Sam’s Club makes bold membership increase statement
After years of being quiet, the warehouse club brand has massive growth plans as it tries to take down its biggest rival.
Costco often seems like a company jogging slowly because it understands how long the race is. Competitors make bold moves, expand quickly, have a moment, and then disappear.
While that happens, the leading warehouse club adds 15-25 or so new locations each year while tweaking its operations and merchandise. Changes are never big, nor do they happen quickly.
That's not to say Costco (COST) is complacent. The warehouse club has made bold behind-the-scenes moves when it comes to shipping and supply chain.
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In fact, it's fair to call Costco's management cautious but ultra-vigilant. It plods along steadily but will make adjustments as needed, and when that happens, it's surprisingly nimble.
Its chief rival, Sam's Club, has been less exciting until fairly recently. The Walmart-owned (WMT) brand seemed like a back-burner project for the company in recent years, but that has slowly changed.
