...Introduction Costco Wholesale Corporation "Costco" operates in the discount warehouse and wholesale club industry segment. Costco has had a long history of successful management and recently has come under new leadership. The warehouse and wholesale club industry has three main competitors in the North American region however it is facing increasing pressures from low-cost retailers, nationally and Internationally. Although still profitable, the company experienced some erosion of their growth rates during the most recent fiscal year (2015). Costco's new management team will need to focus on the company's core competencies of low-cost leadership and providing superior customer value to maintain its market position within this market segment. Mission & Growth Strategy Costco's mission is "to provide the highest quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices while providing excellent customer service...." (Thompson, 2012). They strive to provide their members with un-matched value, a treasure hunt shopping experience and high quality service. Their philosophy entails taking care of their staff, the staff provides quality care to the members, and member retention will provide financial gains to the shareholders. Their growth strategy is achieved through opening new warehouses throughout the world and increasing club memberships. Club membership fees are a critical component of Costco's financial success. Membership fees accounted for approximately 70%...
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..., costco Founded in 1983 by Jim Sinegal, Costco is the worlds leading wholesale warehouse retailer. A membership based club, “Costco provides a wide selection of merchandise, plus the convenience of specialty departments and exclusive member services, all designed to make your shopping experience a pleasurable one.” (Costco.com/about). In 2013 Costco reported net sales of $31.77 Billion in the fourth quarter and $102.87 billion during the 52-week fiscal year (Yahoo Finance). Does the company’s strategy reflect the company’s mission? Costco’s mission: “To continually provide our members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices” (Thompson, pg. c-11). Costco’s strategy: Pricing – Costco strives on keeping prices low and only stocks merchandise that is priced to reflect this strategy. They often buy goods at bargain prices as “one-off” and/or bulk deals. This allows the company to price their goods at an exclusive cost. Costco does not believe in marking the goods up to make more money, but instead believes that the lower costs will allow for a faster turnover and a “wont find this deal again” attitude. Product Selection – By keeping a small selection of active items (nearly 3,600) including brand names and store brand goods, Costco is known for selling limited quantity options and typically in bulk. This strategy is called “intelligent loss of sales” and they believe that by stocking large quantity of a good with no other option, they will only lose 1...
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...Brotman, Costco Wholesale Corporation remains as one of the largest wholesaler retail in the world. Tech-Shield should consider the option of making an investment to Costco Wholesale Corporation due to the company’s effective business strategy, financial success, and reputable corporate policies. Costco's 5 year financial history has shown the increasing growth of the company. Costco has significant profit margin of 1.5% to 2%, showing that they are still growing and will become even more successful in the years to come. Costco continues to gain more loyal customers by attracting them on low priced goods and excellent customer service. Costco plays a very important role in the economy by creating jobs and opening up 30 new warehouses in 8 different countries from the year of 2012 to 2013. With more than 70 million members and employees, Costco prides their company to provide their customers quality products for the best price, ability to take care of their employers and customers, and to reward shareholders. Introduction Costco currently remains as the nation’s largest wholesale operator with 462 warehouses in the United States. In the year off 2013, Costco has over 71.2 million cardholders and 185,207 workers while profiting over 105.2 billion dollars in revenue. Wal-mart offers 100,000 items as divergent to 40,000 items at most grocery stores. However, Costco offers 10,000 items because they are able to order larger amounts of shipments for a cheaper price. Costco was founded...
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...1. What is Costco’s current business model and why is it appealing? Costco’s business model is predicated on a best-cost theme. They take the low-priced supplier approach and mix that with creating price of the many stakeholders by targeting on wonderful client service, a severe code of beliefs, treating staff like family, concerning suppliers, satisfying shareholders, and a robust intelligence of environmental place. They need to enforce distinctive cost-saving methods in their production, operations, and selling that has allowed them to draw in the foremost affluent customers in discount selling. The central focus of their business model turned around high sales volumes and fast inventory turnover by giving fee-paying members beautifully low costs on a restricted choice merchandise that include a mix of across the country branded and illicit private-label products in an exceedingly wide selection of merchandise classes. This is an awfully appealing business model because it provides the power to control fruitfully at a lot of lower profit margin by securing marketer volume getting agreements, economical distribution, no-frill self-service warehouse facilities and supplemental membership fee revenue. Another magnet is because of the high sales volume and fast inventory turnover style of this business model, the accelerated money conversion cycle permissible Costco to gather the funds for inventory before marketer liabilities changing into due. This provided for marketer finance...
