CNBC Airs Documentary on Costco

Update:  I highly recommend this documentary, having now seen it.  It has great information for shoppers on how Costco does business, the most important of which is that no item is marked up more than 15%, well below mark-ups at most retailers.  CNBC has been repeating it, so catch up with it, if you can.

If you're one of Costco's 65 million members, and even if you're not, you may be interested in this documentary.  "THE COSTCO CRAZE: INSIDE THE WAREHOUSE GIANT" will air on CNBC, Thursday, April 26th at 9 pm.

According to CNBC, the doc will explore the huge and hugely popular chain famous for turning the experience of shopping in a warehouse into an adventure. The nation’s third largest retailer has thrived by turning convention on its head: Costco never advertises, charges its 65 million members to shop there, and doesn’t mark up any product more than 15 percent. It seems like a business model that shouldn’t work, except that it does, generating billions in profits along with intense customer loyalty.

CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla shows how Costco has grown to 600 stores and $93 billion in annual sales, attracting some of the most loyal and affluent customers in the business. They return repeatedly for the treasure-hunt thrill of Costco’s constantly changing inventory, including diamond rings, steaks, wedding dresses and caskets.

The piece also looks at the possibility of a “Costco Effect” and explores whether buying those 28-packs of pretzels and oversized bottles of salad dressing saves money, and whether it leads customers to consume more.