Mmmmmmmmmmmmm Essay

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------------------------------------------------- Competition among the North American Warehouse Clubs: Costco Wholesale versus Sam's Club versus BJ's Wholesale Executive Summary The discount warehouse and wholesale club segment of the North American retailing industry was worth nearly $125 billion in 2010 and consisted of three principal competitors: Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club – owned by Walmart, and BJ’s Wholesale Club. These warehouse clubs “operated no-frills, self-service big-box facilities where customers could choose from a relatively narrow assortment of discount-priced merchandise across a wide range of product categories.” Warehouse club stores attracted customers because of their low prices which were difficult for traditional retail outlets to match. The low prices were made possible by substantially lower operating costs. Operating costs for Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s were kept lower than those of than other retailers because they purchased large volumes of merchandise directly from manufacturers, didn’t spend money on merchandise display, stored excess inventory on the sales floor, had relatively low labor costs, and spent minimally on advertising and customer service. High volume and rapid inventory turnover allowed warehouse clubs to finance merchandise inventory through vendor payment terms rather than by having to maintain sizable working capital. The primary clientele for these stores included small-business owners and individual shoppers who paid an annual membership fee. In 2010 there were more than 1,250 warehouse clubs in North America with Costco controlling about 56% of the market, Sam’s Club controlling 36%, and BJ’s and other small warehouse club competitors controlling 8%. Analysis All three of the major competitors in the North American Warehouse Club industry are pursuing a low-cost provider strategy as indicated by

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