Tim Talevich, Seattle 425-313-6759
ttalevich@costco.com
Lorelle Gilpin, Ottawa 613-221-2009
Lorelle.Gilpin@costco.com
Sue Knowles, London 011-44-1923-213113
sknowles@costco.co.uk
Raymond Kyunghwan Kim, Seoul 82-2-2630-2703
khkim@costcokr.com
SENIOR EDITOR T. Foster Jones
Tod.Jones@costco.com
ONLINE EDITOR David Wight David. Wight@costco.com
ASSISTAN T EDITOR Jacqueline Jin, Seoul
jjin@costcokr.com
REPORTERS
Will Fifield
wfifield@costco.com
Stephanie E. Ponder
sponder@costco.com
Steve Fisher
steve.fisher@costco.com
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Dorothy Strakele 425-313-6899
connection@costco.com
COPY EDITOR Miriam Bulmer
CONTRIBUTORS
Paul & Sarah Edwards, David Horowitz,
Shana McNally, Harvey Meyer, Jeff Mowatt, Suze Orman,
J. Rentilly, Valerie Ryan, Pat Volchok
ART DIRECTOR Doris Winters
dwinters@costco.com
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR
Lory Williams
lwilliams@costco.com
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Ken Broman, Bill Carlson, Susan Detlor, Chris Rusnak,
David Schneider, Dawna Tessier
PRODUCTION MANAGER Pam Sather
psather@costco.com
ASSISTAN T PRODUCTION MANAGER
Antolin Matsuda
amatsuda@costco.com
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Elaine Emond, Ottawa Elaine. Emond@costco.com
COLOR TECHNICIAN MaryAnne Robbers
mrobbers@costco.com
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Jane Klein Shucklin 425-313-8277
jshucklin@costco.com
ASSISTANT ADVERTISING MANAGER
Kathi Tipper-Holgersen 425-313-6581
ktipper@costco.com
ADVERTISING COORDINATORS
Isabel Levasseur, Ottawa 613-221-2394
Isabel.Levasseur@costco.com
Deborah Lipman, London 011-44-1923-830481
dlipman@costco.co.uk
Steve Trump, Seattle 425-313-6969
strump@costco.com
ADVERTISING / PROMOTION COPYWRITER
Bill Urlevich
BUSINESS MANAGER Janet Burgess
CIRCULATION MANAGER Rossie Cruz 425-313-6715
rcruz@costco.com
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTAN T
D. Ted Harris 425-313-2937
dtharris@costco.com
COSTCO WHOLESALE
P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088
999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, Washington 98027
Fax: 425-313-6718
E-mail:
connection@costco.com
For information on warehouse hours and more:
1-800-774-2678 costco.com
The Costco Connection is published by Costco Wholesale. All
facts, opinions and statements appearing within this publication
are those of the writers and editors themselves, and are in no
way to be construed as statements, positions or endorsements
by Costco Wholesale or its officers. Publishing offices are located
at 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027. Information in The
Costco Connection is gathered from sources considered to be
reliable, but the accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed. Copyright © 2006 Costco Wholesale. Products advertised
may not be available at all locations at time of publication.
from the publisher’s desk
Ginnie Roeglin
THANKSGIVING IS JUST around the corner, and the
holidays will be here before you know it. Fortunately,
Costco has all of your holiday needs covered in the
warehouses and on costco.com. This issue is filled with
great gift suggestions to make your holiday shopping
less stressful and more joyful.
As our cover story explains, holiday shopping is
just a few clicks away on costco.com, where you will
find thousands of items not available in the warehouses.
Unlike many other retailers, we generally do not carry
the same merchandise online that we do in our warehouses. Instead, our Web site offers an expanded selection of merchandise. For instance, you’ll find big bulky items such as leather furniture,
spas, pool tables and exercise equipment, and seasonal items year-round, including outdoor
furniture, barbecue grills and generators.
You’ll also find one-of-a-kind jewelry and even a “build-to-order” diamond ring
program. This year, in addition to all of the latest TVs, digital cameras and camcorders,
GPS systems, video games and MP3 players, we’ve expanded our selection of gourmet
food and wine, gift baskets, housewares, toys and sporting goods.
Large or small, these great gifts will be delivered directly to your door. And rest assured
all of your costco.com purchases come with the same satisfaction guarantee as your warehouse purchases. Keep an eye on the calendar, though, to allow enough time for shipping.
Our consumer reporter, Pat Volchok, has prepared her own guide of hot holiday
electronics. As always, she has done her homework, meeting with our buyers and suppliers,
testing items and even checking out the competition. You’ll find Pat’s top picks of TVs,
cameras, computers, games and music players in this month’s “Buying Smart” on page 64.
Last, we’re pleased to announce our fifth annual Costco cookbook, Cooking in Style The
Costco Way. These free books will be handed out in the warehouses on Thanksgiving weekend. The supply is limited, but don’t worry: You will find the entire cookbook online around
December 1 (along with past years’ books) at costco.com under “Costco Cookbook.”
We will also have lots of Thanksgiving-weekend special offers on merchandise in the
warehouse and online. Be sure to pick up our coupon brochure in the warehouses starting
the week before Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Costco! C
Ginnie Roeglin is Senior Vice
President, E-Commerce and
Publishing, and Publisher of
The Costco Connection.
from the editor’s desk
EVERY FALL, in conjunction with the end of one Costco
fiscal year and the beginning of another, we have face-to-face performance reviews with each of our Publishing
Department employees. It’s a process that happens throughout our 120,000-employee company, and it is one I believe
should happen in all companies.
David W. Fuller is Assistant These reviews touch on all of the key points a business
Vice President, Publishing, and wants to assess if it is interested in its own goals and those
Editor of The Costco Connection. of its employees. Covered are the employee’s greatest accom-
plishments and strengths, issues of integrity, personal
leadership, areas for improvement, interpersonal skills and communication, initiative,
work ethic and decision making. Then we spend some time crafting goals for the coming
year. The goals are suggested by the employee, discussed in the review with the manager
and then included on the performance review document.
Going through the process this year, I was struck by the goals of The Connection’s
graphic designers, the people who choose the artwork, sometimes create the illustrations
and place the words and graphics on the page so that they have the greatest appeal and
impact. Instead of aiming at climbing the corporate ladder, each of these talented, intelligent people has as their goals the learning of new skills (use of new software programs,
new design techniques) and being able to work on ever more challenging design projects.
In a large corporation, the imperative must be to focus on the up-and-coming leaders,
the next generation of management that will perpetuate the corporation. I want to use my
space this month to honor those workers who, instead, find fulfillment in their daily task
and the employment of the skill or talent at which they excel. C
David W. Fuller
