Does Costco Sell Products At A Loss?

Costco often sends members and fans into a frenzy when news breaks of a popular item’s discontinuation. Some departing products have inspired online petitions, others quietly disappeared from store shelves or the food court menu. Once a product enters the warehouse chain’s graveyard there’s often very little indication it’ll rise again.

And their plan is working. As Costco CFO Richard Galanti told Barron’s, the company’s estimated loss to shoplifting is just 0.11 to 0.12 percent of their sales, which is far less than the retail average of 1 to 2 percent. And since theft isn’t cutting into the company’s profits, Costco can afford to maintain the low prices their customers love.

A typical Costco warehouse is stocked with just 4,000 different products for sale, compared to about 30,000 at most supermarkets, and 142,000 at Walmart SuperCenters . As then-CEO Jim Sinegal told The Motley Fool, of those 4,000 products that Costco offers, 3,000 of them are everyday items like peanut butter and pasta sauce.

Another employee wrote on Quora: “The $1.50 hot-dog deal is called a ‘loss leader,’ which means that it is used to draw in buyers for other higher-priced items like the chicken bake, brisket sandwich, and our new item, chili The whole thing is mainly a ‘member service,’ which is just to keep them happy.” Mission accomplished!

How many calories are in Costco turkey patties?

The extra-lean turkey patties, at only 200 calories each, were a welcome alternative to beef and a popular choice for customers looking to drop a few pounds.

13 things Costco has decided it won’t sell anymore. Costco often sends members and fans into a frenzy when news breaks of a popular item’s discontinuation. Some departing products have inspired online petitions, others quietly disappeared from store shelves or the food court menu. Once a product enters the warehouse chain’s graveyard there’s often …

A Change.org petition with over 85,000 signatures may have led Costco to drop this Mosanto-owned weed-killer from store shelves. Founder of Moms Across America, Zen Honeycutt, created a petition calling for the retailer to drop Roundup, following billion dollar lawsuits that claimed the herbicide caused cancer.

To make room for more healthy items on its food court menu, Costco got rid of its Polish dogs in 2018. The decision outraged loyal customers, who took to Twitter to protest under the hashtag #SaveThePolishDog. Sadly, their efforts were in vain, and Polish dogs are still missing from the menu. But don’t fret, friends.

For better or for worse, Costco stopped production of its Kirkland Signature Light Beer in 2018. The 48-packs sold for $22 — less than 50 cents per can. While the beer had a cult following of party-goers on a budget, it certainly had its critics as well.