People of all socioeconomic statuses appear to know Costco is the place to turn for deals, whether it be for $1.50 hot dog combos or luxury cars, according to the retailer’s chairman Hamilton “Tony” James.
James, who has been a director of the company since 1988, according to his biography on the Costco website, said he loves going to the board meetings because “the company is a great window on what’s going in the world of consumers, what they’re buying or not buying.”
He recently said in a Q&A with Chief Executive Magazine that Costco has always kept an eye on the competition while focusing on growth, from the small supermarket next to them in Seattle to retail giants Walmart and Amazon.
“Since the beginning, we’ve always known we could move anything in volume if the quality was good and the price was great—Rolex watches, Dom Perignon, 10-karat diamonds,” James said.
While most of Costco’s members are “average-income earners,” James noted that “affluent members with two times the average income” allow the business to “do remarkable things.”
“A Porsche dealer in Seattle put their cars on the floor of a Costco, and they sold out in a week,” James gave as an example. “Affluent people love a good deal.”
James even addressed the gold bars that have made headlines for quickly selling out.
“I don’t know if affluent people are buying them or just people suspicious of the economy. I’d love to see the demographics on the buyers,” he said.
Earlier this month, Costco reported net sales of $19.51 billion for the retail month of January, which is a 9.2% increase from last year.
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