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I call this picture ‘Zero to 60’ in 30 seconds 😊 Over the past 4 years as a Costco member, had resisted multiple attempts & offers to get me upgraded from my plain vanilla tier to their Executive tier. But it took Mike (an enterprising shop floor staff member) yesterday only a moment to convince me otherwise. How ? By simply converting a garden variety customer issue into an Up-Sell opportunity! In trying to return an item for the first time ever at Costco, and being unfamiliar with the process got into the wrong queue. Mike could have just as easily asked me to go to the right queue. But instead, he took us to the correct service counter and processed the refund himself. Post that he checked our store usage and in literally 30 seconds presented a polite & compelling pitch for upgrading my membership tier. With his wonderful assistance as a backdrop, it was almost impossible to refuse. And just like that he moved a $60 ultra-stingy customer to $120 😊! Just reiterates something that I never get tired of telling every Account Management professional - There’s no better opportunity to Deepen Engagement or Grow a client relationship, than a Customer asking for help !! (P.S : Any Costco Wholesale employees here - Please do pass on my shout-out to Mike at your Warden Ave. store in Toronto) #accountmanagement #upsell #clientmanagement #servicetosale

"You can't give the store away." - Mr. George Mr. George (Publix's founder) quotes are everywhere at Publix. They’re constantly referenced and there are framed pictures of his quotes all over every Publix facility. Many are lessons that associates live by and that guide the culture of Publix. I’m sure everyone has their favorite or the one that most resonates with them. There’s one that has really stuck with me. I can’t find it documented anywhere I don’t know where I saw it, but I know I became aware of it early in my career. It’s one that could mean two VERY different things and I remember it being argued about at my store: You can’t give the store away. Some (incorrectly) thought it meant you SHOULDN’T give the store away- or give things away for free. But what it actually meant is that it wasn’t possible to give the store away. You could take care of every customer’s special needs and there would still be plenty for us as owners. When I was a grocery manager in Atlanta, I witnessed the perfect illustration of this quote. I was with my Store Manager on the sales floor and a customer with a completely full cart approached us. My store manager asked if she found everything she was looking for. She replied, “of course. I love this store- this is where I do all my weekly shopping. Except meat- I buy my meat at Whole Foods.” My Store Manager asked what cut of beef she normally bought and she answered “Filet Mignon.” He said “be right back” and stormed back to the meat department. He returned a few moments later with a $30 package of Publix’s new-at-the-time Greenwise Beef Filet Mignon. “Try these and let me know what you think,” he said as he marked the package as “no charge.” She took the package and assured him that she'd let him know what she thought. She went to a register and we went back to whatever discussion we were having. She did actually return the next week and told him she’d be buying the Greenwise steaks from now on.  But, the relatively small investment my store manager made in that customer would have paid off even if she didn’t like the steaks. He created a meaningful interaction that she probably still thinks about when she shops at Publix today. You can’t give the store away.

Reset season is almost here! This is when grocery stores literally reset the entire store department by department. That means if our product isn't selling well, it's getting cut. And then we're fighting everyone else to get the open spot someone lost. What seems like a minor placement in a neighborhood Kroger can weigh heavily on our fate for the year. The aisles will look a lot different in the next month or two. Less noise due to fewer choices and a focus on what the retailers can depend on to bring sales (hopefully). The buying habits of craft customers have evolved, and the stores will soon reflect it. And frankly, it is time. We've worked closely with our retail and distributor partners to secure placements in the appropriate stores. Yes, not every store needs Half-Life. Almost hard to believe, right? But now is not the time for packing beer on shelves in places that don't move. It's about the collective effort to elevate the craft beer experience in North Texas and provide you with beautiful beer because you deserve better.

Costco's membership strategy has empowered it to establish a distinctive and thriving business model 🚀. By mandating customers to subscribe and pay an annual fee for exclusive access to the store's offers and services, Costco achieves a multitude of pivotal goals: 1. It establishes a consistent revenue stream through memberships 💳. 2. It cultivates a profound sense of loyalty among its clientele ⭐. The exclusivity linked to Costco's membership plays a pivotal role in drawing in consumers in search of special deals and top-quality products at competitive prices. What facets of this strategy would you consider implementing in your own company or business? #GrowthInstitute