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...The History of Costco DeAna Castro Wilmington University Abstract Costco is a members only, international retail chain discount warehouse. An abstract is a summary of the paper that should be 250 words or less. It is not the same as the introduction. This will be the only paragraph in your essay that is NOT indented. It often contains topic, methods of research, discussion of literature, and conclusions. Please ask your instructor what he or she wants to see. The History of Costco The history of Costco began in July of 1976 in San Diego California and its name was Price Club. It was cofounded by Sol and Robert Price. The newly designed business was the first ‘warehouse’ business of it’s kind. This retail business originally targeted other business owners, but blended retail and wholesale. Price Club had unbeatable low prices and sold bulk items. Three years later, 1979, Price Club expanded two new locations. They acquired 200,000 members and profited 1 million dollars. Despite the loss of profits the first year, Price Club’s expansion proved profitable. Jim Sinegal is a key player to the success of Costco because he started his career being mentored by Sol Price. He worked in the warehouse business at Price Club and another warehouse business called Fedmart. (Cardon). 1983, Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brottman would open their own warehouse club near Seattle Washington, and it was called Costco Wholesale (Daft, 2012 pp. 605). One year later...
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...Costco case study and strategic analysis Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), one among the few largest wholesaler giant differentiates itself applying unique strategies relating to production and operations, and marketing which make it stand out from the rest of the retailers who are also said to be competitive in the retailing and wholesaling business globally. Costco is one of the innovative wholesalers teamed by very dynamic management team and dedicated, motivated and satisfied workforce with the mission “to continually provide its members the best quality products at the lowest possible prices” (Costco Annual Report 2006). Some of the fundamental principle of the Costco is that they obey the law, they take care of their members, they take care of their employees, they respect their suppliers, and finally they reward their shareholders. Some of the reasons how Costco can serve those highest quality goods of national brands for the lowest possible prices is that they eliminate different cost associated with delivery expenditures, account receivable, inventory, sales people, and fancy buildings. And they successfully operate themselves in the competitive environment serving not only an individual customers but also a legal customers (a company), and small business customers. Costco believe that society and the community is one of the key factors of their success. Therefore, they are willing to give back to their community and the society in terms of quality goods in...
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...Business Analysis Part III: Costco Wholesale Corporation MGT/521 June 14, 2012 Business Analysis Part III: Costco Wholesale Corporation Jim Sinegal, Costco Wholesale cofounder and CEO summed up Costco Wholesale Corporations strategic planning and operations in a nutshell according to the Retail Industry website, “Wall Street is in the business of making money between now and next Tuesday. We’re in the business of building an organization, an institution that we hope will be here 50 years from the now. Strategic planning is an important part of running any business and the more so for businesses that operating in multiple states and countries.” On May 27, 2012, Costco Wholesale Corporation reported sales that covered a period of thirty-nine weeks. The Corporation reported “net sales of $7.67 billion for the month of May, the four weeks ended in May 27, 2012, an increase of 7% from $7.14 billion during the similar period last year” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 2012). The company reported net sales ending in a thirty-nine week period of $71.28 billion, “an increase of 10% from $64.75 billion during the similar period last year” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 2012). Many may wonder why Costco Wholesale Corporation is the leading wholesale business in the industry. To provide a good understanding of why Costco Wholesale Corporation is the leading warehouse distributor in the industry, this paper will help provide understanding by discussing strategic initiatives of the corporation and...
