Costco: A Leading Multinational Trading Company
Costco is an American trading multinational company that operates several warehouses around the world. The company was declared the largest retailer of organic foods, wine, prime beef, and rotisserie chicken in 2016 and has its headquarters in Issaquah Washington (Sullivan & Gouldson, 2016). Despite the existence of several retailers, it has consistently remained at the top of others and maintained its competitive edge. Thus, it has thrived in an environment that can be described to be hostile while others have closed. As a result, it has expanded steadily and recently embraced the internet technology and is now accessible via Instacart.
Global Presence and Product Range
Additionally, Costco operates seven hundred and forty-six warehouses currently, but vast majorities are in the United States. It has 518 warehouses in the USA & Puerto Rico, 28 in the UK, 13 in Korea and Taiwan respectively, 37 in Mexico, 98 in Canada, 26 in Japan, and 9 in Australia. Also, it has two in Spain and one each in France and Iceland. Apart from offering private-label commodities and different brands of merchandises, it runs websites of electronic products. The range of the products operated by the company has ensured its success. In a report released on February 7th, 2018, it declared an increase of the net sales by 11.6 percent for the beginning 22 weeks of the 2018 financial year. The company’s net sales were $58.30 billion as opposed to only $52.26 billion last year (Costco.com, 2018).
Corporate Governance
Hamilton E. James is the current Board of Director’s Chairperson of the company. Also, he has been a director of this corporation since 1988. Apart from being the chairman of Costco Wholesale, Hamilton also serves as the President of the Blackstone Group. Other directors of the corporation include Susan Decker, John W. Meisenbach, Jeff Raikes, Kenneth D. Denman, Richard M. Libenson, John W. Stanton, W. Craig Jelinek, Charles T. Munger, Richard A. Galanti, and Maggie Wilderotter. Among these directors, Susan Decker has served since 2004 and is credited for the auditing of the firm as she’s been there longer than the others apart from the chairperson Hiltman (Costco.com, 2018).
Key Executives and Company's Image
Costco, being a private entity, has vital executives as its crucial top managers who are responsible for the administration of the corporation. These are W. Craig Jelinek, James D. Sinegal, Richard A. Galanti, Jeffrey Abadir, and Andrew T. Brien. Jelinek is the President of the Corporation, the Chief Executive officer who is also a director member. Sinegal is a the co-founder of Costco who was mentored by Price and also serves as a director who is accredited for merchandising one of the original products of Costco Wholesale Corporation (Edmonds, 2017). The executives mentioned above play a crucial role in managing the vast resources that Costco boasts and represents the company’s image while interacting with the various stakeholders throughout the world.
Corporate Behavior and Governance
Additionally, Costco’s corporate behavior, as well as its performance, is directed by the company’s legalized formal systems that have been adopted by everyone involved in its management. Costco has laid out values and cultures that the top management adheres to and uphold to avoid collapsing (Edmonds, 2017). These structures have shaped the governance of Costco Company and have enabled it to survive in the unfriendly environment that is posed by its competitors and the governments of the various nations that they operate. As a result, it has remained in a competitive position and continued to thrive.
References
Costco.com. (2018). Costco Wholesale Corporation - Investor Relations - 2018 News Releases. Phx.corporate-ir.net. Retrieved 18 February 2018, from
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83830"p=irol-news"nyo=0
Edmonds, C. (2017). Can Costco Reign in Spain?. SSRN Electronic Journal. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2934940
Sullivan, R., " Gouldson, A. (2016). Comparing the climate change actions, targets and performance of UK and US retailers. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 23(3), 129-139.
