Costco aims for a low ~17% margin on most of their products

Surprised that this post doesn’t include the fact that Kirkland brand is identical, at a lower price, to another brand of that item that they stock on their shelves and brands must compete to get this label. It benefits them because they get 2x the shelf space (more sales) and it benefits Costco’s customers because it’s a lower price for a high quality item. Oh, and Costco has a QA team with specific quality metrics, and if the item with the Kirkland label falls below a certain target, they’ll get swapped for something better.

Costco is what Amazon wishes it could be, if it didn’t fall down the rabbit hole of being a rebadged Ali Express.

Favorite Costco Fact: Costco co-founder to new CEO: "If you raise the price of the fucking hot dog, I will kill you."

https://boingboing.net/2020/09/25/costco-co-founder-to-new-c...

(Costco hasn't raised the price on their infamous $1.50 hot-dog-and-soda combo since 1984)

Briefly worked in their It dept and was told it was 8% except on alcohol. Buyers who got great deals were bound to a max percent margin, even if it meant a ridiculous price.