2019-06-01_Market_Watch

30 MARKET WATCH | MARKETWATCHMAG.COM | JUNE 2019

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he numbers don’t lie—and for
Issaquah, Washington-based
Costco Wholesale Corp., the
numbers are astounding.
With more than $4 billion in beverage
alcohol sales last fiscal year, the
company has seen steady annual growth in wine, spirits, and beer,
even from a huge base. New stores and new beverage alcohol
departments have been added nationally and internationally on
a yearly basis. Few retailers can match what Costco is doing, in
both sales and scope. And few have the buying power to even try.
“We’re committed to the beverage alcohol category,” says
Annette Alvarez-Peters, assistant vice president and general
merchandise manager for beverage alcohol at Costco. “We
show substantial increases and comps year over year. We’re
disciplined in our approach to the business, and we’re committed

to bringing exciting trends and new

beverage products to our members on

a regular basis.”

A membership-based warehouse

club—with 94 million members world-

wide—Costco has more than 530 stores

in the United States and Puerto Rico and more than 750 total

stores around the globe. Annual membership starts at $60 and

provides access to all the stores and their merchandise, includ-

ing a varied selection of wine, spirits, and beer. In the U.S.,

Costco has licenses to sell beer in 458 stores and can sell wine

in 448 stores. In addition, 317 stores are licensed to sell spirits.

Overseas, the company has an additional 162 licenses for wine

and beer retail and 141 licenses for spirits.

Costco’s total annual revenue for fiscal year 2018, ending

September 2, 2018, was $138.4 billion, a 9.7% increase over

Big-box retailer Costco continues

to be a dominant force in the

beverage alcohol retail landscape

BY LAURA PELNER

Despite having limited SKUs, the beverage alcohol department at Costco Wholesale Corp. (exterior above) brought in more than $4 billion
in sales in 2018—half of which were from wine offerings—from nearly 500 stores in the United States and almost 200 overseas locations.

WAREHOUSE

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