Economics
Costco’s Private-Label Booze Helps Warm Spirits During Dry Spell
- Alcohol sales have jumped by almost 50 percent in five years
- Company is ‘taking share away from everyone,’ analyst says
A customer shops for wine at a Costco Wholesale Corp. store.
Photographer: Tim Boyle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The holidays didn’t go well for Costco Wholesale Corp., whose profit during the period missed analysts’ projections by the most in at least a decade. But there was something to raise a glass to: booze.
Alcohol sales have surged at the warehouse-club chain, lifted in part by the cult status of Costco’s Kirkland Signature-branded liquors. Many customers swear by the private-label products, and some are even convinced that the spirits are actually top-shelf liquors such as Grey Goose and Tanqueray hidden behind Costco packaging.