brings back Coke next week, reports 1 percent boost in first-quarter profit". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  89. ^ a b Kalogeropoulos, Demitrios (October 1, 2014). "How Costco Is Investing $2 Billion in Its Future -". The Motley Fool. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  90. ^ "A Cart Full of Energy Savings" (PDF). PGE.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  91. ^ Devenyns, Jessi (September 24, 2018). "Costco's in-house poultry production signals a new supply chain approach". Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  92. ^ Shaffer, Erica (September 21, 2018). "Costco poultry complex to have retail ripple effect". MEAT+POULTRY. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  93. ^ a b Meyersohn, Nathaniel (October 11, 2019). "It's only $4.99. But Costco's rotisserie chicken comes at a huge price". CNN. Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  94. ^ "U.S. Meat and Poultry Production & Consumption: An Overview" (PDF). North American Meat Institute. September 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 4, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  95. ^ Graff, Amy (December 11, 2021). "The reason Costco checks receipts at the door isn't about shoplifting". SFGATE. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  96. ^ Stankiewicz, Kevin (December 14, 2020). "Costco CEO says company is doubling down on brick-and-mortar, even as it invests in e-commerce". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  97. ^ "Costco's online sales jump 50% in fiscal year 2020". Digital Commerce 360. September 20, 2020. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  98. ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation Launches B2B E-commerce Site". Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  99. ^ "Costco Grocery Delivery - Instacart". Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  100. ^ Burrows, Dan. "Costco Expands Online Grocery Delivery With Shipt". Kiplinger. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  101. ^ "You Can Now Order Same-Day Delivery From Costco". Fortune. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  102. ^ De Maria, Meghan. "16 Things Costco Won't Be Bringing Back". Eat This Not That. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  103. ^ "Costco About Us". Costco. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  104. ^ Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code section 22.14
  105. ^ "Costco Loses Long Fight to Reform Wine Distribution Laws". Wine Spectator. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  106. ^ "About Costco". Costco Australia. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  107. ^ Stock, Rob (September 15, 2022). "Why Costco won't be selling booze from its Auckland mega-store". Stuff. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  108. ^ Meyersohn, Nathaniel (February 5, 2022). "Why every Costco product is called 'Kirkland Signature'". CNN. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  109. ^ "Business Spotlight: Costco Wholesale". Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved October 26, 2006.
  110. ^ Green, Dennis (January 11, 2019). "Shoppers love Costco's Kirkland Signature brand, and it's turned into the retailer's biggest asset". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  111. ^ Broberg, Brad (April 1, 2007). "Costco buying power makes dent in private-label wine market". Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  112. ^ Duff, Mike (December 19, 2005). "A private label success story". DSN Retailing Today. Archived from the original on February 21, 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
  113. ^ a b "These are the big brands hidden behind Costco's Kirkland label". MoneyWise. May 9, 2022. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  114. ^ "The Costco Connection Online Edition". Costco. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  115. ^ Nathaniel Meyersohn (February 24, 2020). "The Costco Connection is America's fourth biggest magazine". CNN Business. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  116. ^ a b Robins, J. Max (March 6, 2015). "Costco's Surprisingly Large-Circulation Magazine". MediaPost. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  117. ^ "Costco Wholesale Return Policy". Costco. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  118. ^ "Costco Car Insurance Review". www.investopedia.com. January 22, 2021. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  119. ^ "NOVA Partners with Costco Wholesale Canada to Extend Card Processing Services to Costco Business Members".[permanent dead link‍]
  120. ^ "Snapshots of Optical's 10 Largest U.S. Retail Players". Vision Monday. May 16, 2016. Archived from the original on June 26, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  121. ^ Allan, Patrick (June 17, 2014). "The Best Things You Can Do at Costco Without a Membership". The Best Things You Can Do at Costco Without a Membership. Lifehacker. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  122. ^ Conover, Raechel (August 25, 2015). "How Non-Members Can Shop at Costco". msn.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  123. ^ "Costco Travel". Costco Travel. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  124. ^ "Vacation Packages". Costco Travel. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  125. ^ Margo (April 18, 2018). "Costco CEO Craig Jelinek on Shareholders, Costco.com, & Hot Dogs". 425 Business. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  126. ^ "10 Things You Didn't Know About Costco Food Court". DailyMeal.com. November 6, 2017. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  127. ^ "Things You Didn't Know About Costco Food Court". Fox News. November 30, 2015. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  128. ^ "COSTCO CATERING MENU PRICES | Costco Party Platters, Trays, etc". Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  129. ^ Gaudette, Karen (May 24, 2006). "Costco is the place for inexpensive dining". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011.
