互聯網為消費者選購提供了極大的便利，同時大大增加了實體零售店維護顧客忠誠度的難度，如今這已經成為零售行業的準則。然而，作為一家擁有數百個會員店的企業，Costco卻成功地打破了這一準則——電子商務對其零售業績的貢獻僅有3%。事實上，正是在維持數百萬忠實顧客并且銷售業績節節攀升方面，Costco將其他零售商遠遠地甩在了身后。

公司首席財務官理查德?賈蘭提表示，Costco的目標一直是提升銷售業績，并削減長期成本（通過減少運費、商品以大件形式出售、與供貨商議價以及簡化包裝等），并藉此讓會員享受到實惠。賈蘭提說：“我們的經驗法則是，將省下來成本的80%-90%返還給消費者。”這些舉措得到了回報，2015年Costco會員人數創歷史新高，達到了8,100萬。

在忠實顧客的幫助下，Costco進入了《財富》雜志全球最受贊賞50家全明星公司名單，排名第16位，目前還在專業零售商門類中居于榜首位置。

It’s a retail axiom: The Internet has made it vastly easier for shoppers to hunt for the latest deal—and a lot more challenging for brick-and-mortar retailers to command loyalty. But Costco, which operates hundreds of members-only warehouses, has managed to defy the trend—with only 3% of its retail sales stemming from e-commerce. In fact, it outclasses other retailers when it comes to consistently increasing sales from its millions of faithful shoppers.

According to chief financial officer Richard Galanti, Costco’s goal has been to boost sales while cutting long-term costs (by trimming freight expenses, scaling its merchandise, negotiating prices with vendors, and reducing packaging) so that it can pass those savings along to members. “Our rule of thumb is to give 80% to 90% back to the customer,” Galanti says. Those efforts have paid off, with memberships reaching an all-time high of 81 million members in 2015.

Those dedicated shoppers have helped put Costco atNo. 16 on Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars, and it is currently ranked No. 1 among specialty retailers.

在過去的6年中，Costco的同店銷售業績每年都在穩步上升，推動公司營業額從760億美元躍升至1,140億美元。

以下是Costco的三大制勝法寶。

打造粉絲群體

Costco會員年費為55美元，其會員續簽率達到了驚人的91%——創歷史新高。分析師稱，低廉的會費以及忠誠會員的定期光顧讓Costco從眾多倉儲式和百貨零售商脫穎而出。然而，倉儲式和百貨零售商仍在苦苦地爭搶市場份額。與此同時，行業競爭格局也不斷變化，線下實體店與以亞馬遜為首的電商之間的競爭越來越激烈。

Baird Equity Research分析師皮特?本尼迪克特解釋說：“Costco穩步提升客流量的能力是關鍵的制勝因素。”

最低薪資標準引領者

在漲薪方面，沃爾瑪和塔吉特才剛剛起步，而Costco多年來一直是行業的領頭羊。在Costco，員工時薪是11.5美元起，平均時薪是22美元，在行業中可謂是無出其右。公司首席執行官克雷格?杰林內克表示，從長期來看，降低人員流動率并充分發揮員工的生產力更有利于提升盈利水平。

放棄美國運通，轉投Visa

2016年初，Costco的信用卡業務將與Visa合作，也為公司與美國運通之間的長期合作關系畫上句號。盡管Costco對此事閉口不言，但分析師們表示，這一變化將降低Costco和持卡用戶的成本，也是公司幫助顧客省錢的另一種方式。雖然這一變動不大可能對會員造成巨大影響，但Telsey Advisory Group預計，Costco可能會在2016年底或2017年上調會員費。（財富中文網）

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

For the past six consecutive years, same-store sales have steadily increased, helping revenues leap from $76 billion to $114 billion.

Below, three ways Costco has kept its edge.

Building a Fan Base

Renewals of Costco’s $55 annual memberships stand at an impressive 91%—a record high. According to analysts, the low price of memberships and a steady return of loyal members is what sets it apart from big-box and department store retailers, which continue to fight for market-share gains in a changing landscape of increased competition from online retailers, led by Amazon.

“Costco’s ability to consistently drive increases in traffic is a key differentiator,” explains Baird Equity Research analyst Peter Benedict.

Minimum-Wage Trendsetter

While Walmart and Target only recently began increasing wages, Costco has been an industry leader for years. With starting hourly pay at about $11.50 and a company average of $22 per hour, Costco’s compensation trounces the competition. CEO Craig Jelinek says it can be more profitable in the long run by keeping turnover low and capitalizing on employee productivity.

Ditching American Express for Visa

In early 2016, Costco will hand over its credit card program to Visa V 1.00% , ending a long-running relationship with American Express. Though the company is pretty tight-lipped about the decision, analysts say the change will result in lower costs for Costco and its cardholders— another way the company is helping customers save money. The change isn’t expected to make a huge impact on memberships, but Telsey Advisory Group predicts a membership fee hike could occur in late 2016 or in 2017.