![]() ![]() And it refused to gratuitously mark up items. Price Club went against the common grain of business school textbooks: It didn’t advertise. The following year, he launched Price Club, a one-stop shop that offered everything from car tires to dishwashers at heavily discounted prices. He raised $50k in capital, stocked up on wholesale jewelry, furniture, and liquor, and launched Fedmart, a warehouse-style store where government employees could pay a $2 membership fee to access an assortment of deals.īy the time Sol sold Fedmart in 1975, he’d grown it into a $350m-per-year, 40-location chain - and ushered in a new age of “membership club” retail.īut Sol wasn’t done. ![]() In 1954, an attorney named Sol Price inherited a vacant airport hangar in San Diego. How did this nondescript chain of warehouses find success? A brief history of Costco At a time when brick-and-mortar retail is crumbling at the feet of e-commerce, Costco has experienced steady growth. This philosophy often anguishes Costco’s shareholders - but it has also earned the company a cult following around the world. The end goal: To cut the “fat” out of traditional retail and pass on the savings to loyal customers and employees. And you pay a $60 annual membership fee just to get in the door. ![]() Items sit on wooden pallets in dark, unmarked aisles. It is a place where you can buy, in the course of one trip, a 27-pound bucket of mac and cheese, a patio table, a wedding dress, a casket, a handle of gin, a tank of gas, a passport photo, a sheepskin rug, a chicken coop, prescription medications, life insurance, a $1.50 hotdog, and a $250,000 diamond ring. On first impression, Costco makes no sense. How Costco gained a cult following - by breaking every rule of retail This edition of The Hustle was brought to you by Squelch… the super hero for customer success teams. Costco has found immense success by prioritizing the interests of its customers and employees over those of its shareholders. ![]()
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