In a characteristic revealed Thursday, Costco Chairman Hamilton “Tony” James advised Chief Govt Journal that despite the fact that he is been on Costco’s board for 36 years, he nonetheless loves attending the conferences.
“I discover it fascinating,” James mentioned within the Q&A. “The corporate is a good window on what is going on on the earth of shoppers, what they’re shopping for or not shopping for.”
And what they’re shopping for, along with the beloved $1.50 scorching canine combo, are 10-carat diamonds and gold bars. (Wells Fargo analysts present in September that the corporate sells as much as $200 million price of gold bars month-to-month.)
“A Porsche supplier in Seattle put their vehicles on the ground of a Costco, they usually offered out in per week,” James mentioned.
Costco had about 137 million paying members in 2024, and most, James mentioned, are “average-income earners nationally” however the warehouse chain additionally has “prosperous members with two occasions the typical earnings.”
These members enable the corporate to do “exceptional issues” like promoting extra high-priced Dom Perignon Champagne than “anybody else” — and for many years. In 2001, for instance, the then-director of wine at Costco advised the Los Angeles Occasions that the warehouse chain was the “nation’s greatest retailer of Dom Perignon.”
Enterprise Insider stories that, in response to knowledge from analytics agency Numerator, millennial and Gen X households with increased earnings most popular purchasing at Costco over the competitors.
Associated: Costco Bulks Up Most Retailer Staff’ Paychecks to Extra Than $30 an Hour.
“We have at all times recognized we may transfer something in quantity if the standard was good and the worth was nice — Rolex watches, Dom Perignon, 10-carat diamonds,” James mentioned.
“Prosperous individuals love a very good deal,” he added, although they are not solely shopping for luxurious objects.
The firm’s Kirkland model is “the second-largest model wherever,” James notes.
Costco reported internet gross sales of $19.51 billion for January 2025, a rise of 9.2 p.c from the identical interval final 12 months.
