Costco moves very slowly. In many ways, it treats its members like a dog that is scared by any sudden movement.
The company makes changes very deliberately and has certain sacred cows that it promises to never change. Some are a little silly, but the company has pledged to never change the price of its famous hot dog and soda combo.
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The warehouse club has been charging $1.50 for a hot dog and a soda since the early 1980s and has promised to keep that price forever. That deal is important enough to customers that new CFO Gary Millerchip felt the need to reassure members about the price during his first earnings call since he joined the company.
“To clarify some recent media speculation, I also want to confirm that the $1.50 hot dog price is safe,” Millerchip said, shortly after welcoming attendees to the company's presentation. (third quarter earnings call.)
To keep the agreement in place, Costco (COST) It began making its own hot dogs and has taken similar steps with another low-priced product, its famous rotisserie chicken.
The warehouse club literally bought a chicken farm as a way to cut out the middleman and still be able to charge $4.99 for a whole rotisserie chicken. Even doing that probably means the company loses money on each chicken, but it's a leading loss that Costco has been willing to maintain.
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However, you've made a major change to your beloved roast chicken, and not everyone is happy.
Image source: Shutterstock
Costco makes a major change to chicken
For decades, Costco sold its rotisserie chicken in a plastic clamshell box, allowing customers to see the whole chicken and choose the one they liked best.
However, the warehouse club recently changed the packaging of its beloved roast chicken. It seemed like a cost-cutting move, but the company said it made the change for an entirely different reason.
“You may have noticed a classic Costco product in different packaging: Kirkland Signature Seasoned Roasted Chicken now comes in a bag. Based on projected sales of rotisserie chicken in 2024 in the U.S., the new packaging will save approximately $17 million. pounds of plastic each year,” the company shared in its Costco Connection magazine.
Costco shared that the new packaging has other environmental benefits as well.
“The bag also requires less space to transport; one pallet of the new bags is equivalent to five pallets of the old packaging, so Costco can take 1,000 of its freight trucks off the road each year. Using fewer transport vehicles will eliminate more than 4,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year,” he added.
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Costco customers disagree about chicken packaging
Some Costco customers are unhappy with the packaging change and have taken to social media to complain. Many seem to be in disbelief at the environmental motive behind the company's decision.
“Beancounters @Costco trying to discourage chicken buyers because it's a loser. Costco is becoming just like every other greedy corporation. $ over customer satisfaction,” shared @dirich1955 on x, the former twitter.
Some posters seem to be exaggerating the change.
“The rotisserie chicken bag plague has hit my local Costco. These are dark times in America,” @nakefoul posted.
However, some members do not consider this worth complaining about.
“It's been like this for weeks. The chicken is still the same inside,” wrote @v_trip_.
Some x posters place change in a broader perspective.
“The important thing is that it's still $4.99,” @SharkeyShyster added.
@jelly_momm agreed with that point and shared some perspective.
“I stopped at Costco to buy a rotisserie chicken because I have $5 in my bank account and I have to feed my kids IDC who complains that his chicken is in a bag. They got that delicious giant chicken for only $4 $.99,” he posted.
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