Costco is doing well while other retailers cut estimates and bemoan the current state of retail, according to Bloomberg:
Costco shoppers, who might pick up a $1,270 strand of cultured pearls while buying cases of seltzer, spent more even as costs for housing, fuel and food rose. Customers also purchased iPods, digital cameras and prepared food.
“The thing that Costco has going for them is that they tend to get a little bit more upscale customers,” Rachel Wakefield, who helps manage $1.2 billion for Coldstream Capital Management, including Costco shares, said Oct. 1.
We wonder if people aren’t switching to Costco in an attempt to save a little money? Nah. It’s just that (according to this photo we found on Flickr), they sell delicious Mexican Coca-Cola by the case. Yum.
Costco Profit Rises on Flat TV Screens, Prepared Food (Update2) [Bloomberg]
(Photo:vlauria)
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@fejjnagaf:
You have this great belief in the “free market” that borders on religious faith. I’m sorry, but leaving everything up to the “free market” is a bunch of nonsense.
The “free market” is constantly being manipulated by the rich, wealthy, and connected. It’s illegal to buy prescription drugs from Canada because the drug companies want profits. It’s illegal to buy “knockoff” goods that too-closely resemble other goods because Gucci and Disney wants their profits. ReplayTV was sued into oblivion because they sold a DVR that allowed people to skip commercials. Vonage was nearly sued into oblivion as well. There is a market, but it’s certainly not free.
Leaving all decisions to the “free market” is just another way to say that the rich, wealthy, and connected choose who lives and dies.
Re: Real sugar
Boylans all the way.
Re: Wages
Clearly Costco has something here in their model of placing a value on Employees by providing a living wage.
Sam’s/WalMart makes an attempt to commoditize the most banal of Employee tasks, for very low wages. In doing so, they’ve attempted to impose “the WalMart way” into employee wages. Basically, freeze out all other options for Suppliers, Consumers and Employees by virtue of their HUGE market capitalization. Isn’t it odd, that Costco’s treatment of employees today, rings eerily true of the early Wal-Mart? Sam Walton had firm values, of deep employee partnership. Sharing the success of the company, rewarding stock options etc. were once hallmarks of it’s success.
To FEJJNAGAF;
Perhaps you should walk in the shoes of those who cannot afford the basics of life, but wake up and show up for work everyday anyway. Clearly, not all of us are entitled to $250k/year. What’s even more clear is your utter lack of respect and value of work. What’s your opinion of those who choose to stay home and collect welfare? If we chose your logic, we’d have more respect for that, as it most certainly is the more efficient approach.
Keep em’ working, but don’t give them enough to feed their Families, have ANY healthcare or safe housing. Sounds like good sound American/Christian value to me. Just let the market sort it out. I’m just glad to have saved $12 on my 50″ plasma.
I know a bit about this industry, and Costco truly has the best
quality meat of any large grocery chain on the west coast. Their buyers
purchase such a huge quantity that they can demand (and nearly always
get, believe me)first crack at selecting the best cuts of meat from
their suppliers. Buyers from other stores only get to place their
orders after Costo gets first pick.
I don’t know as much about the produce, but I’d bet it’s the same story.
Costco is great in just about every way. I personally shop there more than anywhere else.
What is neat is people stand up for Costco…
@lorose: Best strawberries in retail. Every time. Boggles my mind.
one of the Kroger’s in my town occasionally sells Mexican coke in the Mexican food area, but its like $2+ a bottle. It is in a glass bottle though so it might be worth it for the novelty.
@Landru:
Yeah.
I’m a ringer for walmart.
You caught me.
Perhaps this will hurt your feelings, but I am not a socialist/communist. I think walmart gets a bad rap. If people hate walmart so much, it isn’t showing up in their sales.
So please, spare me the nonsensical arguments. Why is it okay when people disagree with you for you to make the insane claim they are a ‘ringer’.
I don’t like walmart, mostly for the predatory way they take over markets, but I find the argument that they ‘should’ pay more as ridiculous as you find the argument that everyone deserves a six figure salary.
In America, you get paid based on your qualifications, job segment, and effort, not simply because you land a job with a big company.
@XopherMV:
Yeah.
Right.
It isn’t possible that it is illegal to buy prescription drugs in Canada because the drugs you find there are often knock offs or imitations that are unregulated.
It isn’t illegal to buy or sell knock off goods because of intellectual property rights. Why not buy a rip off of a Louis Vitton bag. Louis Vitton didn’t spend millions in R&D and marketing. They don’t deserve to earn money on their own design. They are rich.
Vonage wasn’t sued because they stole proprietary technology and design, it was because the owners of the copyright are rich.
Your skewed, nonsensical description of the free market is pretty stupid, if you ask me.
The free market exists because it is influenced directly by the consumer. Without a free market, as a point of fact, this site simply wouldn’t exist. Neither would the ipod, the plasma tv, the BMW…
Everything would be government controlled, and we wouldn’t have had all the innovations we have now. You know, like the personal computer, microsofts products, the watch you wear everyday.
The government would control all research, development, distribution, marketing… How wonderful our lives would be.
Go back to reading the genious of Karl Marx. he was the most successful tyrant to ever write fiction.
@Boberto:
Ahh, how I love assumptive reasoning.
You are right, I never had to struggle. I’ve never been unemployed. I’ve never worked a low paying job. I’ve never had to choose between paying my power bill or eating.
How well you know me!
Oh, wait. You don’t know me at all!
I’ve LIVED that life. It’s why I had to work my way through school. It’s why I still have framed copies of my unemployment checks on the wall in my office at home.
You make the most offensive claim of the day (thanks, moderators, for not bothering to step in when things got personal btw) when you say I don’t value work.
It truly is a shame that you can be that dense and still muster the brain power to read the consumerist.
I DO value hard work. That’s what I am saying.
In America, you get paid based on effort, education, and the value you bring to a company.
If you are 50 years old and the only job you qualify for is a cashier at walmart, I would posit that YOU don’t value hard work.
I’ve been a dishwasher, a busboy, and a crappy jewelry stand salesman. I’ve had my fair share of low skill, low pay jobs. I’ve had to struggle to feed myself, clothe myself, and keep a roof over my head. Shame on you for assuming you know anything about me.
Bottom line: Walmart still pays more than other companies. They pay well above minimum wage. They are not evil just because they are a for profit company.
Is the consumerist evil for accepting ad revenue?
Perhaps they should share that with us, the folks who post content?
You argue like a child.
And you know nothing about me.
okay, those who are getting mexican coke at their Costco, where do y’all live? I don’t recall seeing any at the Costco by my apt in Maryland, but perhaps I need to take a trip to one 20 minutes up the road.
Mmm, I love that pure sugar Coke. Even did a test to make sure I really could tell the difference between sugar Coke and corn-syrup Coke. I definitely could. Even identified when it was both sugar and both corn-syrup.
There’s also a place in Texas that makes Dr. Pepper with real sugar too. That stuff, ice cold, makes me tingle.
Costco gets a zero for in-store customer service, but a ten for after-purchase service. I’ve never been enamoured with the in-store experience, but I’ve rarely had a problem with their products, and when I do, the staff fix it properly with no (or few) questions asked.
That’s why they get customer loyalty, mine and so many others. It’s not because of their service, but because they make an effort to do things _right_, which counts for a lot more than doing things fast and wrong.