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...Case Study Analysis 1: Costco Wholesale Corp: Mission, Business Model and Strategy MGMT 670: Strategic Management Capstone June 26, 2011 Business Case Study: Costco Wholesale Corporation Introduction As a student in MGMT 670: Strategic Management, the capstone course for the Management track at the University of Maryland University College, I was asked to prepare a case study analysis of Costco Wholesale Corporation. Costco is one of the world’s leading wholesale retailers with annual sales of $76.3 Billion for fiscal year (FY) 2010, which is an increase of 9% from the previous year ($69.9 billion). In addition, its earnings per share increased to $2.92, an annual increase of 18% from the previous year. (Costco Financial Report, 2011) This increase is an all time high for the company thereby solidifying its place as a leader in the wholesale industry. Costco and its Business Strategy From inception, Costco’s business strategy has been to offer limited products (4000) at lower prices coupled with great values while keeping overhead costs low. In its main product line Costco has about 3,000 products that are present in the stores at all times and 1000 products that are ever-changing. These 1000 lines allow Costco buyers/merchandisers to hunt for items that will keep customers coming back to see what is new or fresh in the stores. These items help Costco create the “treasure hunt” environment that will keep customers coming back to the store more frequently. The motivation...
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...and Evaluation Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) operates a membership-only warehouse that sells quality products and services at an affordable price. Costco remains an organization known for providing quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices (Costco, 2013). This paper evaluates Costco’s strategic choices and evaluates considerations for growth. The paper identifies the best value discipline, generic strategy, and grand strategy for Costco. Finally, the paper includes a recommended strategy for Costco to implement. Best value discipline According to Pearson and Robinson (2013), consultants Michael Treachy and Fred Wiersema described the Value-Discipline Model as a strategy took to help organizations recognize what the organization wants their customers to value them for. The Value-Discipline Model focuses on three areas for an organization to focus on, operating excellence, product leadership, and customer intimacy. Of the three areas of the Value-Discipline Model, customer intimacy best describes Costco’s business model. According to Pearson and Robinson (2013), “a strategy of customer intimacy continually tailor and shape products and services to fit an increasingly refined definition of the customer” (p. 198). Customer intimacy differentiates Costco from competitors with low prices and hassle free service. Costco’s mission statement states the importance of providing “quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices” (Costco, para 1). ...
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...srl Case 1 Costco Wholesale Corporation: Mission, Business Model, and Strategy he was prone to display irritation when he disagreed sharply with what people were saying to him. In touring a Costco store with the local store manager, Sinegal was very much the person-in-charge. He functioned as producer, director, and knowledgeable critic. He cut to the chase quickly, exhibiting intense attention to detail and pricing, wandering through store aisles firing a barrage of questions at store managers about sales volumes and stock levels of particular items, critiquing merchandising displays or the position of certain products in the stores, commenting on any aspect of store operations that caught his eye, and asking managers to do further research and get back to him with more information whenever he found their answers to his questions less than satisfying. It was readily apparent that Sinegal had tremendous merchandising savvy, that he demanded much of store managers and employees, and that his views about discount retailing set the tone for how the company operated. Knowledgeable observers regarded Jim Sinegal’s merchandising expertise as being on a par with that of the legendary Sam Walton. In 2006, Costco’s sales totaled almost $59 billion at 496 stores in 37 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Mexico. About 26 million households and 5.2 million businesses had membership cards entitling them to shop at Costco, generating nearly $1...
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...srl Case 1 Costco Wholesale Corporation: Mission, Business Model, and Strategy he was prone to display irritation when he disagreed sharply with what people were saying to him. In touring a Costco store with the local store manager, Sinegal was very much the person-in-charge. He functioned as producer, director, and knowledgeable critic. He cut to the chase quickly, exhibiting intense attention to detail and pricing, wandering through store aisles firing a barrage of questions at store managers about sales volumes and stock levels of particular items, critiquing merchandising displays or the position of certain products in the stores, commenting on any aspect of store operations that caught his eye, and asking managers to do further research and get back to him with more information whenever he found their answers to his questions less than satisfying. It was readily apparent that Sinegal had tremendous merchandising savvy, that he demanded much of store managers and employees, and that his views about discount retailing set the tone for how the company operated. Knowledgeable observers regarded Jim Sinegal’s merchandising expertise as being on a par with that of the legendary Sam Walton. In 2006, Costco’s sales totaled almost $59 billion at 496 stores in 37 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Mexico. About 26 million households and 5.2 million businesses had membership cards entitling them to shop at Costco, generating nearly $1...
