The 'Costco Canada' Story

[Selkirk]

.

I've been a member for many years now, so I am well aware that Costco is far from perfect,
but I thought this article about Costco Canada made for an interesting read ...

Feb. 23rd Financial Post article: http://business.financialpost.com/ne...l-rules-to-win

Mac

[huntsfurfish]

Thanks for posting, was interesting.

[warriorboy10]

Costco has Canadians figured out, too well!! Scary!!
I watch myself very closely when I go into that store. Have to be smarter than they are!!

[wellpastcold]

One of my favourite stores. No hassle returns.

[From The Hip]

Good article and not a lot of surprises in it really.Costco just plain rocks.The return policy is the gold standard that competitors just dont offer.Prices are wicked cheap and when Costco blows something out it is even crazier.I remember when they were clearing out pork loins and they had a blanket $5 of each.The average one was $19-$22 so you could score a 4 kilo pork loin for $14 and that sucker cuts into a lot of boneless centre loin chops.

FTH

[Taco]

Costco and I have a love/hate relationship. I live about an hr away from the closest store and so when we go we tend to stock up. It's tough to walk out of the damn store without leaving $4-500 at the till

[From The Hip]

Originally Posted by Taco

Costco and I have a love/hate relationship. I live about an hr away from the closest store and so when we go we tend to stock up. It's tough to walk out of the damn store without leaving $4-500 at the till

A friend of mine did a specific road trip to Calgary from Revelstoke so he could he could hit Costco on my membership and at the same time crash on my couch and not pay for a motel room.All told he spent $1200 at Costco.As we were going through the place I made comments on his purchases.He dropped 4 or 5 NY striploin steak packs into the cart and I pointed out he could buy 2 whole striploins and spend an hour of carving work and get more than double the meat for less.Out went the packs of steaks and into the cart go 2 of the biggest whole striploins he could find.A bit later as he loads 2 packages of name brand toilet paper I said "so you like to wipe your back end with money?" and I pointed out the house brand that had more rolls for less...same thing again...out with the fancy and in with the practical.He really hit up the whole store and got everything.Several boxes of the perogies/eggo's etc etc.All told he stuffed his full extended cab F150 to the rafters.

I asked him 6 months later when his stock up ran dry how much it would have cost to buy it in Revelstoke and he said it would have cost $4500 and it would not have been the same quality especially for the beef....buy a NY striploin in Revelstoke and the steak has marks where the jockey was hitting it

If I lived in Revelstoke/Golden etc I would make regular runs to Calgary to hit a Costco rather than be raped via my wallet.Even with an all day drive and the cost of gas it is more than worth it.

FTH

[Gray Wolf]

Two little Costco facts I learned from managers I know who work there -

- Best selling product at Canadian Costcos; boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Busiest Costco in Canada; South Calgary (99 Heritage Gate SE, Calgary)

[brazeau]

Good read. Thanks for posting.

[Au revoir, Gopher]

People are stupid and retailers take advantage... and the news is what?

ARG

[calgarygringo]

Biggest volume Costco in the world is Heritage.

Originally Posted by Gray Wolf

Two little Costco facts I learned from managers I know who work there -

- Best selling product at Canadian Costcos; boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Busiest Costco in Canada; South Calgary (99 Heritage Gate SE, Calgary)

[play.soccer]

Originally Posted by Gray Wolf

Two little Costco facts I learned from managers I know who work there -

- Best selling product at Canadian Costcos; boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Busiest Costco in Canada; South Calgary (99 Heritage Gate SE, Calgary)

Yup. Buy them all the time!

[CaberTosser]

When the chicken breasts (or any meat for that matter) at Costco go on sale for a set price off per package, buy lighter packages and you wind up with greater discount per lb. For instance I might buy 3 light packs as opposed to two heavy ones.

They also pay their staff well, good benefits and the like and as a result you notice lots of long-term staff retention with them. Not many other retail places measure up.

At a previous employer I did lots of service work at Costco's in Calgary, it would be handy as I could have a cheap lunch or shop after I wrote up my invoice and save a trip.

[does it ALL outdoors]

Originally Posted by Taco

Costco and I have a love/hate relationship. I live about an hr away from the closest store and so when we go we tend to stock up. It's tough to walk out of the damn store without leaving $4-500 at the till

^^^ Some truth right there

I also share the love hate, love going there, hate how much I spend. They just have SOOOOO much cool stuff!

