In a characteristic revealed Thursday, Costco Chairman Hamilton “Tony” James informed Chief Govt Journal that regardless 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 planet of customers, what they’re shopping for or not shopping for.”
And what they’re shopping for, along with the beloved $1.50 sizzling canine combo, are 10-carat diamonds and gold bars. (Wells Fargo analysts present in September that the corporate sells as much as $200 million value of gold bars month-to-month.)
“A Porsche supplier in Seattle put their vehicles on the ground of a Costco, they usually bought out in every 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 instances the common revenue.”
These members permit 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 informed the Los Angeles Instances that the warehouse chain was the “nation’s largest retailer of Dom Perignon.”
Enterprise Insider studies that, in response to information from analytics agency Numerator, millennial and Gen X households with larger revenue most well-liked purchasing at Costco over the competitors.
Associated: Costco Bulks Up Most Retailer Staff’ Paychecks to Extra Than $30 an Hour.
“We have all the time identified we may transfer something in quantity if the standard was good and the value was nice — Rolex watches, Dom Perignon, 10-carat diamonds,” James mentioned.
“Prosperous individuals love an excellent deal,” he added, although they don’t seem to be solely shopping for luxurious gadgets.
The firm’s Kirkland model is “the second-largest model anyplace,” James notes.
Costco reported web gross sales of $19.51 billion for January 2025, a rise of 9.2 % from the identical interval final yr.