Presentation Etienne Khoury
Executive Summary Purpose : To examine Costco’s business structure and strategy and how those relate to industry success Why this is worth YOUR time
Summary Revenues of 71 Billion 550 Warehouses Today – Operates in: 40 States 9 Countries $137 million average sales/warehouse 141,000 square feet/warehouse 143,000 employees worldwide More than 1.4 million transactions/day
 
 
 
 
 
Background CEO : James Sinegal Headquarters : Issaquah, WA Inception : Seattle, WA 1983 Stock Symbol : COST (NASDAQ) Founders : James Sinegal & Jefferey Brotman
 
Corporate Strategy Cost strategy Penetration Pricing Below the Line Promotion No frills “ Diversion” Buying Strategy “ Treasure hunt" shopping experience
Products Sundries which include candy, snack foods, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and cleaning supplies Hardlines which include major appliances, hardware, electronics, and sporting goods Softlines including apparel, jewelry, and small appliances Fresh food sales, like meat and baked goods Other items which include  gasoline , pharmacy sales, and Costco's one-hour photo development.
Abell’s Model
Customers (Who) Costco targets independent small business owners who have typically $100,000 or more of personal income Actual average Costco customer is women in large householders with income of $50,000 or more Most popular with Hispanic and Asian ethnic groups Typically customer visits 8-11 times per year
Customers in Taiwan
Customer Needs (What) Quality Products Relatively Low Prices Convenience Reliability
Membership (How) Gold Star Member = $ 50 Business Member = $ 50 Executive Member = $ 100 Membership fees allow Costco  to maintain  low margins
Products (How) Costco focuses on selling products at low prices, at very high volume.  Goods are usually bulk-packaged Marketed primarily to large families and businesses.  Does not carry multiple brands or varieties  House brand to sell, under the Kirkland Signature label.  Results in high volume of sales from single vendor, allowing further reduction in price, and reducing marketing costs.
Industry Analysis Overview  Warehouse Clubs and Superstores SWOT Analysis Porter Analysis Life Cycle
Industries Retail Discount and Variety Retail Warehouse Clubs and Superstores (primary) Gasoline Retailers Grocery Retail Nonstore Retail Internet Retail Consumer Services Optical Services Travel Agencies and Services Financial Services Lending Mortgage Banking and Related Services Insurance Property and Casualty Autos and Other Vehicles Homeowners Insurance
Warehouse Clubs and Superstores Warehouse club membership has grown dramatically over the past couple of years Fees can range anywhere from $5-$100 Costco, Sam’s Club, BJs Wholesale Club Great Success  - “big box stores that sell groceries as well as general merchandise at lower costs”
Costco Today 550 warehouses Worldwide 403 in US 76 in Canada 21 in UK 6 in Korea 5 in Taiwan 8 in Japan 31 in Mexico
SWOT Analysis
Strengths 54.1m loyal cardholders Strong member renewals Absolute pricing authority Exceptional employees Excellent merchandise Quality image
Weaknesses Cannibalization Costco's overexpansion domestically risks cannibalizing the sales of preexisting stores James Sinegal leave Maintaining high wages Costco's average pay, for example, is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam's Club  Maintaining profit margins
Opportunities Recession has allowed Costco opportunities for luxury-item deals, including the chance to sell prime-grade meat that used to go almost exclusively to restaurants. With people eating out less often, said Sinegal, "there are not as many steaks being sold in restaurants, and we're selling them."  To take over, merge with, or form strategic alliances with other global retailers, focusing on specific markets such as Europe or the Greater China Region.  The stores are currently only trade in a relatively small number of countries. Therefore there are tremendous opportunities for future business in expanding consumer markets, such as China and India.
Threats Being a global retailer means that you are exposed to political problems in the countries that you operate in.  The cost of producing many consumer products tends to have fallen because of lower manufacturing costs. Manufacturing cost have fallen due to outsourcing to low-cost regions of the World. This has lead to price competition, resulting in price deflation in some ranges. Intense price competition is a threat.  Bad economic times (current recession)
Porter’s Five Forces Supplier Power Low power Good relationship Large quantities at lower costs New Market Entrants High barriers to entry Costco has high competitive advantage Threat of new entrants is low Costco has wide array of products at significant low prices, which makes it almost impossible to compete Competitive Rivalry High Competition Economies of scale/supply chain management is easily replicated Battle for lower costs results in lower profit margins Substitutes Low threat of substitutes Low cost shopping coupled with high value Customer satisfaction/member retention is high Buyer Power Bargaining power of buyers is high Little to no switching costs (membership fees) High concentration/quantity of buyers Customers have high mobility Sell similar to same products
Life Cycle – Maturity Stage Costco is in the mature stage Though profitable, slower growth in sales Strong brand awareness Shares market with established competitors
Competitive Analysis
Competitive Analysis Costco's main competition is Wal-Mart's Sam's Club. BJ’s, a smaller retail warehouse chain, also competes with Costco and Sam's Club. The three companies share a similar business model, selling high volumes of merchandise at low prices in a membership-only warehouse club. Each company sells a similar array of general merchandise, including food, apparel, and gasoline.  Sam's Club operates 591 warehouse clubs nationwide and earned $44.4 billion in revenue in 2007. BJ's operates 177 warehouse clubs across 16 states in the eastern U.S. In 2007, the company earned $9.0 billion in revenue.
Competitive Analysis Greater benefits for Costco employees Wages: $17/hr on average Health Insurance : 90% premium coverage Lower price margins
Financial Analysis Costco earned $71 Billion in revenue in 2008 – 12.5% increase from 2007 In 2008, Costco’s operating margin reached 2.77%  Costco’s net income in 2008 was $1.28 billion dollars – an 18.5% increase from 2007
 