  130. ^ Wight, David & Bjorkman, Steve (Illustrator) (March 2009). "Order in the Court (Costco food courts consistently deliver the value, quality, and efficiency members appreciate)". Costco Connection. pp. 20–24. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) History of Costco Food Courts.
  131. ^ a b Romano, Benjamin (July 5, 2018). "Costco changes up food court menu, but the $1.50 hot dog deal remains". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  132. ^ "Order in the court" (PDF). Costco Connection. 24 (3): 21. March 2009.[permanent dead link‍]
  133. ^ Compton, Natalie B. (February 25, 2017). "Costco Is Even Better in Taiwan". Vice. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  134. ^ "Costco Food Menu Prices - Costco Menu". costcomenu.com. June 1, 2022. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  135. ^ "Costco Food Court - Menu, Prices, Hours, Nutrition, Membership". costcofoodcourt.org. June 18, 2022. Archived from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  136. ^ "Costco Japan's bulgogi bake is a melting pot of deliciousness". February 13, 2014. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  137. ^ "Costco Food Court Nutrition Data". Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  138. ^ Lopez, Fana (April 2018). "¡Amantes de Costco y los taquitos! Ya existe la pizza de pastor y el mundo no volverá a ser igual". Buzzfeed (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  139. ^ "Food Court questions" (PDF). Costco Connection: 59. May 2009.[permanent dead link‍]
  140. ^ "Costco's $1.50 hot dog-soda combo to get big change". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  141. ^ No, Michelle (April 2018). "Costco's Food Court Is Testing Cheeseburgers And They Look Glorious". Buzzfeed. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  142. ^ Cannon, Ellen (June 23, 2016). "Costco's launch of new Citi Visa card leaves angry customers on hold". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  143. ^ Panzar, Javier (March 2, 2015). "Costco names Citi, Visa as new credit card partners after AmEx deal ends". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  144. ^ Cowley, Stacy (June 23, 2016). "Costco's Transition to Visa Cards Riddled With Problems". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  145. ^ Schecter, Barbara; Leong, Melissa (September 18, 2014). "Costco to stop accepting American Express cards in Canada, switches to Capital One and Mastercard". Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  146. ^ "Capital One Mastercard | Costco". Costco.ca. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  147. ^ Khan, Ahmar (October 29, 2020). "Capital One ending Costco and Hudson's Bay contracts, closing offices in Montreal and Toronto". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  148. ^ "Learn About The Benefits Of Your New CIBC Costco Mastercard". CIBC. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  149. ^ "Costco Anywhere Visa Cards By Citi". Costco.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  150. ^ Kozlowski, Michael (March 23, 2021). "Costco launches new Audiobook Store and iOS App". goodereader.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  151. ^ Meisenzahl, Mary. "Costco is adding an audiobook app as a new perk for members ahead of an anticipated price hike". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  152. ^ "Costco Workers Stand Together". Teamster.org. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  153. ^ "Unionize Costco". Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  154. ^ "Teamsters Local 986 Costco Members". www.local986.org. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  155. ^ Greenhouse, Steven (July 17, 2005). "How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  156. ^ a b Martin, Erik. "Costco health insurance plan options". Insurance.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  157. ^ "Costco raises minimum wage to $16". The San Francisco Times. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  158. ^ "Costco Product Demonstrations". Warehouse Demo Services (WDS). Archived from the original on May 29, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2007.
