bcla
On our rugged Eastern foothills.....
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2012
And why does Costco say they are "wholesale?" Selling things to the consumers who use them is retail.
The origins weren’t as a public membership club where anyone could buy a membership. It was as a wholesale club where one needed to produce a business license to get a membership. There were a few other categories that might get one in.
I remember Costco (and Price Club) in the mid 80s. They were far different. Definitely less crowded because the main customer base was businesses that resold or that bought bulk quantities for restaurants, offices, etc. I remember aisles with multi-packs of candy, gum, chips, etc.
https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-wholesale-warehouse-then-now-opened-1983-membership-2019-4
Costco is going back to those origins with their Costco Business Centers. The first time I went to one was when I just needed gas in Vegas and followed a map app. They had a gas station, but no food court, optical, etc. But they had restaurant supplies and resale packs. There are two in the San Francisco Bay Area. They don’t have the typical optical, photo prints, gas station, etc. However, one does have an outside food court. I rarely see as many customers in those, but some customers tend to buy thousands of dollars worth of stuff at a time.