Financial Analysis
Costco Stock
Future Outlook Costco's Future Outlook
Questions ?

Costco Powerpoint Presentation

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    Executive Summary Purpose: To examine Costco’s business structure and strategy and how those relate to industry success Why this is worth YOUR time
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    Summary Revenues of71 Billion 550 Warehouses Today – Operates in: 40 States 9 Countries $137 million average sales/warehouse 141,000 square feet/warehouse 143,000 employees worldwide More than 1.4 million transactions/day
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    Background CEO :James Sinegal Headquarters : Issaquah, WA Inception : Seattle, WA 1983 Stock Symbol : COST (NASDAQ) Founders : James Sinegal & Jefferey Brotman
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    Corporate Strategy Coststrategy Penetration Pricing Below the Line Promotion No frills “ Diversion” Buying Strategy “ Treasure hunt" shopping experience
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    Products Sundries whichinclude candy, snack foods, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and cleaning supplies Hardlines which include major appliances, hardware, electronics, and sporting goods Softlines including apparel, jewelry, and small appliances Fresh food sales, like meat and baked goods Other items which include gasoline , pharmacy sales, and Costco's one-hour photo development.
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    Customers (Who) Costcotargets independent small business owners who have typically $100,000 or more of personal income Actual average Costco customer is women in large householders with income of $50,000 or more Most popular with Hispanic and Asian ethnic groups Typically customer visits 8-11 times per year
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    Customer Needs (What)Quality Products Relatively Low Prices Convenience Reliability
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    Membership (How) GoldStar Member = $ 50 Business Member = $ 50 Executive Member = $ 100 Membership fees allow Costco to maintain low margins
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    Products (How) Costcofocuses on selling products at low prices, at very high volume. Goods are usually bulk-packaged Marketed primarily to large families and businesses. Does not carry multiple brands or varieties House brand to sell, under the Kirkland Signature label. Results in high volume of sales from single vendor, allowing further reduction in price, and reducing marketing costs.
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    Industry Analysis Overview Warehouse Clubs and Superstores SWOT Analysis Porter Analysis Life Cycle
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    Industries Retail Discountand Variety Retail Warehouse Clubs and Superstores (primary) Gasoline Retailers Grocery Retail Nonstore Retail Internet Retail Consumer Services Optical Services Travel Agencies and Services Financial Services Lending Mortgage Banking and Related Services Insurance Property and Casualty Autos and Other Vehicles Homeowners Insurance
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    Warehouse Clubs andSuperstores Warehouse club membership has grown dramatically over the past couple of years Fees can range anywhere from $5-$100 Costco, Sam’s Club, BJs Wholesale Club Great Success - “big box stores that sell groceries as well as general merchandise at lower costs”
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    Costco Today 550warehouses Worldwide 403 in US 76 in Canada 21 in UK 6 in Korea 5 in Taiwan 8 in Japan 31 in Mexico
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    Strengths 54.1m loyalcardholders Strong member renewals Absolute pricing authority Exceptional employees Excellent merchandise Quality image
