Costco Wholesale Membership Essay

The strategic objective of Costco is based on the concept of offering members very low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and selected private label products in a wide range of merchandise categories while producing high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover. This rapid inventory turnover, when combined with the operating efficiencies achieved by volume purchasing, efficient distribution and reduced handling of merchandise in no-frills, self service warehouse facilities, enables Costco to operate profitably at significantly lower gross margins than traditional wholesalers, discount retailers and supermarkets. (1)

Generating high sales volume and rapid inventory turnover by offering fee-paying members low prices on nationally branded and private-label products. Yes, it is appealing because the fees paid by members allowed for sufficient supplemental revenues while the turnover rates allowed Costco to receive cash for inventory before it had to pay many of its merchandise vendors.

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates an international chain of membership warehouses, which carries quality, brand name

Costco’s business model is called a subscription business model. This is a business model where customer must pay a subscription price to have access to the product/service. Customers who want to shop at Costco must buy a membership with the promise of lower prices to make up for the initial upfront cost; the current membership cost is $55 in the US. The service that Costco provides is its ability to use economies of scale to bulk buy a large amount of foods at low prices and then to pass these savings onto its customers.

Exploitability- Since Grocery Checkout is the only online grocery destination in London, they can exploit the full potential of their resources. Grocery Checkout’s

Costco’s business model is focused on producing high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover by offering members low prices on a limited selection of national name brands and select private-label products in a wide range variety. Costco is focused in low-cost strategy is concentrated on a narrow buy segment and out competing rivals by having lower costs, therefore being able serve a niche consumers at a lower price. (Gamble, John and Thompson, Arthur (2009)

Market players generally have a wide variety of potential customers, which considerably weakens buyer power. Although consumers in this industry may be loyal to particular brands or chains, loyalty to retailer brands is arguably less important than competitive pricing. Many supermarkets run rewards programs for frequent shoppers, such as Tesco’s ‘Clubcard’, and these schemes can help companies retain customers and reduce buyer power.

Hi, Michelle! I really love your example about the Costco. I have my membership of Costco. I think my family enjoy the benefits of being a member. After my wife and I got a membership card, we go their every week. The low-priced products and return program really attract many customers. The bulk package might be too much to the individual, but it helps the small business owners. Many small restaurants buy tissues, sodas, and waters from the Costco. And the home owner and small business owners are Costco’s real target customers. The Costco’s private brand also provides the good quality and low-price products to their customers. That makes people enjoy to buy things in there. And in each Costco store, they just have few products in the same category.

Some store requires their customers to pay entry fee. The member fee varies from different warehouses, club and stores. For example Costco membership fees is 55$. While Sam’s club membership fees is 45$. Even though you pay for the membership, you are guaranteed to get the lowest and best prices. The question that come up why do they charge membership fees and have a lower prices on goods, rather than letting everyone in the store and charge at a higher price.

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.

Costco is one of the most profitable retail stores in the United States at the moment. This is in spite of the prevailing tough global economic times and stiff competition from stores such as Wal-Mart and Target. Costco, a members’ wholesale retail store, was founded in 1983 in Washington by Jeffrey Brotman, who serves as the current Chairman of the board of directors and James Sinegal, the current company president. Costco has not been spared by the current global economic conditions. They have affected it in a number of ways that have made the company’s management respond in a manner that is meant to ensure that the business not only survives but grows even stronger. First, Costco has taken strong measures to keep

In September 1983 Costco's first warehouse opened in Seattle, Washington. At this time, warehouse outlets had long existed, but the concept of a wholesale club was relatively new and promising. Dubbed "buyers' clubs" and begun in 1976, these warehouses were wholesalers that required shoppers to become members and pay an annual membership fee. The membership fee helped reduce already-low overhead, so that items could be sold at an average of 9 percent over cost from the manufacturer. At the time Costco was formed, membership warehouses were primarily a West Coast phenomenon; however, since then, their popularity has spread throughout the United States, across the borders to Canada and Mexico, and beyond to many other countries.

Costco Wholesale has generated a revolution in how people shop: for the first time, many Americans are willing to 'pay' for the privileges of membership to a store so they can buy its products and save money. Like Wal-Mart, Costco prides itself on its low, low prices. However, in stark contrast to Wal-Mart, Costco has also made its exemplary treatment of its employees part of its marketing and sales strategy. It advertises itself as an ethical company, a company where it is a pleasure to work. This use of its HR police as a marketing strategy has proven to be effective, particularly with its target audience. While it caters to a wide and diverse audience in terms of its product diversity, on the whole Costco's target consumer is more affluent and educated than the average consumer at a big box store like Sam's Club. Costco's target audience members are interested

Jennifer Reyes Martinez Market Research 385 Thu.3:30-6:20 ID:159005723 09.19.17 Costco is a membership warehouse club that offers brand-name products of quality at great prices. The warehouse industry started its business in 1976 in San Diego, California under the name of Price Club. The pioneer of the “warehouse store” retail model was Sol Price. Sol Price was also the founder of a small discount department store called FedMart, which was originally for government employees.

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