🌭 How Costco’s $1.50 Hot Dog is a Lesson in Loyalty and Loss Leaders. If the cost of Costco's famous hot dog combo had gone up with inflation, we'd be paying around $4.50 for it now. Instead, it's still just $1.50. This isn't just a random decision; it's a clever move by Costco, called a loss-leader strategy. They're okay with not making a profit on the hot dogs because it helps bring more people into the store and keeps them coming back. Scott Mushkin, a retail expert from R5 Capital, says it's all about building a bond with shoppers. That $1.50 price tag isn't just about food; it's a reminder of what Costco stands for in the eyes of its customers. Despite selling over 100 million hot dogs a year at a loss, Costco manages to balance the books by bumping up the prices of other things, like pizzas and various items in their food court. What's unique about Costco is how it keeps prices down across the board: it earns most of its cash from membership fees, selling most things in the store for about what it costs to get them, or even less. I guess we don't need to worry about the hot dog price going up anytime soon. 😅 #Costco #LossLeaders #Loyalty #CostcoHotDog #Inflation #Marketing

Costco trips are particularly long trips for me. It’s not due to a long list, it’s driven by curiosity and the need to observe…shoppers, packaging, new offerings, displays, sample stations, etc. In the snack section (in my store, middle of the store, near the check-out lanes), I noticed this pallet of Frito-Lay chips. A few observations: 1. In a sea of shades of red and yellow, the black stood out. Black can be recessive at shelf but within this context (center store under lights and surrounded by color) it popped. Nice job! ✅ 2. Loved the highlight of an alternate use for the chips, the Walking Taco! As I was walking quickly by the pallet with many other shoppers, I didn’t know if this was a new line extension flavor or a usage idea. ⚠️ 3. At Costco Wholesale , given the large pallet configuration, it’s a great opportunity to create a bigger billboard vs a collection of single packages. It’s best practice to design the packages to seamlessly work together to create a larger billboard message and grab shoppers’ attentions. ⚠️ We make hundreds of decisions a day that impact our businesses. When we try to measure performance, there’s A LOT of variables influencing the results. Some we can control (billboarding) and others we cannot (competitive context). Regardless, we leverage our best practices and do our best to drive the business. Would love your follow (Heather Maxwell ) and a ring of the 🔔 above if you enjoy posts on #insights , #brandbuilding, and living a #wellplayedlife

Chicago-based Portillo’s sales are “way stronger” in Texas, Arizona and Florida than in midwestern states such as Indiana and Wisconsin “Texas, by itself, has grown more people in the last decade than eight midwestern states that we have a presence in combined” “So it’s kind of a no brainer to go where the growth is” “Combined with the overall increase in consumer spending towards restaurants we’ve seen, it’s sort of the perfect storm to create a really ripe environment from a lot of restaurant groups who want to be here” chicken chain Raising Cane’s, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Starbucks as three companies that have been focused on growing their footprints in the Sun Belt : New York City’s celebrity hotspot Carbone, owned by Major Food Group, opened a location in Miami in 2021 and another in Dallas in 2022 : Dutch Bros chain is planning to open 150 locations this year : McDonald’s is aiming to open 900 new restaurants through 2027 McDonald’s and other restaurant chains look to the Sun Belt for growth as population soars KEY POINTS ·        As the population of the Sun Belt climbs, restaurant chains such as McDonald’s and Portillo’s are looking to those states for future sales growth. ·        Customers have moved from the Midwest and Northeast to states such as Texas, Florida and North Carolina. ·        The Sun Belt states largely have reputations for being more friendly to businesses.

$1.50 HOTDOG 🌭 Costco hot dogs have cost $1.50 since the 1980s, despite inflation saying the price tag should be closer to $4.50 these days. While most companies have been busy raising prices the last few years to squeeze extra revenue from their customers, Costco hasn’t blinked on its mainstay item. #Costco would rather operate its hot dog business at a loss because it builds customer loyalty and brings customers in the door (in which people buy higher margin items). After all, it’s membership business is the golden ticket, and it just raised the annual fee. In a year where dozens of management teams have destroyed shareholder value based on management missteps, this C-Suite continues to best understand their customer base and execute its strategy. Source: National Public Radio

From the perspective of Accounting and Business management, the sales of warehouse-type discount stores with unlimited returns, such as #COSTCO, are not confirmed until customer returns. Costco allows returns to customers when selling, so customers who think that even if this year's sales are 6 trillion won are not equivalent to the sales of the Korean corporation and the 200 billion won in dividends sent to the U.S. headquarters, the products they purchased last year in 2024, the next year. If they are returned, the store's sales shrink from 6 trillion won to 3 trillion won to 2 trillion won, and the reduced sales are confirmed in the accounting ledger. MBA Business Administration and business expert explain that the increase in returns in supermarkets and commercial transactions is not a problem with customers, but because there are problems with the seller and the supermarket's products or because of competitors https://lnkd.in/gwifp-xg #Walmart #Amazon #Kroger #Target #NEWYORK #manhattan #Seattle #Texas #California #LA #Gangnam #Seoul #Alabama #Detroit #Minnesota #Connecticut #NASDAQ #FORBES #Chicago #skincare #서울 #강남 #NYC #UK #Tokyo #Paris #Ohio #London