Costco COST has millions of members around the world, and it is known for its bulk paper towels and Kirkland brand mixed nuts.
It has been viewed as a treasure hunter's experience. Costco sells caskets online. After you've bought a casket, you can purchase a vacation and a $329,000 plus 6.5 carat engagement ring.
Inside a new Costco store in Lake Stevens, Washington, we found a nearly $2,000 bottle of wine, an inflatable jacuzzi and the legendary 93-inch, 48.5 pound stuffed Costco bear.
According to the longtime CEO Craig Jelinek, the longtime CEO of Costco, said Jelinek added that selling these products that do in fact sell only enhances the shopping experience for members.
Jelinek said of the giant stuffed bear that it's just one of the things that powers the brand on exciting things. I got one of these for my grandkids and brought it back from Australia. Australia was where we first brought them in. I said that we need to move this everywhere. The bear has been around for five or six years. These higher ticket items help to enhance Costco's top and bottom lines.
People like to go shopping in stores, it's the thrill of the treasure hunt, and that is what people love about Costco, Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe said.
Performing on this treasure hunt experience has supported Costco's growth in 2022 and helped it win the Yahoo Finance CompanyYahoo Finance Company of the Year award. Costco's same-store sales have outperformed conventional competitors: U.S. same-store sales for the nine weeks ended October 30 increased by 10%.
In comparison, third-quarter same-store sales for discounters Walmart WMT U.S. and Target TGT rose by a far slower 8.2% and 2.7%.
The recent sales growth trends of Costco are more in line with competitors, despite the fact that it is backed up against its pure-play warehouse rivals. East Coast warehouse club rival BJ's Wholesale BJ saw third-quarter same-store sales increase by 9.7%, while same-store sales at Walmart's Sam's Club increased by 10% in the third quarter. The same-store sales figures are impressive, given that Costco is much bigger than Sam's, which has sales of about $59 billion.
Costco posted a 14.4% increase in the same-store sales for the fiscal year ending Aug. 28, a 93% renewal rate for U.S. members, and a slight increase in net profit margins as a win in the hyperinflation environment, which is a win for the whole of the year, with total cash at $11.1 billion, a hearty 34% of current assets.
Brian Sozzi is an anchor at Yahoo Finance. You can follow Sozzi on Twitter and LinkedIn.