Carol Spieckerman

Consumers Go (Warehouse) Clubbing

March 4, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Wall Street may have had problems with earnings per share coming in lower than predicted for Costco and BJ's yesterday, but the numbers suggest those two chains along with Sam's are in a pretty good shape compared to many others in the grocery business. Are warehouse clubs fully exploiting the advantages they have over retail food competitors?      [more...]

Warehouse clubs often get portrayed as hidebound and change-resistant; however, I don't see this being the case any longer. Costco's Kirkland private label could reasonably be blamed for other retailers' bold moves in private branding and keep-them-guessing treasure hunt strategies. Sam's recently-announced "Tastes and Tips" program, which will leverage a third party demo provider (Shopper Events) to manage all in-store demos, promises to take a beyond-the-hairnets approach to demos by coordinating in-store shopper interaction across multiple categories. At the same time, Sam's is cutting back on labor costs and focusing on food more than ever before.

I'm expecting great things out of the warehouse channel if for no other reason than they continue to raise the bar for one another!