YoungEntrepreneur.com:
The average customer visits their local Costco 22 times a year. The company has become one of the largest in the U.S., with 473 outlets and more than $50 billion in sales, and is also the largest membership warehouse club chain in the world.
Its founder and CEO, Jim Sinegal, has been called the Sam Walton of the 21st century for his low-key style and seeming defiance of all things Wall Street. But, whether investors like him or not, America — and much of the rest of the world — has fallen in love with his discount depots.
Sinegal – “Our business was founded so that small businesses could come in and buy essentially everything they needed for their business under one roof. Café owners could purchase all of their food and drink, cigarettes and candy, cleaning supplies, pots and pans, toilet paper and towels, pads and pencils, and so on.”
“Technology has made us much more productive. With computers, fax machines, and cell phones we have more productive time during the course of the whole day and can react to situations more immediately. Sometimes we have so much information it’s more than we can deal with. Our web site and our e-commerce business are also profitable on a fully allocated basis, and that is somewhat of a milestone.”
“You have to plan the opportunity to think about your business and plan what you’re going to do. You have to schedule it. Otherwise you’re just a hamster running on a treadmill; you’re never going to get anywhere. You’ve got to schedule it. Strategic planning is an important part of running any business and the more so for businesses that operating in multiple states and countries. If you’re a big-picture guy, you’re not in the picture. Retail is detail.“
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