Benefits Of Costco

As previously mentioned, Costco does have some direct competition within the industry from companies such as, another big box retailer Sam’s Club, as well as, Target and Walmart. Comparing for instance, Costco and Sam’s Club, both retailers offer basically low prices, mass quantities, miscellaneous items for the home, and require individuals to pay in order to shop at the establishment (Quirk, 2016). There is a minimal difference in the amount individuals pay to be members of these establishments; Costco’s annual fee is $55 and Sam’s Club is $45 (Quirk, 2016). Although both retailers have various similarities there are a couple of differences that stand out. For instance, Costco extends opportunities for home mortgages, security

They are performing very well from a strategic perspective. No, Costco does not enjoy a clear competitive advantage over Sam’s. It does however enjoy a competitive advantage over BJ’s. the nature of this competitive advantage includes the fact that BJ’s has too many products, which makes rapid turnover harder to achieve. I think that Costco has a winning strategy because they are selective with the

Work-life balance has been a popular topic for employees across all age and occupations for years, representing a rising concern of contemporary human resource management and labor policies. This topic has attracted the attention from the millennium generation, who is stepping into the market and beginning to grow a career. Therefore considering the increasing demand, well-designed workforce planning with diverse scheduling options offered to employees appears to be extra credits for most companies. This research paper aims to communicate the positive effects of four-day workweek, and providing support for why employers should adopt this schedule for employees and themselves through 1) introducing background and history of four-day workweek as a work schedule option and 2) demonstrating benefits of four-day workweek from both employer and employees’ perspectives.

Renee McDonald (“Plaintiff”) allegedly sustained personal injuries on October 8, 2015 while shopping at a store owned and operated by Costco (“Defendant”) in Brooklyn Park, Maryland. According to the plaintiff, while walking through the store, she tripped on mop water which caused her to fall to the ground and suffer “severe bodily injuries.” The Plaintiff claims that her fall was caused by the mop water. The mopped area had been secured with a yellow caution sign that warned customers of the wet floor. At the time of the Plaintiff’s fall, however, the sign had fallen down and was lying on the floor. Plaintiff alleges that the store did not have proper signage to warn of the hazardous condition.

The US warehouse club and superstore industry includes about 20 companies; however the major competitors that Costco faces are Sam 's Club (owned by Wal-Mart), BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Meijer. The club superstore industry is so competitive that these four companies alone hold over 90 percent of sales. These superstores are able to offer competitive pricing because as large companies they can offer a wide selection of products and have purchasing, distribution, marketing, and financing advantages. Due to low margins, the profitability of these individual superstore companies depends on high volume sales and efficient operations. This is where Costco has been able to succeed and set itself aside from the competitors.

The company has developed a top-down structure and is basically organized by the top management. The top management is not the “stereotypical” group of businessmen. These people value each and every employee of the company. Even the CEO and co-founder “Jim” doesn’t try to distance himself from the rest of the staff. His name tag simply says, “Jim”, no pretense of authority at all, just “Jim”.

It is imperative that the employee can balance his/her working life against his/her personal life. With sufficient time off and rest periods, employees will feel “looked after” and be motivated to put in more effort. There will be a reduction of mistakes because the employee has had adequate rest which results in a more positive working environment. Employers who introduce such practices in the work place in order to help employees achieve a better and satisfactory work/life balance can expect to see an increase in motivation, enhanced performance/productivity and greater staff loyalty. By implementing a positive work/life balance, companies are successful, secure a good reputation and promote positive employee relations. The Working Time Regulations 1998 stipulates that employers should provide employees with the following basic rights:

Costco is among the leading global retailers which provide customers a wide range of merchandise, ranging from small to well-known brands. The company began operations in 1983. Over the years, Costco has been a retailer in low cost membership-only leader, in warehouse club of merchandise. Moreover, Costco does not offer frills warehouse business models as its competitors do.  Costco’s major competitors are BJ’s Wholesale Club and Sam Club (Costco, 2010).

