Costco Wiki

The management styles of Costco and Wal-Mart will be analyzed in the following paper that has been researched. The analysis of this topic will reveal that both Costco and Wal-Mart have some similarities, but mostly they have very different management styles that have bent them in different directions but with the same goal. Costco was the first company to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in just 5 years. For the year ending on August 31, 201, the company 's sales totaled $99 billion, with $1.7 billion net profit. Costco is 19th on the 2014 Fortune 500. Wal-Mart has over 8,500 stores in 15 countries, under over 50 different names. The company operates under its own name in the United States, including the 50 states. It operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom as Asda, in Japan as Seiyu, and in India as Best Price. It has completely owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, and Canada. Wal-Mart’s investments outside North America have had mixed results: its operations in the United Kingdom, South America and China are highly successful. Costco and Wal-Mart have both had

Costco is turning in much higher numbers for total revenue than BJ’s and higher sales than Sam’s. Costco holds 57 percent of the market share while BJ’s has 8 and Sam’s has 35 percent.

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

I like the way they sell merchandise in bulk at an affordable price. From a consumer’s standpoint, it is easy to overlook what goes on behind the scenes down to how the company is run. Yes, Costco is very popular, but I’ve learned there are many risk factors that come into play when running a Fortune 500 company. A few risk factors include: Costco is highly dependent on the financial performance of U.S. and Canada. If membership loyalty starts to decline mainly in North America, then it can greatly hinder the success of the company. Since Costco sells discounted products on 4,000 products daily, the chances of selling an unsafe product can result in illness or injury that could harm their

The company’s first location was opened in 1976 under the name of Price Club. Originally it served only small businesses, but later on it found that it could increase its sales by extending its services to non-business members. The first warehouse operating under the name, Costco, began functioning in 1983 in Seattle, Washington. In 1993 Costco and Price Club merged. Today, the company operates under Costco Wholesale name and has its warehouses all across the world. As of the end of 2015 it has close to 700 warehouses in total located in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Spain, Taiwan and Korea. Costco’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol

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)

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.

With 360 warehouses, located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and the United Kingdom, Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest and most profitable chain of its kind.

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).

According to Blacktown City Council (2014), Costco Wholesale Corporation operates an international chain of membership warehouses which carry quality brand name merchandise at substantially reduced prices compared to other conventional wholesale or retail outlets. It began its operations in 1983 in Seattle, Washington and later merged with The Price Company in October 1993 operating under the name PriceCostco, had 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales (Costco Wholesale, 2015). As of December 2014, the Company operated a chain of 671 warehouses in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico (474 locations), nine Canadian provinces (88 locations), Mexico (34 locations), the United Kingdom (26 locations), Japan (20 locations), Korea (11 locations), Taiwan (10 locations, through a 55%-owned subsidiary), Australia (seven locations) and Spain (one location). The Company’s online business also operates websites in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Mexico (Costco Annual Report, 2014).

Costco has a cost (i.e. price) advantage and would be able to price an entrant out of the market. We must still be mindful of other big-box retailers that offer portions of what Costco has for inventory. Companies such as Super Wal-Mart, IKEA and even WinCo are lesser threats but threats all the same.

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

Costco is the best cost provider in the wholesale club category and the strategy is associated with Costco’s capabilities and resources, which includes; a streamlined supply chain, good supplier relationships, purchasing power, high sales volumes, quick inventory turnover, and excellent customer service. The three vital components of the company strategy are low pricing, limited product selection and high-end products acquired in closeouts and liquidations. While Costco strives to beat the competitors pricing, it also delivers exceptional value in its high-end offerings and customer service, giving consumers more for their money. Given its customers are the most affluent of all the warehouse clubs, with average incomes around $75,000 and this strategy works well for Costco. However, these customers are conscious not only about money but also value for the product, this fact is supported by the members who choose for executive

In August of 1999, PriceCostco reincorporates and changed its name to just Costco Companies Inc. Now heading

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