More Costco Facts

I am a very curious person and like learning about a variety of topics. I am always reading a few books at once, am constantly looking things up online, and am frequently asking people questions. In high school, I worked for a small school publication as the “trivia person”. Each week I would ask a trivia question or two. I like learning new facts about Costco and have written posts about some of my favorite facts (An assortment of Costco facts (Part 1 of 2)); (An assortment of Costco facts (Part 2 of 2)); (Things you didn’t know you didn’t know about Costco!)). I then came across a few more facts in a recent article. Some of the facts have already been mentioned in my other posts. The author of these facts credited most of them to the new book about Costco, the Joy of Costco (I have mentioned this book in other posts (Costco Surprises); (Costco in the United Kingdom (International Series #5)).

1. The Founder of Costco’s Favorite Item They Ever Sold was a Cheap Nozzle

According to the article, among all of the items Costco has sold, the founder, Jim Sinegal, puts a water nozzle as his favorite. He even purchased them for the Costco CEO, his assistant, and his son-in-law. 

I like this fact because it highlights a few things. First, that Costco sells such an odd assortment of items. Second, that people with “big jobs” don’t necessarily prefer more expensive items. Third, that people have very different tastes and interests.

2. The Smallest Costco in the World is Located in Juneau

Mentioned previously (An assortment of Costco facts (Part 1 of 2)).

3. Getting a Book Into Costco Can Be Big Business

The author mentions the financial benefits of having a book sold by Costco. Apparently, 25% of the profits from a book carried at Costco are from the sales at the warehouse. 

I am surprised by such a large percentage coming from Costco. Sure, Costco is huge but I think about most book sales coming from Amazon 

4. Costco Has Business Centers That Sell 32-Pound Containers of Sour Cream

Another fact about Costco draws attention to the business centers, which sell items that are even larger than at regular warehouses (e.g., 50-pound bags of onions; 56-gallon cans of maple syrup; 5-gallon buckets of pickles; 32-pound containers of sour cream).

I have written about these business centers (Costco Business Centers), although I have never been to one. Although this fact was about the sizes of items, I learned another fact from this part of the article. I didn’t know that the distribution of business centers varies a lot, with four in Northern California but none between New York and Atlanta.

5. Costco Conducts Social Audits on Its Suppliers to Ensure They Treat Employees Well

According to the article, Costco has demands for their suppliers. These demands include that Costco will not be more than 25% of the sales they make, that they treat their employees well, and that they are committed to the environment. They even visit the manufacturing facilities to ensure quality. 

I can understand the commitment to treating employees well (and theirs seems consistent with their approach to treat their own employees (Best and Worst Jobs at Costco (Part 1 of 2): Best Jobs)); (The (literal and figurative) benefits of working at Costco (Part 1 of 2)); (The (literal and figurative) benefits of working at Costco (Part 2 of 2)); (May I help you? Checking out at Costco))) and the environment. I am not sure why they would be set on Costco being under a quarter of sales. 

6. Costco Sells Half the World’s Cashews

Another fact is about how many cashews Costco sells, accounting for half sold in the world. In addition, these containers support farmers on independent farms in Africa. 

Wow, that is a lot of cashews sold! I have written before about the high quality of these cashews (More Top Notch Kirkland Products). However, I did not know the quantity sold or the causes to which the sales contribute. 

7. Costco Sells More than 100 Million Chickens in the U.S. Annually

The article discusses the rotisserie chickens. They were introduced in 1995 and continue to be sold for $5. They come from Costco’s poultry farm in Nebraska which employs 800 workers and has partnerships with 109 local farmers 

I have certainly written about the chickens before (Costco Surprises); (Costco Questions); (An assortment of Costco facts (Part 1 of 2)); (How Costco Gets Members to Spend More)). However, I didn’t know (or think about,) where they came from and certainly didn’t know that the company had its own farm. 

8. Costco Creates the Fourth-Largest Circulation Print Magazine

Hmmm…I saw elsewhere and wrote about it being the largest (An assortment of Costco facts (Part 2 of 2))…I don’t know why the discrepancy. 

9. Costco Sells Cars, Car Rentals, Vacations, and Many Other Items You May Not Know

The article mentions many of the services that Costco provides, including Auto and Home Insurance, Life Insurance, Business Health Insurance, Bottled Water Delivery, Budget Truck Rental, Travel, RVs, Vehicle Purchase Through Approved Dealers, Payment Processing, Blinds, Shades & Shutters, Generator and HVAC Installation, Custom Closet & Storage Design, Flooring & Carpet Installation, Jacuzzi Bath Remodel, Garage Door & Opener Install, Solar Panel Installation, Quartz & Granite Installation,

Cabinet Refacing, and Water Treatment & Softeners. 

