Costco’s recent CEO who Started as a forklift driver for the company at age 17, he considers one of the wholesale giant’s products to be its most prized — and it is not its famous deal on hot dogs or rotisserie chickens.
It’s a Costco membership card.
Costco CEO Ron Vachris, who he became CEO said in January after greater than 40 years of labor at the company Fortune that “everything” Costco does supports its membership.
“The most important thing we sell is the membership card,” Vachris told the newspaper.
Costco membership card check. (Photo: Kena Betancur/VIEWpress)
The membership card is essential to Costco’s bottom line. It accounted for 73% of the company’s total revenue last 12 months, in response to its fiscal 2023 earnings report.
In other words, membership generated $4.58 billion in profit in comparison with Costco’s $6.29 billion net profit last 12 months.
It is higher than the $4.22 billion generated by Costco members in 2022 and $3.88 billion in 2021, indicating growth in this aspect of Costco’s business.
Costco has recently taken steps to guard its membership profits, tightening rules in March against nonmembers who eat at its restaurants.
The company also plans so as to add digital ID scanning stations at select locations to make sure members use their IDs when entering warehouses.
Costco Entrance Costs The cost for an annual Gold Star or Business membership is $60 and for an Executive membership, $120.