Costco is the nation’s leading warehouse retailer. They are a membership based warehouse club, with over 700 locations worldwide in United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Iceland, France, Spain, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China. Costco provides a wide variety of branded and private label merchandise, plus the convenience of specialty departments and exclusive member services such as insurance, mortgage refinancing, payroll services, travel, and identity protection. Consistently offering high quality items and low prices has made Costco a favorite place to shop for millions of people worldwide.
Costco offers a warehouse full of value, from fresh foods to designer jeans, beer and wine, toys and game, fine jewelry, electronics, and gasoline. Costco Ecommerce sales allow members to shop for limited items online to members living in United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia and China.Costco members love the “treasure hunt” experience, found in various departments throughout year. You never know what new, exciting, luxury or seasonal item you might find the next time you visit a Costco warehouse!
COSTCO FACTS
- The majority of Costco vendors partner with manufacturer representatives
- Working with a manufacturer representative is likely to increase your chance of becoming a Costco vendor
- Working with a manufacturer representative is likely to increase your success within Costco
- Costco has several internal advertising opportunities available to vendors
- Costco’s prices are consistently lower than other retailers and competitive wholesale chains
- Costco deviates from traditional retail mark-ups
- Costco is not open to the public; it is a warehouse club with annual membership fees
- The majority of Costco products must go through a “testing period” before a large purchase order is received.
- Costco sales testing helps eliminate heavy losses if the product does not sell well
- Costco buyers frequently experience department rotations
- Costco is well-known to their members for their “treasure-hunt” atmosphere
- Many Costco products experience seasonal rotations
- A full roll-out, national program can potentially place your product in over 450 warehouses
- Costco offers vendors the opportunity to sell their products by the truck load
- Costco has several avenues for product placement including:
- National (in-line, full roll-out)
- Regional (8 US regions)
- International (to 12 countries in addition to US and Puerto Rico)
- Ecommerce (Costco.com)
- Specialty (travel, business, tires, auto, etc.)
- Road Show (“Special Event”)
- And more…
