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The Costco Connection is published by Costco Wholesale. All editorial
material, including editorial comments, opinion and statements of fact
appearing in this publication, represents the views of the respective authors
and does not necessarily carry the endorsement of Costco Wholesale or
its officers. Information in the Costco Connection is gathered from sources
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as an endorsement of the product or service offered unless it is specifically
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advertised may not be available at all locations at the time of publication.
Publishing offices are located at 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027.
Copyright © 2018 Costco Wholesale.
Seasons of Costco
he calendar says that autumn doesn’t
arrive until September ;;, but we’re in full
holiday mode here at Costco. It’s not that
anybody here is eager to leave summer
and its wonderfully lazy days for winter. It’s just that
we follow a different calendar when it comes to
what’s available in the warehouses and when.
We call it the seasons of Costco. It’s an early-in,
early-out philosophy that is one of many steps our
buyers and warehouse operators take to keep prices
as low as possible. By bringing in products before
the peak demand seasons, we are able to secure
favorable prices, plan for optimal display areas in
the warehouses and clear everything out early so we
can avoid the traditional, costly markdowns in the
retail industry, which affect profits. It all boils down
to efficiency and finding whatever ways we can to
deliver value to our members.
I often lightheartedly apologize to my friends
for the Christmas items they find at Costco in
September. It does seem sometimes that we’re
rushing things. But I have become comfortable
getting my holiday preparations and purchases
done early, and the great prices make it worthwhile.
Also, as online shopping has become more and
more popular, I’m finding Costco.com to be very
helpful as a holiday shopping option. The expanded
online selection complements what’s available in
the warehouses—and having big items delivered is
a huge convenience.
Early-in, early-out is part of Costco’s unique
low-overhead business model. Like millions of
members, I have come to adapt to it. And I find it
makes the holidays more relaxing, because the hard
work is done in advance. Still, I’m not putting away
my summer toys just yet.
T
PUBLISHER Sandy Torrey storrey@costco.com
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Tim Talevich 425-313-6759 ttalevich@costco.com
EDITORS, U.S.
T. Foster Jones 425-313-6748 tod.jones@costco.com
Stephanie E. Ponder 425-427-7134 sponder@costco.com
EDITOR, CANADA
Hana Medina 425-313-6442 hanamedina@costco.com
EDITOR, UK
Will Fifield 425-313-6988 wfifield@costco.com
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Ron Damiani, Canada ron.damiani@costco.com
Sue Knowles, UK sknowles@costco.co.uk
Heather Seoyoung Lee, Korea hsylee@costcokr.com
Yuko Nakagawa, Japan connection@costco.co.jp
Abelardo Navarrete, Mexico anavarrete@costco.com.mx
Nora Wang, Taiwan norawang@costco.com.tw
Casey Lang, Australia, casey.lang@costco.com.au
REPORTERS
Steve Fisher steve.fisher@costco.com
Christina Guerrero cguerrero2@costco.com
COPY EDITOR Miriam Bulmer
CONTRIBUTORS
Annette Alvarez-Peters, Laura Bode, Hope Katz Gibbs,
Peter Greenberg, Amanda Horowitz, Judi Ketteler, Jane
Langille, Beth Luce, Marly McMillen, Suze Orman, Andrea
Downing Peck, Kristen Pope, Marc Saltzman, Pattie Simone
ART DIRECTOR Doris Winters dwinters@costco.com
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR
Lory Williams lwilliams@costco.com
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Ken Broman, Bill Carlson, Steven Lait, Chris Rusnak,
David Schneider, Brenda Shecter
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Pam Sather psather@costco.com
ASSIS TANT PRODUCTION MANAGER
Antolin Matsuda amatsuda@costco.com
COLOR SPECIALIST
MaryAnne Robbers mrobbers@costco.com
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Jane Klein Shucklin jshucklin@costco.com
ASSISTANT ADVERTISING MANAGER
Kathi Tipper-Holgersen 425-313-6581 ktipper@costco.com
ADVERTISING COORDINATORS
Nikki Chellew 425-427-3534 nchellew@costco.com
Nico Cordero 425-313-2558 nmcordero@costco.com
Kirsten Neubrech 425-313-2549 kneubrech@costco.com
ADVERTISING COPYWRITER Bill Urlevich
ADVERTISING GRAPHIC DESIGNER Susan Detlor
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Frank Colonno 201-962-2759
fcmediapartners@optonline.net
BUSINESS MANAGER Jane Johnson
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Rossie Cruz
rcruz@costco.com
PUBLISHING DIGITAL ANALYST
Dorothy Strakele
connection@costco.com
COS TCO WHOLESALE
P. O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088
999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, Washington 98027
Fax: 425-313-6718;Email: connection@costco.com
MEMBER SERVICE QUESTION? Go to Costco.com
and click “Customer Service” at the top of the page.
SUBSCRIPTION CHANGE? See page 13 for details.
Tim Talevich
Editorial Director,
Costco Connection
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Did you know?
In the fall and spring,
the seasons start on an
equinox. In winter and
summer, it’s a solstice.
In an equinox, Earth’s
equator is at its closest
distance from the sun.
At solstice, the distance
is farthest.