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    Weaknesses Cannibalization Costco'soverexpansion domestically risks cannibalizing the sales of preexisting stores James Sinegal leave Maintaining high wages Costco's average pay, for example, is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam's Club Maintaining profit margins
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    Opportunities Recession hasallowed Costco opportunities for luxury-item deals, including the chance to sell prime-grade meat that used to go almost exclusively to restaurants. With people eating out less often, said Sinegal, "there are not as many steaks being sold in restaurants, and we're selling them." To take over, merge with, or form strategic alliances with other global retailers, focusing on specific markets such as Europe or the Greater China Region. The stores are currently only trade in a relatively small number of countries. Therefore there are tremendous opportunities for future business in expanding consumer markets, such as China and India.
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    Threats Being aglobal retailer means that you are exposed to political problems in the countries that you operate in. The cost of producing many consumer products tends to have fallen because of lower manufacturing costs. Manufacturing cost have fallen due to outsourcing to low-cost regions of the World. This has lead to price competition, resulting in price deflation in some ranges. Intense price competition is a threat. Bad economic times (current recession)
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    Porter’s Five ForcesSupplier Power Low power Good relationship Large quantities at lower costs New Market Entrants High barriers to entry Costco has high competitive advantage Threat of new entrants is low Costco has wide array of products at significant low prices, which makes it almost impossible to compete Competitive Rivalry High Competition Economies of scale/supply chain management is easily replicated Battle for lower costs results in lower profit margins Substitutes Low threat of substitutes Low cost shopping coupled with high value Customer satisfaction/member retention is high Buyer Power Bargaining power of buyers is high Little to no switching costs (membership fees) High concentration/quantity of buyers Customers have high mobility Sell similar to same products
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    Life Cycle –Maturity Stage Costco is in the mature stage Though profitable, slower growth in sales Strong brand awareness Shares market with established competitors
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    Competitive Analysis Costco'smain competition is Wal-Mart's Sam's Club. BJ’s, a smaller retail warehouse chain, also competes with Costco and Sam's Club. The three companies share a similar business model, selling high volumes of merchandise at low prices in a membership-only warehouse club. Each company sells a similar array of general merchandise, including food, apparel, and gasoline. Sam's Club operates 591 warehouse clubs nationwide and earned $44.4 billion in revenue in 2007. BJ's operates 177 warehouse clubs across 16 states in the eastern U.S. In 2007, the company earned $9.0 billion in revenue.
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    Competitive Analysis Greaterbenefits for Costco employees Wages: $17/hr on average Health Insurance : 90% premium coverage Lower price margins
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    Financial Analysis Costcoearned $71 Billion in revenue in 2008 – 12.5% increase from 2007 In 2008, Costco’s operating margin reached 2.77% Costco’s net income in 2008 was $1.28 billion dollars – an 18.5% increase from 2007
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