In a feature released Thursday, Costco chair Hamilton “Tony” James told Chief Executive Magazine that even though he was on the Costco board for 36 years, he still loves to attend meetings. .
“I think it’s attractive,” James said in the Q&A. “The company is a great window into what’s going on in the consumer world, whether they’re buying or not.”
And what they’re buying is their beloved $1.50 hot dog combo plus 10 carat diamonds and gold bars. (Analysts at Wells Fargo discovered in September that the company sells up to $200 million worth of gold bars each month.)
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“A Seattle Porsche dealer put his car on the floor at Costco and sold out in a week,” James said.
Costco has around 137 million paying members in 2024, and James said in most cases he is “average national income,” but the warehouse chain said it was “double the average income.” “There are also wealthy members of the group.”
These members allow the company to do “amazing things,” such as selling Dom Perignon champagne, which is more expensive than “above anybody else.” In 2001, for example, Costco’s director Wine told the Los Angeles Times that the warehouse chain was “Dom Perignon’s largest retailer in the country.”
Business Insider, households with higher incomes preferred in Costco, according to data from Analytics Firm’s molecules, Millennial and Gen X households, suggests that households prefer competition.
Related: Costco increases the salary of most store workers to more than $30 per hour.
“We knew that if we had good quality and great prices, like Rolex watches, Dom Perignons, 10 carat diamonds, etc., we could always move on volume,” James said.
“Wealthy people love quite a bit,” he added, but they don’t just buy gorgeous items.
James points out that the company’s Kirkland brand is “the second largest brand anywhere.”
Costco reported net sales in January 2025 were $195.1 billion, an increase of 9.2% from the same period last year.