[does it ALL outdoors]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

http://business.financialpost.com/ne...l-rules-to-win

Mac

Scroll through the comments after the story. There is a big reason for the loyalty. I am big on customer service

[Unregistered user]

Kirkland booze is tops too.

[badger]

One thing I don't understand is their checkout lines. They intentionally make the lineup 6 deep, closing and opening stations to keep the lines deep. Why this works I have no idea because it does not work for me. Is it to make people think that they should stock up on massive loads because they have to wait regardless of amount purchased? No express 12 items or less lanes too. How this is a good strategy is unknown but they clearly do it. Many times I'm at the Beacon Hill mall and don't go to the Costco for 10 items because I know the wait will be over 15 minutes. Same with the gas station. Coop gives a bigger discount yet people will line up for 15 minutes at the Costco gas station.

[thumper]

I look for their Kirkland brand on any item. It's always top quality, and lower priced than any of the well known brands.
Also, I don't know how they do it, but their apples are always crisper, oranges sweeter, and produce fresher than anything I can find in our local grocery stores.

[masalma]

There is a guy that goes to Costco West every Monday and takes pictures of all the sale items.

www.cocowest.ca worth checking out before hitting the place.

[The Cook]

Chicken wings (raw) great price. 3kilos of Canadian unpasteurized honey $16.00, pork butt last time I bought was about $2.30/lb etc etc. We go when we are in Calgary on other business every couple of months and spend $500.00 or so. The money we save easily covers the gas and then some as we tend to get gooned by stores in Canmore.

[Newview01]

I don't particularly care what their marketing strategy is. If you pay attention to prices food is usually cheaper elsewhere (superstore/walmart) but they have some stuff in bulk that is cheaper there. We have found that the membership is most beneficial for the non-food items. Good quality with low prices, especially furniture/appliances.

[sweld]

I ordered a turducken for Xmas from the online store. Showed up on my door step. Can't beat that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mayhem]

Originally Posted by Au revoir, Gopher

People are stupid and retailers take advantage... and the news is what?

ARG

Nailed it...

[jstubbs]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

They also pay their staff well, good benefits and the like and as a result you notice lots of long-term staff retention with them. Not many other retail places measure up.

This is also very true. Have a few friends who have been working there for years and really enjoy it.

Also, this tweet I read once was freakin' hilarious:

"If you have a fetish for slightly hungover 30-something dads in Oilers hats, the Sherwood Park Costco must be your Sodom & Gomorrah."

[Selkirk]

Originally Posted by Au revoir, Gopher

People are stupid and retailers take advantage... and the news is what?

ARG

- The rest of the information in the article linked in post #1
- The comments posted below the article linked in post #1
- The comments on this thread.

Hoped that helped,

Mac

[Coiloil37]

I hate that store like flat tires, bad seafood and taxes. From the busy parking lot to having to show a membership card to enter, the poorly laid out store, the never ending kiosks trying to talk you into trying some type of food I didn't want, the bulk sized portions, rediculous line up to get to the till, crappy boxes instead of bags, another line up to get out of the store and then having your receipt checked like your trying to steal something.
Furthermore they get around PIPA and are allowed to open and inspect your wife's purse or a backpack because your a "member" so no longer protected by PIPA.

You couldn't pay me to shop there... and for some reason people pay yearly for the pleasure.

[sgill808]

They ask for your card at the door to record how many members visit. The doorman has a clicker in their hand to keep track.

Awesome store. I go to the new one in East Hills Calgary, lines move really quick.

[Unregistered user]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

- The rest of the information in the article linked in post #1
- The comments posted below the article linked in post #1
- The comments on this thread.

Hoped that helped,

Mac

Nailed it!

[hilt134]

They hit it with the selection. I go to a small wine store because they only have good quality bottles at almost any price and a small selection. Makes it easier to choose. The whole membership thing was a bit ridiculas to me. the main reason is thats pure profit for them. I would be interested to see how many memberships go unused a year. Anyway its a good store and they have bulk packs of the important stuff like figbars.

[silverdoctor]

And it's B.F. Skinner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYEpCKXTga0