Special Report: Club Channel

from January 2023 Grocery Insight

First Take Dough

a major player in the industry. Sol and Robert Price founded Price Club in San ceiving the highest quality and largest amount of product for the best price.

Recently, the company announced its members are starting to create and sell products in store. Members started an intimates collection called Member’s Mark Intimates Collection, which was launched to give consumers with the opportunity for their voices to be heard and shared.

1976. However, it wasn’t until 1983 that Jeff Brotman and Jim Sinegal, a former executive of Price Club, opened and funded the first Costco in Seattle with their own money.

Costco later launched its own private label, Kirkland Signature, which had a ripple effect of success for the company as it provided consumers with even more savings. The hope with the membership program was if consumers pay an annual fee, they will save more every month on grocers and items.

Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club’s origins can be found when the first Walmart opened in 1962 by Sam Walton. With the hope of helping consumers save money, Walton shifted his primary focus from Walmart to helping business owners manage the price of doing business, which was solidified through the first Sam’s Club in 1983.

While Sam’s Club was a warehouse for many business owners to save on products, Walton ensured that individual shoppers were able to save and shop at the store as well. In 1998, Sam’s Club launched its private label brand, which similar to other club channel grocers, was a way for consumers to purchase high-quality products at a lower price point. Today, there are nearly 600 locations across the US and Puerto Rico with a few stores in Brazil, China and Mexico. According to the company, instead of stocking every item in every brand, the company does its research on each product to ensure they are re-

“It all really started with we had some white space in our assortment when it came to ladies' intimates,” said Tori Ryle, Senior Merchant at Sam’s Club. “We had a few great national brands on the floor that covered specific member demographics but felt like we were really missing an everyday comfortable collection that was more inclusive for our members.”

Winco

Although Winco began as Waremart Foods founded by Ralph Ward and Bud Williams, the Boise, ID company has kept its values and mission at its core. The company has been described as a warehouse-style grocery store that focuses on low prices, and that remains true today. Waremart was a small chain of stores throughout the PNW during the 70s. The company slowly transitioned into Winco after Ward’s passing. In 1998, the company opened a distribution center on Woodburn, OR, which became a key reason the company was able to manage prices and help consumers continue to save. Throughout the next ten years, the company was able to expand on this idea and open more distribution centers throughout the US. WinCo Foods became a member of Certified Employee-Owned in 2017, which is an alliance of companies that support employee ownership. Today, the company is still employee-owned and has outlined how employees can own part of the company.

•National brand equivalent extra virgin olive oil