RETAILER DEEP DIVE
Costco Wholesale Corp.
Keeping the
Faith How the membership warehouse operator rides the loyalty factor for robust sales and growth. By Lynn Petrak
28
progressivegrocer.com
oyalty can’t be bought, even with a membership. That’s something that Costco Wholesale Corp. has learned — and honed to its advantage — over the years. As a result of its business approach and the strategies that support it, the club store chain — which operates 839 warehouses globally and 578 in the United States and Puerto Rico — continually lands in the top tier of third-party polls of both shoppers and employees. Costco ranked first on Newsweek’s recent list of superstores and warehouse clubs, based on a survey of 30,000 customers. In another Newsweek poll of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies, the Issaquah, Wash.-based retailer came in 10th. Some consumers really get into their personal Costco store. A survey released in October by FinanceBuzz shared the states with the highest Costco ratings based on factors like stock, friendliness and cleanliness, and pegged the winner as
