INTERVIEW

I now work as a Buyer in our Fresh department in Merchandising where we sell hot dogs or pizza. I consider our mission to be creating products that are Costco-like and have a special feeling. It is my job to create an item as “Costco brand.” This is not easy—we have to purchase ingredients, get them through customs, cook a sample, and to make sure everything is stored properly. However, I feel it’s worthwhile and am overjoyed when one of our creations becomes a hit. Sometimes a member would tell me “now this is what I’d expect from Costco.” Words like that make it all worthwhile.

Buyers do not work in isolation. We have to keep in close contact with warehouse staff. We work as a team, and we share the satisfaction when we hit our target. Often, Costco buyers globally purchase from the same supplier, which means that we have to communicate with them to get the best deal. This ability to act on a global stage that extends far beyond Japan is one particularly interesting aspect of my job.

Back in 2017, we decided to add a roast beef sandwich to our menu. We set the price at 780 yen, which is fairly high by Costco standards. Earlier, we had more menu to be cooked or baked, like hot dogs or pizza. This foray into menu items made from roast beef, vegetables or other such fresh ingredients was new to us and quite an adventure.

An important step in the merchandise development process is to step back and ask ourselves, “Is this Costco? Does it match who we are?” Following the culture in the US where people eat a lot of meat, we decided to start a project to come up with a new item – a sandwich with 180 grams of roast beef, and we price it two to three times higher than comparable alternatives. We don’t want to do things halfway, so we made something good which we were confident of. Yet, I was nervous if it won’t sell because members only see the price. It turns out that it sold very well and almost became our no. 1 item in sales. It was a bold step that made us advanced on the “high quality/low cost” Costco concept. Also, it acted to reinforce the lesson that if a product rates highly along the three axes of “quality,” “volume” and “Costco like,” our members will like it.

Costco has an atmosphere that I’ll describe as “it is better to do something and fail than not to have done it at all.” It is okay if it doesn’t quite work out, but you’ve still learned a lot for next time. Therefore, it’s important not to be passive, and think for yourself and clear the way under your own initiative. If you raise your hand, someone will call on you and will let you do what you want to do. To tell you the truth, I was a bit taken aback by all this freedom when I first came to Costco. I looked to my superiors, and they showed me by example to enjoy challenges. Now I appreciate this environment which is free to be active and overcomes constraints on my own.

There are many superiors at Costco whom I admire and emulate. Many are women, and they give me an image of where I myself might be someday. Some people are career-oriented, and some people seek a fulfilling personal life. Both types are welcome and active here. It is wonderful when our personal preferences in work and life are respected. We have many choices and many options, and that too makes me feel comfortable.

Our members often know more about Costco than we do. I definitely do not want to let them down. I want to keep our Costco values; I want us to keep on doing what it takes to keep our members happy and pleasantly surprised.