Costco sponsored I -1100, but what is the hidden objective. Stay tuned, I'm gonna tell ya. (You knew I would.)
You would think after a year of blogging I would run out of topics to be grumpy about, but so far that isn't the case.
Costco sued the State of Washington (Granholm) to break up the three-tier system. After all, Costco is a wholesaler. It says, right there on the outside of the store, "Costco Wholesale." So what's the prob Rob? Well, Costco is really a retailer. Can't be both in the wine biz in Washington State. Well, Costco kind of won Granholm, but didn't really. You have to be an attorney to understand it all.
They killed the three tier system in Washington, sort of. Now any winery in the country can become 'self-distributed' in Washington in a pseudo-three-tier system.
But the big prize is killing 'three tier' altogether. Costco wants to become importer, distributor, and retailer all in one slick Kirkland Signature operation. Why you ask? Well, look around any Costco. Where is all the stuff made? If you guess France, you are mostly wrong. French yes, 'fabrique au chine.' Oui!
Costco wants to bring in cheap wine from China without the middleman. If you think 'Two Buck Chuck' is cheap, wait for 'One Buck Yuck.' The ultimate goal is to bring Chinese wine (or anything else cheap) into the country and sell it at rock bottom prices.
Now, the Costco twist. Will you be able to buy a bottle for one dollar? No way, José. A case for $12. Not in your lifetime. Costco will package it in a 16 pack 4X4 box weighing 48 pounds. Since they love packaging so much, each 16-pak will contain four cardboard four-packs. (Remember 24 pack cases of Coke - 30 pack cases at Costco.) Yep, a cube of wine for just $15.99. One Buck Yuck.
How long will it be before Wal-Mart introduces their Chateau Doublewide for $1.88.
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