Costco Essay Examples and Research Papers

You may have questions about what to write in your Costco essay. In order to write a good Costco essay, you need to disassemble the history of the corporation and how it operates. Below you can find information on how this huge corporation and all details regarding it.

Costco, the nation’s largest discount wholesale merchandiser was founded in 1983 by Jim Senegal and Jack Brotman. Since the company’s inception, it has been a leader in the retailing industry and a shining example of the success of the warehouse club model. Their stellar financial performance within just a few years of opening for business solidified them within the national retail space. It became the first U.S.-based company to generate $1 billion in revenue in less than six years of operation. Since then the company has expanded to a globally recognized brand with nearly 700 locations all over the world.

The legendary CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch once said, “Strategy means making clear-cut choices about how to compete”. Taking into consideration Jim Senegal’s leadership style and business strategies, one can make the argument that Costco’s business practices support this statement. It is evident that many of the decisions that Senegal made were strategically designed to fit within the company’s mission statement. Costco, as a brand, has two goals. One is to provide the highest quality products possible, and the second is to provide those products at the lowest competitive prices possible. For instance, Costco’s membership-based services allow them to keep prices lower than their competition to ensure that their customers are getting the best price for thousands of items. Senegal recognized that customers were shopping at his stores for a very specific reason, which is to save money. In an effort to decrease the operational costs of the business he decided that all stores would have concrete floors, minimal decor and their products would simply be stored on pallets. By adopting a minimalist approach of warehousing and displaying products Costco was able to pass the savings on to their customers. Furthermore, limits were set on the amount of profit that they were willing to make on each product. Costco was willing to accept a 14% profit margin on nationally distributed products and about 20% on their in-house private label brand. By making strategic decisions that were in line with the companies two main objectives Costco was able to choose how they wanted to compete and what role they wanted to play in the discount retail space.

According to one Costco essay, Costco’s success can also be attributed to how the management and leadership of the company treat all of its 254,000 employees. Jim Senegal is on record as saying that the list of priorities for Costco management is their customers, their employees, and their shareholders. From Costco’s point of view, the customer comes first but it is apparent that they realize no task at Costco can be accomplished without a skilled and dedicated workforce. Financially speaking, Costco is known to pay more per hour than their closest competitor, Sam’s Club. A cashier at Costco can expect to earn between $14-$15 per hour whereas at Sam’s club the same cashier can expect to make just over $11 per hour. Not only does Costco pay more than their closest rivals they also offer complete benefit packages for both full-time and part-time employees. All of their employees are entitled to healthcare plans that include coverage for mental illness and substance abuse.

Here you can find good examples of Costco essays that will give you an idea of what to write in your essay.