Costco Wholesale Motivation strategies

Foundation Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American membership-only warehouse club that provides a wide selection of merchandise. It is currently the largest membership-only warehouse club in the United States and as of 2015, the second largest retailer in the world (after Walmart)

Areas of operation: • 496 locations in 43 U.S. States & Puerto Rico • 90 locations in nine Canadian provinces • 36 locations in 18 Mexican states • 28 locations in the United Kingdom • 25 locations in Japan • 12 locations in Korea • 12 locations in Taiwan • 8 locations in Australia • 2 locations in Spain Number of warehouses: 708 Membership Data (as of 31st August 2016): • 81 million cardholders Typical Warehouse size: • 143,700 square feet Annual revenues $113.7 billion Number of employees (worldwide): 216,000 full and part-time

History of growth The company's first location, opened in 1976 under the name of Price club in San Diego. Originally serving only small businesses, the company found it could achieve far greater buying clout by also serving a selected audience of non-business members. With that change, the growth of the warehouse club industry was off and running. In 1983, the first Costco warehouse location was opened in Seattle.

Costco’s products and services Wide range of products from fresh food to pharmaceuticals and tires Initially only boxed products Auto and home insurance Photo center Costco Auto Costco Optical Food services Costco’s private label

Position among competitors Limited products range One size, one brand Verifiably low prices Membership No expensive advertising

Motivation: workforce structure “You don’t have to be Nordstrom selling $1,200 suits in order to pay people a living wage. That is what Walmart has lost sight of. A lot of people working at Walmart go home and live below the poverty line. You expect that person to come in and develop a rapport with customers who may be spending more than that person is making in a week? You expect them to be civil and happy about that?” Staff should be treated fairly Costco hires from the inside

Motivation: Employee Benefits Health care Dental care Pharmacy program Vision program Free samples. Need we say more?

Motivation: workers’ incentives High wages for employees Reasonable salary for CEO Thanksgiving! It embraces equality Employees’ loyalty matters

Reasons you would want a Costco membership: Great prices Sample carts Savings Wide range of any products Refund Friendly staff

Reasons you wouldn’t want a Costco membership: you’re shopping for small or unique items; you get tired of the same food/drink/flavor easily Too far you’re brand loyal Too busy Membership

Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costco#Costco_today http://www.vault.com/company-profiles/retail/costco-wholesale-corporation/company-overview.aspx http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/070715/costcos-business-model-smarter-you-think.asp http://www.costco.com/benefits.html http://www.costco.com/about.html http://www.businessinsider.com/are-you-really-getting-a-better-value-when-you-buy-in-bulk-2011-10 http://brandongaille.com/costco-business-model-and-their-strategy/ http://manapprovedreviews.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-costco-membership/