What is Costco’s business model? Is the company’s business model appealing? Why or why not?

Another important aspect is a limited selection of goods. Whereas Walmart or Target may have upwards of 150,000 items sold in their stores. Costco will have less than 4000. They also have their own private label which is only equal to 15% of what they carry in the stores, but it equals out to over 30% of their total sales currently. Another aspect of the product selection is that instead of buying many

If you have noticed, most of the time we would go for a quick errand to buy necessities we would usually go to Wal-Mart, Sam 's Club, King Soopers, Safeway, Walgreens, or Costco. Of course, there are other retail markets out there, but we 're going to focus on the "two leading American retailers, posting more revenue than any of their rivals" (Bowman): Wal-Mart and Costco. For many years, Wal-mart has been growing instantaneously and is the number one retailer in the world for many years. Although, when it comes to employee benefits, Costco 's would be considered a better choice for employees. Costco may be treating employees better when it comes to

Costco offers amazing benefits not only for full-time employees but for part-time employees, as well. They cover 90% of health care costs for both full-time employees and part time employees. Full-time Costco employees can decide from two different health care options: a Choice Plus plan and a Freedom of Choice plan. They can choose their own medical services, physicians and facilities with these plans. A similar plan like Choice Plus is available for part-time employees, also. Full-time Costco employees may also choose from two different dental plans: a core dental plan, which is offered to part-time employees, and a premium dental plan, which allows for more freedom of choice. Costco also offers a pharmacy program because of their in-house pharmacies, which make is easy to pick up prescriptions at work. Employees’ co-payments can be as small of an amount as $5 for generic medications and usually will never run any more than 15% co-pay for the most expensive branded drugs. Optical centers are also conveniently located in Costco warehouses making it easy for employees to access. The vision program for employees pays up to $60 toward a refraction eye exam and annual allowances are provided for the purchase of correctional lenses. Not only are there stellar health benefits at Costco but financial benefits as well. A 401(k) plan was created to help employees plan for a cozy retirement. Costco

Costco has many competitors with the primary two being Sam’s Club, a warehouse wholesale business being managed by Walmart, and BJ’s warehouse. Sam’s Club is offering the same services as Costco. They offer their customers lower prices than traditional stores and like Costco they sell their products in bulk to keep members interested. What makes them a threat to Costco is the cost of becoming a member to shop at their stores. For Costco’s basic membership, known as a Business membership, a price

A Business week article makes an interesting statement that Costco belongs to the very short list of companies with a culture so favorable to employees that it gives the company a competitive advantage, and it’s most likely to keep on rising over many decades. Costco sees workers as an asset to invest in, rather than a cost that must be reduced. In the U.S. Costco pays workers an average of nearly $21 per hour, almost three times the minimum wage and about twice as much of what most competitors pay. They receive great benefits and are part of a safe and healthy working environment as well. At Costco they are committed to providing its employees with opportunities for personal and career growth. Costco has implemented a strategy for a competitive advantage by having a mix of low-cost providers and differentiation. Company differentiates itself by providing consumers with products in bulk at a low per unit cost. Costco offering two types of memberships- the regular and executive membership. With an executive membership, Costco gives a 2% reward on annual Costco purchases. A holder of the executive membership receives incentives for shopping there, which leads to more sales and higher customer visits. This is just one of the many reasons customers keep going back to Costco. It has made itself a highly successful company by offering quality products and excellent customer service.

Organizational culture has been described as shared values and beliefs that underline a company’s identity. A strong culture that encourages employees from the top to the bottom in adaptation and change can increase organizational performance by energizing and motivating employees, shape behaviors, unify personnel in the goals / objectives and align employee’s actions with the priorities of the company (Daft, R., 2013). Creating a constructive culture should be a manager’s top priority because the right culture will propel a company into a top performer in its industry.