Joy is where you find it

Review of “The Joy of Costco” by David and Susan Schwartz

By Carole J Greene, Jewish Book Festival Committee Member

At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2, the Jewish Book Festival audience will hear all about Costco. Authors David and Susan Schwartz will share stories about this global merchandiser and its history, from its founding in the early 1990s to the end of the authors’ peripatetic research that took them from 2016 to 2023. And from their home in New York City to all but a handful of the U.S. states plus 200,000 miles of foreign travel to visit Costco warehouses around the world. Welcome to “The Joy of Costco.”

The secret to why I enjoyed this book so much — never mind that I love to shop at Costco — lies in its subtitle: “A Treasure Hunt from A to Z.” Yes, finally, a book I did not have to read from front cover to back! I could, and did, open to a lettered section anywhere in the book and learn fascinating information about one of the world’s most successful retailers.

Take the section marked “C.” Here I found disparate facts grouped together only because each topic started with “C.” It began with Canada, moved on to Carts, followed by Cashews, then Caskets & Coffins (yes, they are different objects), then Chicken, China, Code of Ethics, Coffee, Costco Connection, Costco Services, Costco Wholesale Industries, and, finally, Credit Cards. Almost any one of them could expand to a chapter all by itself. This testifies to the Schwartzes’ brilliant formatting concept: alphabetize their research findings so that if some part of the “C” section is a bit dull, readers will find other parts more scintillating.

Take, for example, the iconic rotisserie chicken that, from its inception, has never gone up in price. It began at $4.99 and still is, even though production costs have risen. According to the authors, the reasoning says a lot about how Costco is run: “Costco believes strongly that this unique member value is worth maintaining, instead of increasing the price and capturing as much profit as possible.”

Turn a few pages and find Code of Ethics. This set of principles governs all aspects of behavior. It is the foundation for the entire Costco organization. “Obey the law. Take care of our members. Take care of our employees. Respect our suppliers. Reward our shareholders.” A mere 19 words guide one of the world’s largest retailers. You will find a sign posting this code near the entry of every Costco warehouse, manufacturing facility, or other corporate building anywhere in the world.

Costco shoppers sometimes get hungry while strolling the aisles looking for treasures. Good thing the price of a hot dog and soda (with a refill), at the Food Court, has not changed since 1985, when Price Club — which morphed into Costco — introduced this bargain at $1.50. Originally, they sold Hebrew National and Best Sinai, both kosher. In 1993, Conagra bought Hebrew National and Sara Lee bought Best Sinai. When the new owners raised prices, Costco decided to manufacture their own so they could manage costs. However, they are no longer kosher. But still yummy! Also interesting are the unusual hot dog toppings used in such places as Iceland, South Korea, or Mexico. (I won’t spoil it: page 142.) Want a hot dog fact to take with you? How about this: Costco sells seven times more hot dogs than all MLB baseball stadiums combined.

This review only scratches the surface. Come to the event and learn many more stories about what is probably your favorite place to buy 36 rolls of toilet paper! Then ask the Schwartzes how they manage such bulk purchases since their NYC apartment is all of 475 square feet!