Costco

 Some Costco History

By Bruce Shawkey

Time for another Costco run. This time to the Costco outside Verona. First, lunch in the food court.  Quarter pound hot dog and a Pepsi for $1.50. Cheapest lunch around.

The Costco hot dog was introduced in 1984, one year after Costco's opened in 1983. The original hot dog was made by Hebrew National, and was sold at a hot dog cart outside a Costco location in San Diego. The price was set at $1.50 at its introduction, and has remained at $1.50 ever since. 

As of 2018, Costco sold a yearly average of 135 million hot dogs, more than every Major League Baseball stadium combined.

Next, shopping for supplies, starting with the rotisserie chicken.

 The chicken is one of the things Costco is famous for. Costco has been selling rotisserie chickens since 1994 when sales of rotisserie chicken started becoming popular at grocery stores. The cooked bird debuted at $4.99, which is the same affordable price tag it sports today. It's a loss leader for Costco, but it sure gets shoppers inside the store. I love these. I can get four meals out of the, plus use the scraps for chicken noodle soup.

Next, to the bakery aisles for a variety pack of cookies. No cinnamon loaves. Damn!

Picked up a case of Izzies (carbonated fruit drink) a five-pound bag of coffee beans, some Reeses peanut butter Xmas trees, and a bag of cashew clusters.

The coffee beans are $10 for a five-pound bag it is the best coffee around for the money.

We headed for the checkout lanes. The total came to about $75. We loaded provisions into the trunk and headed home. Another successful and fun trip.

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world and is the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, and rotisserie chickens. Costco is ranked #11 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Costco uses a club warehouse wholesale retailer channel of distribution while also selling their private label brand directly to consumers.

Costco's worldwide headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington, an eastern suburb of Seattle, although its Kirkland Signature house label bears the name of its former location in Kirkland. The company opened its first warehouse (the chain's term for its retail outlets) in Seattle in 1983. 

As of August 2024, Costco operates 890 warehouses worldwide: 614 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 108 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 35 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 19 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, 7 in China, 4 in Spain, 2 in France, 1 in Iceland, 1 in New Zealand, and 1 in Sweden.

One of my first trips to Costco:

Wow, Costco really came through for me, bringing down the net cost my "trial" membership to zero. Along with my $20 cash card in the mail came some coupons for "welcome aboard" items that included:

Free box of 320 disinfectant wipes, normally $20;
Pack of 72 AA batteries, Kirkland brand, normally $10; and
$10 off any pack of fresh meat, including beef, pork, poultry, or seafood.

The membership was $60, minus the $20 cash card, minus $40 on the coupons equals $0.00.

I went shopping on a Thursday, July 26, with coupons in hand. I got the wipes and the batteries. Bought a four-pack of NY strip steaks, 4.3 pounds, normally $43, for $33. Also bought a mammoth jug of "All Free and Clear" liquid laundry soap for $14 that promises to do 126 loads. So big it has a spigot on one end so you don't have to lift the damn thing up to your washing machine. You just take the little supplied cup and hold it up to the spigot and press, just as though your were tapping a keg of beer. I think between (sister) Dawn and I, we do about two loads per week, so this should last us a year at least.