Costco Wholesale’s hot dog and soda combo is no longer costco's easy budget

Costco Wholesale's $1.50 hot-dog and soda combo is in no danger of disappearing anytime soon.

Costco's chief financial officer, Richard Galanti, was asked what categories it harvests extra margin on to offset the margin squeeze in other areas, including the noted hot-dog and soda combo.

According to a transcript from S&P Global Market Intelligence, lightning struck me.

We don't look at it that way. I think that the things I mentioned earlier about there being some businesses that are doing well with margins, like the gas business, in a smaller way, will help us be more aggressive in other areas, or as you mentioned, hold the price on the hot dog and soda for a long time. I don't think we need to look to find places where we can harvest margin at the end of the day. The hot-dog and-soda combination, a prepared-food offering that is a hallmark of many of a visit to the warehouse retailer, has taken on a life of its own. When inflation started to accelerate in May, an executive publicly declared that it was holding the combination constant at the same price since the 1980s.

When he considered raising the price, Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal threatened to kill Craig Jelinek, the current CEO.

Also see here s what Costco is saying about inflation and a membership fee increase.