You are on page 1of 2

B.

Task Environment Audit (Industry and Competitors)


1. INDUSTRY Analysis - GLOBAL
a. Description of each Industry/segment including Market Share Analysis
Costco is identified as a major player in the Warehouse Clubs & Supercenter industry along with Sam’s Club and
BJ’s Wholesale. According to NAICS, this industry specified with code 452910, “comprises establishments known
as warehouse clubs, superstores or supercenters primarily engaged in retailing a general line of groceries in
combination with general lines of new merchandise, such as apparel, furniture, and appliances..”

The breakdown of the Warehouse Club and Supercenter industry from the parent industry of Retail Trade is as
follows:
% %
Industry NAICS # of % of % Estab. Sales
Estab Sale
Detail Code Description Estab. Sales . s GM GM
3,056,421,99
44-45 Retail Trade 1,114,637 7
452 General Merchandise Stores 40,723 445,224,985 3.7% 14.6%
Other General Merchandise
4529 Stores 31,368 224,482,103 2.8% 7.3% 77.0% 50%
45291 Warehouse Clubs & Supercenters 2,912 191,252,396 0.3% 6.3% 7.2% 43%
452910 Warehouse Clubs & Supercenters 2,912 191,252,396

Although Warehouse Clubs & Supercenters (WC&S) only make up .3% of the retail trade industry in terms of
number of establishments, this industry earns only 1% less than other general merchandise stores in terms of sales.
If the WC&S industry is compared to General Merchandise Stores, it pulls in 43% of the industry’s sales with only
7.2% of the industries establishments running with a WC&S classification. According to Hoover’s Online,
warehouse clubs are seeing customer membership at an all-time high. While annual membership fees range from
$40-100, Costco’s offers its memberships from $45-60.
• Source: US Census Bureau. – Industry Statistics Sampler

The supermarket industry lost market share to such warehouse clubs and supercenters. Currently in North America,
supercenter Wal-Mart has achieved the number one spot of top 10 Mass Market Retailers, with Costco coming in at
number 3. On the global scale, Costco is the seventh largest food retailer. In regard to the warehouse industry,
Costco rivals both Sam’s Club and BJ’s for the number 1 spot.
KEY COMPANIES

Top 10 Mass Market Retailers (North America) (Annual Sales)

1. Wal-Mart
2. Kroger
3. Costco Wholesale
4. Target
5. Walgreen
6. CVS/Caremark
7. Albertsons
8. Safeway
9. Ahold USA
10. Loblaw
Source: Mass Market Retailers, August 2006

Top 10 Worldwide Food Retailers (Annual Sales)

1. Wal-Mart
2. Carrefour
3. Tesco
4. METRO AG
5. Kroger
6. Royal Ahold
7. Costco Wholesale
8. REWE-Zentral
9. Lidl
10. ALDI

Source: Supermarket News 2006

Top 5 US Warehouse Clubs (Annual Sales)

1. Costco Wholesale
2. SAM'S CLUB
3. BJ's Wholesale Club
4. Smart & Final
5. PriceSmart

Source: Hoover's, Inc.

b. Financial Performance of each Industry/segment - Past, Present, and Future


c. Overall assessment of the competitive nature of each industry using Porter’s model

You might also like