(Photo = Costco)

 

[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] The membership-based warehouse discount store chain Costco will increase its annual fees in North America this September for the first time in seven years, with a similar increase expected soon in South Korea.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on July 10 (local time), Costco plans to raise the annual fees for Gold Star, Business, and Business Add-On memberships from $60 (about 83,000 KRW) to $65 (about 90,000 KRW) in the US and Canada starting September 1. The Executive membership fee will increase from $120 to $130. Costco last raised its membership fees in June 2017.

Costco is a retailer that limits its markup to a maximum of 15% to supply products at low prices. Instead of high product prices, it operates on a paid membership model. It operates 882 stores worldwide and has over 114 million paying members. Costco stated that this fee increase will affect approximately half of its global members, around 52 million people.

Costco opened its first store in South Korea in 1994 and currently operates 18 stores nationwide. The last time membership fees were increased in South Korea was in 2016. The Gold Star membership fee is 38,500 KRW, the Business membership fee is 33,000 KRW, and the Executive Gold Star and Executive Business memberships are 80,000 KRW.

Costco's global membership renewal rate is over 90%, indicating high loyalty among its members. In South Korea, Costco's sales surpassed 6 trillion KRW for the first time in the fiscal year 2022 (September 1, 2022 - August 31, 2023).

Following the announcement of the fee increase, Costco's stock price rose by 2.5% on the US stock market, indicating that the company's revenue is expected to grow further due to the increase.

 

 

[ⓒ AlphaBIZ. 무단전재-재배포 금지]