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 <i>brands must compete to get this label.</i> 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.<p>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."<p><a href="https://boingboing.net/2020/09/25/costco-co-founder-to-new-ceo-if-you-raise-the-effing-hot-dog-i-will-kill-you.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://boingboing.net/2020/09/25/costco-co-founder-to-new-c...</a><p>(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.