  159. ^ "About CDS". Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  160. ^ Edmonds, Robert (February 15, 2012). "We Are Family?". North Bay Bohemian. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  161. ^ Hanbury, Mary. "Costco's free food samples are being pulled from some of its stores as coronavirus worries grow". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  162. ^ "Clausuran sucursal de Costco en Cuernavaca por incumplir medidas sanitarias". proceso.com.mx (in Spanish). Proceso. December 23, 2020. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  163. ^ "Location of first Costco and year opened". Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  164. ^ Desjardins, Doug (January 6, 2003). "Costco Home poised to revolutionize high-end furniture". DSN Retailing Today. Archived from the original on November 28, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
  165. ^ "Costco Home furniture store in Tempe to close". The Arizona Republic. April 2, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  166. ^ "Crated Cruelty: The Hidden Price of Veal". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  167. ^ Allison, Melissa. "Costco bans treatment of veal calves that industry calls typical". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  168. ^ Runkle, Nathan. "Progress for Ohio's Farmed Animals". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  169. ^ "Walmart Cruelty: The Hidden Cost of Walmart's Pork". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  170. ^ Runkle, Nathan. "Victory! Costco and Kmart Commit to Ditching Gestation Crates Following MFA Investigation". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  171. ^ Runkle, Nathan. "Safeway Pledges to Eliminate Cruel Gestation Crates from Supply Chain". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  172. ^ Hodal, Kate; Chris Kelly; Felicity Lawrence (June 10, 2014). "Revealed: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2014. Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods, buys fishmeal, which it feeds to its farmed prawns, from some suppliers that own, operate or buy from fishing boats manned with slaves. ... CP Foods admits that slave labour is part of its supply chain.
  173. ^ "Shrimp Sold at Walmart, Costco Tied to Slave Labor". CBS Money Watch. June 11, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  174. ^ "Walmart, Tesco and Costco among retailers responding to revelations of slavery in prawn supply chains". The Guardian. June 10, 2014. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  175. ^ "Disclosure Regarding Human Trafficking and Anti-Slavery". Costco. June 2014. Archived from the original on July 5, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  176. ^ Worl, Justin. "An Undercover Investigation Alleges Major Mistreatment of Egg-Laying Hens". Time. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  177. ^ "Costco: It's Time to Go Cage-Free - The Humane Society of the United States". action.humanesociety.org. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  178. ^ "Brad Pitt has a major grievance with Costco". Business Insider. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  179. ^ "Take A Stand Against Animal Cruelty". thehumaneleague.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  180. ^ Shanker, Deena (December 28, 2015). "After months of pressure, Costco commits to a cage-free egg supply". Quartz. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  181. ^ a b Strom, Stephanie. "How 'Cage-Free' Hens Live, in Animal Advocates' Video". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 17, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  182. ^ Moyer, Justin. "'Her head has been torn off': Activists' film alleges abuse at Costco-linked cage-free egg farm". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  183. ^ Hsiung, Wayne. "'They're Being Eaten Alive!' What I Saw In A Cage-Free Egg Farm". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  184. ^ "Costco Wholesale to Pay $11.75 Million to Settle Allegations of Lax Pharmacy Controls". www.justice.gov. January 19, 2017. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  185. ^ "Costco ordered to pay $19.4M for misleading 'Tiffany' jewelry". New York Post. August 14, 2017. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  186. ^ McCoy, Kevin (August 15, 2017). "Judge: Costco must pay Tiffany $19.4 million for advertising knock-off rings". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  187. ^ "The issue with tissue: how Americans are flushing forests down the toilet" (PDF). Natural Resources Defense Council. February 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  188. ^ "Costco: protect the boreal forests and use recycled pulp in your toilet paper". Sumofus. January 24, 2020. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  189. ^ "Costco reportedly drops Palmetto Cheese after owner calls BLM a "terror organization"". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  190. ^ Lauren Padgett. "Costco drops Chaokoh coconut milk over allegations of forced monkey labor". CNN. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  191. ^ "Costco transitioning to cage-free eggs worldwide". Meat + Poultry. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  192. ^ "Costco is making this major change to its egg products". Yahoo Life. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  193. ^ "Costco to ban the use of cages in its global supply chain". Poultry World. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Qwertyxp2000/Costco.
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
  • Official UK website
  • Kirkland Signature
  • Why every Costco product is called 'Kirkland Signature'? - CNN
  • Business data for Costco Wholesale Corporation:
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Qwertyxp2000/Costco&oldid=1115042571"