Costco Connection - December 2006

in_csi_od_se_tco

Catching the H arry and David

holiday spirit

Harry and David’s Chocolate Caramel Squares (at costco.com).

Gift baskets and more at Costco

BuyingSmart

Consumer reporter
Pat Volchok gives
a behind-the-scenes
look at Costco
products and services.
Send your questions to:
buyingsmart@
costco.com

THE HARRY AND DAVID folks do food gift baskets right. They grow their own premium, luxurious Royal Riviera^®Pears and Oregold^®Peaches; make their secret-recipe namesake gourmet cakes, cookies, popcorn treats and chocolates; and design all packaging.

This year these gifted geniuses are also meticulously hand-packing and wrapping exclusively designed Harry and David gift baskets for Costco warehouses, plus gift baskets, gift towers and signature Fruit of the Month Club collections for costco.com. Here’s a look at this committed-to-excellence company, as well as descriptions of Harry and David products available this season in Costco warehouses and at costco.com.

The Harry and David dream

Harry and David personifies the American dream. The company was founded by two tenacious

Oregon farm boys whose family was on the brink of bankruptcy. They traveled to New York and San Francisco during the Great Depression to peddle their prized pears in an unheard-of manner— as Christmas gifts of fruit by mail. The brothers’ perseverance and ingenuity and the extraordinary quality of their fruit secured lasting customers. Eleanor Roosevelt

became a fan, as did my grandmother and my mom. In fact, the first kiwi I ever ate came from a Harry and David gift package.

I recently visited the company’s 50-acre campus, still situated on the family’s original pear orchard in Oregon’s verdant southern Rogue Valley. My first impression is a company exuding employee pride, commitment to land stewardship, permanence and tradition.

Bill Williams, the company’s president and CEO, is part of my welcome wagon. I quickly discover his 18 years with Harry and David are small potatoes compared to many others who count their years of employment at three or four decades. It is not uncommon to find two or three generations of family members working side by side. (I am reminded of Old World artisan families who pass their skills from generation to generation.)

How did this new partnership with Costco come about? “Reputation is everything,” Williams explains. “Harry and David was the first national gift basket company and continues as an industry leader. We looked at Costco’s ethics, commitment to its employees and demand for quality and saw a perfect match, value for value.”

I take a tour and find that no detail is too insignificant. I observe basket assemblers hand-trimming errant strands of nesting material while others whirl hair dryers to smooth out shrink-wrapped corners. In the candy kitchen, irresistible