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I've only ever heard positive things about costco as an employer. good on em
It's not all roses but the shit that sucks, sucks everywhere so what can you do. The money is at least worthy of human life
Costco's business model makes way more sense than most other grocery retailers. My only complaint previously was that the sheer volume of groceries you needed to buy to make it worthwhile turned it into more of a mecca of car-dependency culture than anything.
Now that there are somewhat affordable delivery options, they are head and shoulders better than any other grocery store in my opinion.
Costcoβs business model makes way more sense
Yes, there is something to be said about only opening stores in high density, high income neighbourhoods. With only 855 stores worldwide (and only 107 in Canada), they are able to generate well over a billion dollars in net income by doing so.
But there is only so many high density, high income neighbourhoods, and they can only handle so many stores. It is not really a duplicatable model. Instead, Loblaw and the like go where Costco refuses to. You can actually find their stores in small towns and other poduck places.
Sure, it's not nearly as profitable serving the poor. Loblaw has over 2,400 stores, yet only sees a measly 500 million dollars in net income, but ultimately someone needs to service those markets. And, really, it's still a pretty good gig. Old Galen there isn't exactly hurting.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover our local Costco has a bike rack! It could be oriented more towards employees than customers given its location closer to the employee entrance, but I've always thought of it as a car-oriented place given their bulk sales focus. I have been there by bike to pick up small items like pharmaceuticals, batteries, etc. and it's nice to not have to fight for a parking spot on a busy Saturday.
Their financials are quite interesting. They make basically most of their money on memberships. Or, to put it another way, the price of items in the store is roughly equal to the cost of goods plus their distribution and overhead.
Or, to put it another way, the price of items in the store is roughly equal to the cost of goods plus their distribution and overhead.
I find that really hard to believe, since I find it's very difficult to get a good deal on anything at Costco. I'm sure there are some good buys, but that's true for every store.
Costco either don't have much buying power, or other companies are selling at a loss (which we know isn't true, since other companies are posting record profits all the time).
I was a loyal Superstore customer for 15 years (prices were good, quality was good, selection was good) until this year when I was on my account and saw a link that showed me how much I had saved from my PC membership, which promised discounts on PC brand stuff which I bought frequently, but most notably 20% off diapers/baby products. Surely having a a small child and baby on the way I would recoup the $99 annual fee in just a few boxes of diapers! $68 in six years. I had never seen any notion of such a report before, it was the first time I ever checked. I assumed the discount was given in PC points or something, but no, I was just grifted out of $550. It was the last straw and I wish I had bought my Costco membership a decade ago.
What's telling is that some of Loblaws brands actually went up in the survey. When you own so much of the grocery business and have a captive customer base you can do pretty much whatever. Do we have any antitrust legislation in this country?