Costco

Costco Sold Counterfeit Tiffany Engagement Rings
September 9, 2015 at 11:18 am

Costco willfully infringed Tiffany & Co's trademarks by selling counterfeit diamond engagement rings bearing the luxury retailer's name, and now must face a jury trial to assess damages, a U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan rejected claims by Costco that Tiffany's trademarks were invalid because they sought to prevent…

Costco, Sam's Club, Others Halt Photo Sites Over Possible Breach
July 21, 2015 at 2:00 pm

Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club and a handful of other large retailers have disabled their online photo printing stores in recent days, on concerns about a possible data breach at PNI Digital Media, which manages and/or hosts photo services sites.

Why Costco Wins Globally Where Many Falter
July 7, 2015 at 2:44 pm

This year Costco will expand its presence in the United Kingdom, Japan and Spain. The retailer's membership format has found appeal in many foreign countries, and I see more success ahead. There are now 674 Costco warehouse clubs in operation globally, 475 in the United States and 199 units outside the U.S.

Costco Quietly Testing New Store Concept for 23 Years
June 30, 2015 at 1:55 pm

For over 20 years, warehouse club juggernaut Costco Wholesale Corp. has quietly been dabbling in a new market: selling supplies specifically tailored to small businesses. Now, Costco could be looking to move more aggressively with a store format in a bid to head off competition from Wal-Mart's small-business friendly brand Sam's Club, as well as…

Wal-Mart Goes Back on the Offensive With Price
April 7, 2015

Wal-Mart has a message for its vendors: keep those trade funds and put them toward the cost of goods. Wal-Mart wants even lower prices from suppliers to put more distance between itself and competitors, many of whom depend on vendor dollars. While it's not unusual for a retailer to pressure manufacturers for lower prices, the move by Wal-Mart, first reported by The City Wire's Kim Souza in February and again last week by The Wall Street Journal, is significant because of increasing competition from a wide range of rivals, including Aldi, Costco, Dollar General and Kroger.

Prepare for Takeoff: Next-Generation Marketplace Jet.com is Ready to Change the Game
March 24, 2015

It's a bird, it's a plane … it's Jet.com. Flying high and ready to disrupt the e-commerce world, Jet is a revolutionary marketplace that's taking a new approach to online retailing by using a membership-based business model (think an online Costco or Sam's Club). If you're an online retailer, you might want to take notice.

Visa Wins Costco’s Credit Card Business
March 2, 2015

Costco announced that its credit card network will be handled by Visa next year, an announcement that comes weeks after it sideswiped Visa rival American Express in a move that ended a 16-year relationship with the retailer. Costco said Citigroup would be the exclusive issuer of the retailer's co-branded credit cards, while Visa will be replacing American Express as the credit card network for Costco in the U.S. and Puerto Rico beginning April 1, 2016.

Costco, American Express Partnership to End
February 13, 2015

Costco shoppers who have been limited for years to American Express credit cards may be able to pluck a new option from their wallets or purses next year after an exclusivity deal between the companies expires. American Express said Thursday that it hasn't been able to come to an agreement with Costco on renewal terms. The current agreement covers U.S. stores and dates back 16 years. It will end March 31, 2016. 

Target Showing Symptoms of a Big Decline
January 7, 2015

Is Target headed towards the same fate as Sears? Analysis of the discount retailer's latest numbers suggest it's possible. According to a Seeking Alpha report, Target reported a small revenue decline on Oct. 31 of last year compared with the year prior; the firm declared $73.7 billion in TTM revenue, compared with $73.81 billion the same period in 2013. While the drop is far from catastrophic, the numbers show a more troubling picture when held up against Target's top rivals. Wal-Mart, Kroger and Costco all reported multibillion-dollar revenue increases in the same period.