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PUBLISHER Sandy Torrey
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EDITOR’S
NOTE
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Tim Talevich 425-313-6759
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U.S. TEAM
T. Foster Jones, 425-313-6748
[email protected]
Will Fifield,
[email protected]
Katie Coleman,
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INTERNATIONAL TEAM
Stephanie E. Ponder, 425-427-7134
[email protected]
Steve Fisher,
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Christina Guerrero,
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Looking back,
looking ahead
COPY EDITOR Miriam Bulmer
CONTRIBUTORS
Tom Beaman, Linda R. Bernstein, Kristen Chambers,
Marcy Goldman, Peter Greenberg, Ana Gascon Ivey,
Erik J. Martin, Suze Orman, Mark Ray, Marc Saltzman,
Jerry James Stone, Irene Middleman Thomas,
Kim Thuringer, Rosie Wolf Williams
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTORS
David Schneider,
[email protected]
Brenda Shecter,
[email protected]
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Ken Broman, Steven Lait, Megan Lees, Chris Rusnak
PRODUCTION MANAGER Pam Sather
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ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER
Antolin Matsuda
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COLOR SPECIALIST
MaryAnne Robbers
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PUBLISHING ADVERTISING MANAGER
Kathi Tipper-Holgersen 425-313-6581
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ASSISTANT ADVERTISING MANAGER
Susan Detlor 425-313-6916
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ADVERTISING COORDINATORS
Christina Bentler 425-313-2558
[email protected]
Raven Stackhouse 425-416-1632
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ADVERTISING COPYWRITER Bill Urlevich
PRODUCTION DESIGNER Josh Livingston
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Frank Colonno 201-962-2759
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BUSINESS MANAGER Jane Johnson
CIRCULATION MANAGER Rossie Cruz
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ONLINE PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Dorothy Strakele
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COSTCO WHOLESALE
P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088
999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027
Fax: 425-313-6718 Email:
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The Costco Connection is published by Costco Wholesale. All editorial
material, including editorial comments, opinion and statements of
fact appearing in this publication, represents the views of the respective
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are located at 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027. Copyright © 2021
Costco Wholesale.
BA LA NW SD
Seattle, WA 98124-1088
ostco holds its annual shareholders’ meeting each year in late January; like so many
other events over the past several months,
the 2021 meeting was conducted virtually.
While we’re already at the midpoint of our corporate
fiscal year, I thought some of the highlights from the
meeting would be of interest to you.
In response to the tremendous challenges
brought on by COVID-19, Costco was categorized
as an essential business. This means our warehouse
doors stayed open and we were able to provide
food, gas and essentials in the communities we
serve—while also taking measures to keep employees and members as safe as possible. In regard
to keeping items in stock, we faced the double
challenge of short supplies, as the pandemic closed
manufacturing facilities, and increased demand,
as people sought to stock up. But thanks to the
hard work of our suppliers, buyers and warehouse
operators, we did everything possible to keep our
shelves stocked.
The number of visitors to Costco warehouses
was lower during certain times of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the online business at Costco.com was
definitely up. Big sellers there were fresh grocery
deliveries through Costco Grocery and big and bulky
items like appliances that need home delivery.
We’ve seen warehouse visits rebound.
Looking ahead, the focus stays on safety,
meeting our members’ demands and handling the
responsibility of being an essential business. We
plan to keep growing—our annual target is 20 or
so new Costco locations in the U.S. and around the
world. We anticipate continued bumps in getting
some items onto our warehouse shelves or online at
Costco.com, but we’re working hard to avoid
any inconveniences.
© COSTCO PHOTO STUDIO
C
ART DIRECTOR Lory Williams,
[email protected]
Tim Talevich
is Editorial Director,
Costco Connection
A Costco milestone
We recently went over
the 800 mark in terms
of Costco warehouses
around the world. Your
Costco membership
card gets you through
the front door of all
of them!
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