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...COMPANY BACKGROUND Costco was founded by Jim Sinegal and Seattle entrepreneur Jeff Brotman. Operation of the first store of Costco began in 1983. There were nine Costco stores in five states by end of 1984. Costco became a public company for raising additional fund for business expansion in December 1985.Costco successful to reach one billion dollar in sales in less than six years which make the company the first ever United States (U.S) that reach that huge amount of sales. Costco merge with Price Club in year 1993 and came out with name of PriceCostco. Later, the name was changed to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999.This warehouse club chain have 57 million members. It sales volumes only based on its members as it only open to their members and guests. Costco is the fourth largest retailer in the US and is the seventh largest in the world. Currently, Costco holding market share or in other words industry standing of US and Canada is about 55% . Whereas its close competitor Sam's Club market share is about 36% and 9% by BJ’s Wholesale Club. Costco offer tremendously lower price products with good quality and branded name. The price which are offer by Costco much lower compare to other conventional wholesale or retail that sell similar items and products. Profit generated by the company from its membership fees is about one billion with E- commerce sales contributing about five hundred and thirty four million. It was estimated that the renewal rate of the card...
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...Nova Southeastern University Wayne Huizenga Graduate School of Business & Entrepreneurship Assignment for Course: MGT 5090 Entrepreneurial and Strategic Thinking Submitted to: Ron Steffel Submitted by: Georgette McIntosh N01 Xie Luxuan Dorquidia Alemany Date of Submission: May 3, 2015 Title of Assignment: Costco Case Study CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP: I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance I received in its preparation is fully acknowledge and disclosed in the paper. I have also cited any sources from which I used data, ideas of words, whether quoted directly or paraphrased. I also certify that this paper was prepared by me specifically for this course. Student Signature: Georgette McIntosh ******************************************* Instructor’s Grade on Assignment: Instructor’s Comments: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY he purpose of this report was to examine the implications on employees motivations used at Costco Wholesale Corporation. Research for this report included a review of he purpose of this report was to examine the implications on employees motivations A. Problem Statement: State the main problem facing the firm (or industry) in one, succinct sentence. B. Analysis: Summarize the main findings of your analysis. You may use bullet points, bold, italics – any means to convey and highlight the key factors you have determined based on your analysis. C. Alternatives:...
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...Appendix C: Organizational Analysis Costco Wholesale Corporation Introduction… The purpose of this Organizational Analysis is to discuss Costco’s current mission and values, provide a snapshot of their existing overall business model and the environment they are working in, and then discuss the key success factors required to succeed in their industry. Beyond that will be an examination of what resources (tangible, intangible, and human) and capabilities (functional and value chain) are needed to deliver on these key success factors, as well as analyze how Costco ‘stacks up’ to the competition in those areas. Finally there will be a discussion of what areas should be either improved or exploited moving forward to give Costco a more distinct competitive advantage (and therefore increased profits) in this industry. Mission, Values, and Strategy… Costco’s mission, quite simply, is to provide high quality merchandise at the lowest possible prices for its members, in an ethically responsible manner. Below is a copy of their mission statement directly off of the Costco website… The Mission Statement of Costco Wholesale: "Costco's mission is to continually provide our members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices. In order to achieve our mission we will conduct our business with the following Code of Ethics in mind: • Obey the law • Take care of our members • Take care of our employees • Respect our vendors If we do these four things...
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...Costco: Weakness of Three Aspects, a Company, Diversity, and Globalization INTRODUCTION The history of Costco “We are a membership warehouse club, dedicated to bringing our members the best possible prices on quality brand-name merchandise.” Costco Wholesale Corporation is one of biggest wholesale corporations in the United States and several other countries. The story of Costco’s rise from a single Seattle store in 1983 to a multinational chain of enormously profitable warehouses is a tale of perfect leadership in a rapidly-changing retail world. The company’s first location was in 1976 under the name Price Club which was established by Sol Price. Jim Sinegal launched a competing company with an idea of a wholesale business, Costco. The two businesses eventually merged in 1993, and Sinegal went on to educate Sol Price on the art of getting the right product in the right place for the right price. When Costco and Price Club merged in 1993, the operation under the name “PriceCostco” had 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales. Since resuming the Costco name in 1997, the company has grown to more than 500 locations worldwide. After opening the first Costco warehouse located in Seattle, WA, U.S.A. Costco became the first company ever to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in less than six years. Costco’s strategy There are several factors for Costco to increase its growth under the strategy of the right products in the right place for the right price....
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