American Fortune Life

In the minds of many people, Seattle is the most romantic metropolis in the United States. New York is the most international, but the pace is too fast, and the taste of money is a bit strong. The sun is brightest in Los Angeles, but it always feels bustling and noisy, with a strong sense of business. San Francisco is the most open, but the high housing prices and the many upstarts in technology give people a high and cold feeling.

Only, the winter is mild and rainy, the summer is cool and pleasant, the precipitation is large throughout the year, and there are many days with light rain. Seattle is the most romantic. . . In the light rain, a pair of lovers held umbrellas, strolled along the beach, and fell in love-this may be the most classic romantic scene in love movies.

It's just that although the light rain gives people a romantic feeling, it may not be a good thing for Andy Smith. Who wants to go out with an umbrella? Not to mention the gray sky and the dark streets in front of the eyes?

However, whether Andy likes it or not, the light rain in Seattle has been pattering since he got off the plane until the next morning, and Andy came to Costco's headquarters in Seattle in this kind of weather, and met him in person. He was greeted by founder Jeffrey Brotman, who has served as chairman of the company's board of directors since December 1994, and another creation, James Sinegger, who has been president of Costco since only 83 years.

That's right, Andy temporarily chose the board of directors of Costco to incorporate him. This is also the result of Andy's careful consideration. Every industry occupies a place, not to mention that he is still in the digestion period of his own industry. As a mature entrepreneur, Andy's main job at present is to complete the smooth digestion of his own industry.

Therefore, even though he was very envious of the development potential of Costco, he had to make a choice. He was invited to join the board of directors of Costco and gradually figured it out from the inside. This is his new strategic approach to Costco.

"The 'customer experience' has always been a strategic focus of Costco above all else..."

Accompanied by the two founders of Costco and several executives with a smile on his face, Andy walked in a mighty way in the flagship store of Costco in Seattle while listening to the executive officer Clay Gegelnik's commentary.

The experience of this Craig Jelinek is also very legendary. He used to be a low-level employee of Costco collecting shopping carts. Over the years, he has made unremitting efforts to walk to Costco step by step. executive management position.

And this kind of example of climbing from the grassroots all the way to the corporate executive is not an exception, which is very difficult to get valuable!

In the internal management of Costco, most of the managers came up step by step from the grassroots. They used to be little-known employees in the store, but they did not choose to be discouraged or give up on themselves. Instead, they chose to complete their work conscientiously and seek the possibility of promotion and salary increase for themselves with diligence and persistent professionalism. Including Costco's existing hundreds of store managers, 90% of them have worked on the front line.

It is not difficult to see from here that this Costco company has an extremely terrifying cohesion. As the saying goes: a company built with iron, soldiers with flowing water. At a time when the turnover rate of many companies is high, Costco can win the support and trust of so many employees, which is by no means a matter of a day.

What does this mean? This shows that the mainstay management of Costco, their talents are real, and they are obtained by being down-to-earth. There is no talk or rhetoric. They are a group of people who really understand business operations!

“…for a retailer, that means customer service, and it means happy, motivated employees who feel connected to the company. Four out of five Costco workers get health care and benefits, even though Half of them are only part-time. Their average salary is $19 an hour, and even during the current recession, we have not laid off employees.

Although we have also been affected by the financial crisis and economic downturn,

Let's go a little slower. Overall, though, Costco has maintained a steady growth momentum. "

"Always do the right thing!" Andy couldn't help but sigh when he looked at the full display of goods in the Costco flagship store and the staff who smiled and greeted them from time to time.

"hehe..."

Hearing Andy said that since the establishment of the brand, Costco has adhered to a common concept and slogan, and everyone including the two founders smiled proudly.

Always do the right thing.” It was James Sinegg who put forward this concept, and always doing the right thing, to stick to it, means never to deceive suppliers, customers, and even employees, to learn to be sincere In the face of everything, we must have the courage to face mistakes and actively correct them, instead of choosing to use all our skills to argue or escape.

""Low price" is everyone's unified evaluation of Costco, but this does not mean that we blindly pursue low prices and ignore quality. In fact, quality is the foundation of Costco's survival, because once the quality If there is a mistake, consumers will definitely be lost, and the reputation of Costco will also collapse. This is a situation that no one wants to see.

Therefore, Costco’s quality control is almost strict. The gross profit rate of all products does not exceed 14%. Once it exceeds this figure, it needs to be reported to the CEO and approved by the board of directors;

In the face of external suppliers, once the price is lower than that of Costco elsewhere, its products will never appear on the shelves of Costco again.

The strict implementation of these two items has led to the low prices of our high-quality products. Our average gross profit margin is only 7%, while the gross profit margin of general supermarkets will be 15% to 25%. . . "

Terrible business! Terrible corporate culture!

This is Andy's most intuitive feeling. Moreover, he also discovered a more scheming problem. Costco has piled up the entire hypermarket into a big maze. There are no labels or street signs in it. Things cannot be found immediately.

Costco's goods display is definitely designed after careful consideration, that is, you don't want members to come in and find what you want to buy and leave immediately, and there are free snacks and small samples in every corner.

Put the most popular items at the bottom so that when people are looking for what they need, they can see more items along the way, which may lead to another purchase along the way. The trolleys in the store are very large and can hold a lot of things. . .

"The placement of the goods is very knowledgeable!" Andy picked up a product and looked at it, then put it back in its original place, and said to everyone with a smile.

Whether it was Freebrotman or James Singer, their eyes lit up when they heard Andy's words. James Singh smiled and said with emotion: "As expected, he is indeed a business genius, and he saw it all at once."

Andy just shook his head and laughed at the other party's compliment, and said with emotion after turning around: "This is a great company, and it is a great honor to join this great family."

"Welcome to join us!"

"Your joining will add a youthful vitality to our board of directors, welcome!"

"thanks."

Andy and Freebrotman, James Sinegger shook hands again with a smile, and smiled at each other under the gaze of many Costco executives.

At the press conference that followed, Andy, the two founders of Costco and another member of the board of directors, started the business mutual bragging mode, and modifiers such as greatness and most potential popped out of Andy's mouth. , and adjectives such as genius and legend are constantly added to Andy. A harmonious and perfect press conference ended successfully. Andy Smith also officially joined the board of directors of Costco as an independent director. Dormant up.