Sam's Club is quietly out-executing Costco

Now before the knives, come out…

How freaking boring do you want me to be?

You want a post saying Costco does more revenue?

Obvi. Settle down. 👇

 • Costco annual revenue: $𝟮𝟱𝟬𝗕

 • Sam’s Club annual revenue: $𝟴𝟱–𝟵𝟬𝗕

Costco is roughly 3× larger by revenue.

But Sam’s is doing some brilliant 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 stuff.

I’m talking about operating leverage here.

I’m talking about a 10-year play.

We should be watching the seeds Sam’s is planting: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se20T9nk4Y0

𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

 • Shopping time is a key obstacle in Club growth.

 • Sam’s Club has Scan & Go in nearly 100% of clubs.

 • AI-powered exits remove manual receipt checks

 • Costco is still entirely Manual.

𝟮. 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴.

 • Sam’s Club base: $𝟱𝟬 / year

 • Costco Gold Star: $𝟲𝟱 / year

 • Executive tiers widen the gap further.

 • $15/mo doesn’t matter? We’re talking value shoppers.

𝟯. 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 + 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

 • Sam’s runs on Walmart’s tech stack.

 • Sam’s has curbside pickup and National delivery.

 • Sam’s App: Live inventory, in-store locating, single cart checkout.

 • Costco App: Very limited comparatively.

𝟰. 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲.

 • Sam’s: Scan & Go + AI Checkout reduce labor. 

 • Sam’s: Enjoy’s Walmart’s supply chain tech.

 • Costco: Much lower automation, end-to-end.

𝟱. 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀

 • Sam’s Club China:

 • 50+ clubs

 • Faster unit expansion

 • 40–50% of sales from e-com.

 • Costco China:

 • 7 clubs

 • Very analog in a digital first culture.

Now for those that don’t think Sam’s and Costco compete: 👇

😂😂😂😂😂

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺.

Last note, I am NOT Sam’s > Costco.

I’m just saying Sam’s is putting in work.

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If you need help with velocity in either Sam’s or Costco: 

👉 Hit me up.

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Now it’s your turn.

What is the best club in the US?

Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s?

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We drive velocity in Sprouts, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Sam's, COSTCO, and lots of other retailers.

We grow brands on Amazon.