Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores. As of 2020, Costco was the fifth largest retailer in the world, and the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016. In 2021, Costco was ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
For decades, Costco has offered for sale in the United States a combo meal consisting of a "1/4 lb plus" hot dog and a 20 oz soda. Remarkably, the price of this offering has not changed since 1985: it remains $1.50, despite substantial inflation over the last 40 years. As of May 2022, there were reportedly no plans to increase the price in the near future, despite inflation surging to 40-year highs.
According to Business Insider:
In a third-quarter earnings call, Senior Vice President Robert Nelson told investors that there were no current plans to increase the food court favorite price, despite "online rumors."
...
"We have no plans to take that hot dog above a buck fifty. End of story," Costco CEO Craig Jelinek told shareholders in January 2020.
And according to a 2018 article, when current Costco president and CEO W. Craig Jelinek suggested to the company's founder that the $1.50 price was too low, founder James Sinegal replied:
"If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out."
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Stars | ★★★☆☆ |
| Platform | Metaculus |
| Number of forecasts | 387 |
Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores. As of 2020, Costco was the fifth largest retailer in the world, and the world's largest retailer of choice and...