Costco is one of those companies that has a contingency of loyal customers.
Dozens of social media influencers even share their favorite Costco products, often reviewing new merchandise or just touting beloved items.
One such influencer — @costcodoesitagain — has more than 1 million followers on Instagram alone. With a quick search, you’ll find hashtags she and other influencers use, like #costcofinds (465k posts on Instagram), #costcodeals (229kposts), and #costcohaul (153K).
The bottom line is that people love Costco (COST) , and they love to tell others about what they find inside the walls of the warehouse.
Costco is growing and opening new locations.
Image source: Getty/TS
Costco CEO talks tariffs
One of the reasons for Costco’s enduring popularity is its commitment to low prices. Because of the volume of products the company sells, it is able to use its sizeable power to get the best prices from suppliers.
Even though Costco carries fewer products than many grocery stores — around 4,000 items vs. 30,000 — it orders them in bulk, helping to keep prices lower. The store appeals to people who like to stock up on staples like toilet paper, paper towels, and baby wipes. But Costco also has plenty of “nice to haves” — like wine and cheese, for example.
Costco is so powerful that there are plenty of stories out there about small companies that were barely hanging on until they “got into Costco” and their fortunes turned around.
With all the recent news about tariffs, though, members can’t help but wonder if they will see prices at Costco go up.
At the company’s second-quarter earnings call in March, CEO Ron Vachris spoke to reassure investors and customers at the same time, even as he acknowledged that it’s difficult to predict the impact of tariffs.
“Our team remains agile and our goal will be to minimize the impact of related cost increases to our members,” he said, adding that only around one-third of Costco products sold in the U.S. are imported from other countries, and less than half of those are items coming from China, Mexico, and Canada.
When asked if the company can do anything to mitigate tariffs, Vachris said, “Tariffs are very fluid right now, so it’s hard to really give any predictions on what we can do. But we are prepared, our people are very well equipped to lower prices and defer any cost increases that come our way. So, we’re going to do what we can should that happen.”
Costco closes in on 1,000 locations worldwide and announces new locations for 2025
Also on the March earnings call, Vachris announced the company had “big plans” for 2025.
The retailer opened six new stores in March and shared plans for 28 more this year, including three relocations, bringing the total of new stores to 25 in 2025.
By the end of the year, Costco will have more than 900 locations worldwide.
Here is a list of the locations opening soon:
Stuart, FL, April 2025Ardeer, Australia, April 2025Minami Alps, Japan, April 2025Pyeongtaek, Korea, June 2025Malmo, Sweden, July 2025Midland, TX, July 2025
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