I have written about some of the services Costco provides (Additional Costco services?); (Retired? Shop at Costco!)). However, I did now know there were this many!

10. Costco is About to Expand Fresh Sushi to its Stores Nationwide

The author points out that, although other countries sell sushi, it is only currently sold in one location in the zuS in Issaquah, Washington location (next to Costco’s corporate headquarters.) but is now expanding this offering to othet us stores. 

I noted in some of the International Series posts that I had never seen sushi offered in Costcos to which I’ve been (Costco in South Korea (International Series #2)); (Costco in Japan (International Series #6)). However, I have seen recent articles about the change to now offer sushi in US locations.

11. Costco Sells 4 Billion Eggs Per Year

Apparently, Costco not only sells a huge amount of eggs but also is the first US store to sell only cage-free eggs. 

That is a lot of eggs! My family contributes to this number by buying about 300/year. 

12. Costco Food Courts Have Novel Items Across the World

I have written about this in the International Series posts (e.g., Costco in Australia (International Series #4)); (Costco in France (International Series #7)); (Costco in Taiwan (International Series #11)).

13. Costco Gas Sells for $.21 Cheaper than the Competition

I have written about the cheap gas at Costco multiple times (Got gas?); (Retired? Shop at Costco!)). However, I did not know how much gas Costco sells. Apparently, they sell $14.7 billion worth of gas per year.

14. Costco’s Top-Selling Store is in Hawaii

I had written about this Costco being the busiest (An assortment of Costco facts (Part 1 of 2)). However, what I did not know is that 2022 was a big year for the store in Iwilei, HI, as it became the first Costco to exceed $500 million in sales. 

15. 75% of Iceland Households are Costco Members

The article discusses how Costco came to be in Iceland, despite it being such a small population. Apparently, people in Iceland were renting planes to bring items from Costco into Iceland and selling them for a lot more. Costco the hen decided to open a store in the country. 

I have written about the Costco in Iceland (Costco in Iceland (International Series #3)) but did not know the story behind it. There is always more to learn!

16. Costco Members Have Purchased $600,000 Jewelry From the Store

Apparently Costco sells a lot of jewelry, including 212 pounds of diamonds each year. (Including a 10-carat engagement ring was once sold through Costco for $600,000). Costco also sells high-end watches that can cost more than $25,000.

I knew that Costco sold diamond rings and view it as one of the weird items for it to sell (Costco: Movies, TV, Songs, and Books); (“Fancy” products at Costco?); (Countering anti-Costco sentiments: Part 2); (Costco vs. Sam’s vs. BJs: part 4)). However, I did not know how many they sold or the prices.

17. There’s a Costco Location in Manhattan

New York 

I wrote about this Costco (Wisconsin Costco vs. New York Costco).

18. About One-Quarter of Costco’s Sales are Kirkland Signature Products

The author discusses the Kirkland brand and reports that it is high quality and that many items are made by well known brands. He reports that this high percentage of sales is despite Kirkland items only accounting for 1,000 items sold. Unsurprisingly, the most popular Kirkland items sold are bath tissue, paper towels, and bottled water.

I have written about the high quality Kirkland items (Kirkland Products: 12 to buy); (More Top Notch Kirkland Products); (Even More High-Quality Kirkland Products)) and which companies make a lot of them (Who makes Kirkland products? (Part 1 of 3)); (Who makes Kirkland products? (Part 2 of 3)); (Who makes Kirkland products? (Part 3 of 3))). However, I did not know how much of the sales Kirkland items accounted for.

19. Only Four States Don’t Have a Costco

I mentioned this (An assortment of Costco facts (Part 2 of 2)).

20. Costco Didn’t Open its First Location in Mainland Europe Until 2014

I have written about the Costco stores in different countries but did not know which country the first was developed in each country. Or that the first Europe store was Spain in 2014.

21. Costco Sells Seven Times More Hot Dogs Than All MLB Stadiums Combined

The article writes about the hot dog/soda combination and its popularity. Apparently, although popular in the United States, it is even more popular in Japan. One of the Japanese stores now holds the record for the most of these combination sold in a month at 64,512.

Obviously, I have written about the hot dogs at Costco and their popularity (Things you didn’t know you didn’t know about Costco!); (Wisconsin Costco vs. New York Costco)). I have also written that they are popular food court items in other countries (Costco in the United Kingdom (International Series #5)); (Costco in France (International Series #7)); (Costco in China (International Series #8)); (Costco in New Zealand (International Series #9)); (Costco in Taiwan (International Series #11)). However, I would not have guessed that Japan was such a large source of these combination.

Did you know most of these facts? Which are the most surprising?