2010 Version

The warehouse club industry is unlike any other retail format. With its limited assortment of items, member service programs and paid membership philosophy, BJ’s, Costco and Sam’s Club need to continually offer their members a unique, enjoyable and financially rewarding shopping experience. To be able to accomplish this task, the buyers and operators of each club are constantly fine tuning and changing their product assortment and buying philosophy.

Many of the changes and concepts initiated by BJ’s, Costco and Sam’s are first revealed and discussed with warehouse club vendors. In order to gain an insight into what is happening “in the trenches” between the buyer and vendor, and ultimately, the member, an annual survey is conducted of club manufacturers, club employees, brokers and contract packagers.

These annual surveys have been done since 1998. The responses not only provide an interesting, up-close viewpoint on what is happening in the club industry, but they reveal club buying and operating trends. This white paper, which summarizes the 2009 survey results, is divided into two sections. The first section provides the background of the companies that responded to the survey and the second section discusses the survey results and data.