London, Ontario, has two Costco Wholesale outlets

Costco Wholesale is big. Really big. And very popular. London supports two Costco outlets. From the incredibly busy look of  the Wonderland Road outlet Sunday, it's clear the city needs its two outlets.

I know Costco started in the States and I know it stretches across Canada but what other countries have Costco? Answer: It has over 200 outlets outside the U.S. These included locations in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Iceland, Spain, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia.

But Costco is more than just big and growing. Costco knows how to endear itself to both its employees and its customers and in doing so it locks in support. For instance, the Canadian Costco runs an annual $2500 (Cdn) scholarship competition for its employees and their children. 

The scholarship offer meshes nicely with the carefully nurtured Costco employee-focused reputation. Costco is known for offering fair wages and good benefits to its employees. A fact born out by speaking with some of the London staff. They are very positive about the place. I am more than a little amazed. I didn't expect the reputation to be true.

Costco doesn't carry anywhere near the selection of products carried by competing grocery stores and the like. But what they do carry seems to be of good quality at a fair price. Recently, Costco has been getting heavily into clothing and they are selling such name brands such as Haggar and Nygard. 

I've read stories in business publications questioning this move. Nygard allowing their pants to be sold for $15 and Haggar having shirts going for $20 is good for Costco and its customers but many wonder what is in it for Nygard and Haggar? 

My wife says the Nygard pants she buys from Costco are not available at the Nygard store. The pants are well made, stylish and comfortable but she believes only available at Costco. The  Costco sales appear to increase a brand's name recognition but whether this translates into more sales of the higher priced line is an open question.

And Costco seems to be quick to support local businesses. The Greek style feta cheese sold in the London stores is made in a small town outside of London from a mix of sheep and goat milk. It's a great tasting feta at a good price and locally made. 

These are all smart business moves and from the busy lot, filled with cars and, of course, shoppers, both coming and going, it is clearly a winning strategy as well.