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Errol Schweizer, Grocery Nerd's avatar

Great info. Any idea on what their cost of distribution/cross docking is on a percent basis?

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Benjamin Y. Fong's avatar

Marc Wulfraat broke down the efficiency of Costco's supply chain compared to other retailers here (https://www.mwpvl.com/html/costco_supply_chain_efficiency.html), but the percentage he focuses on there is SG&A expenses, which includes non-distribution related expenses. His numbers are a decade old, but it's still basically the same situation. In 2023, Costco's SG&A as a percentage of net sales was 9.08% according to their 10-K, as opposed to Walmart's 21%, Target's 20.1%, Kroger's 17.5%, and Home Depot's 17.4%.

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Errol Schweizer, Grocery Nerd's avatar

Thank you. That is good info. Apologies though, my question was more specific to what their internal margin was to move product around facilities. I assume it would be in the low single digits, 3-4% of net sales at most. I will ask around.

Also, in past years, Costco took a max of 14% markup of goods in stores. That is a similar margin to broad liners like UNFI and KeHe, and translates to how customers are paying actual wholesale prices at 40-50% lower cost/ounce (or gm/kg) than grocery retail prices

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