PUBLISHER Ginnie Roeglin
EDITOR David W. Fuller 425-313-8510 dfuller@costco.com
MANAGING EDITOR Anita Thompson 425-313-6442
athompson@costco.com
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
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 Jessica Jihye Han, Seoul jhhan@costcokr.com
REPORTERS
Will Fifield wfifield@costco.com
Steve Fisher Steve.Fisher@costco.com
Stephanie E. Ponder sponder@costco.com
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Dorothy Strakele 425-313-6899 connection@costco.com
COPY EDITOR Miriam Bulmer
CONTRIBUTORS
Rhonda Abrams, Hope Katz Gibbs, David Horowitz,
Shana McNally, Suze Orman, Chris Penttila,
J. Rentilly, Valerie Ryan, Lois Swagerty, 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
ASSISTANT 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
ASSISTAN T 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
ADVERTISING SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR
Melanie Woods mwoods@costco.com
BUSINESS MANAGER Janet Burgess
CIRCULATION MANAGER Rossie Cruz 425-313-6715
rcruz@costco.com
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
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 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 considered to be reliable, but
the accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed. The publication of any advertisements is not to be construed as an endorsement of the product or service offered unless it is specifically stated
in the ad that there is such approval or endorsement. Products
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 © 2007 Costco Wholesale.
FRONTend
from the publisher’s desk
Ginnie Roeglin
NOVEMBER IS ONE of our busiest and most exciting
months at Costco. Our employees, warehouses and Web
site are ready for the busy holiday season ahead, and our
bakeries are already looking forward to baking more than
1 million pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving!
We invite you to check out costco.com in addition to
our warehouses for your holiday shopping this year. If you
haven’t yet explored our Web site, you may be surprised
to find thousands of items, most of which are not available
in our warehouses. The treasure hunt continues online!
However, you won’t be surprised by high prices. We
follow the same low pricing rules online that we do in our warehouses. Our prices generally include shipping and handling direct to the address that you specify. You can learn
more about our online selection in our cover story on page 56, and in our special
costco.com holiday gift guide on page 58.
November is the perfect time to order your holiday photo cards from the Costco
Photo Center. You may bring your photo to the warehouse to place your order, or simply
upload your order from home, as described in our article on page 92. While you are at it,
you can organize your photos into albums, create photo calendars or even publish your
own book of special photos and text, all at the Photo Center on costco.com.
The old phrase “a diamond in the rough” is a rather fitting description for the Costco
jewelry department. A cement-floored warehouse may not look like a plush jewelry store,
but you will find the same (or better) outstanding-quality diamonds and gems at Costco
at a fraction of the price offered by other national retailers and jewelry stores. Our jewelry
buyers and gemologists explain our jewelry standards and values in Pat Volchok’s “Buying
Smart” article on page 94. You could buy hundreds of little blue boxes with the savings!
We are excited to offer special savings on gifts and more in our warehouses and on
costco.com during Thanksgiving weekend. As a special thanks to our members, we are also
pleased to distribute our sixth annual Costco cookbook free to the first 2 million shoppers
nationwide in our warehouses. The delicious recipes, such as the hearty holiday prime rib
roast featured on page 25, will also be available online.
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
David W. Fuller
RESEARCH HAS SHOWN over the years that nearly as
many people read a magazine by flipping from the back to
the front as read it from the front to the back. That’s why
many magazines reserve their back page (sometimes called
the ender, but perhaps it is as much a starter) for some of
their best material.
In the case of The Costco Connection, we start things
off (or end your reading experience) with “Member
Connection,” a collection of brief pieces about the achievements of Costco members. This department has grown to
be perhaps my favorite department in the magazine. Like a father with his children, an
editor should not have a favorite department, but I do.
Why this one? It is because “Member Connection” casts its net across the wide universe of Costco members and always hauls in fascinating stories of people making a difference and businesses forging new paths—tales of eccentricities and enlightenment.
This one brief page (two in some issues) captures, I believe, the magic of Costco, which
is in its members.
A lot has been written by the press in recent years trying to get a handle on why
Costco is such a success. There is no denying that our core values have a lot to do with it:
obeying the law, respecting our members and suppliers, treating our employees well and
rewarding our shareholders.
But I believe it is more of a two-way street. Having members who are so innovative,
involved and incurably active adds an energy to our operation that makes it unique. And
that is what “Member Connection” celebrates. C
David W. Fuller is Assistant
Vice President, Publishing, and
Editor of The Costco Connection.
