In order to attract potential users, Costco tacitly allows everyone to be a member in the first week and can freely come in and consume. On the first day, if the consumption reaches a certain amount, you can get a certain percentage of coupons for nearby gas stations.
In this country on wheels, gasoline is the permanent hard currency, and even U.S. dollar bills are tied to oil. You can not only participate in cheap shopping, but also get discounts on gasoline. Who wouldn’t want to come?
As for how to promote it? Naturally, it is through the most primitive method: advertising and handing out leaflets.
American TV stations, like those in mainland China in later generations, also have local TV stations. For example, Los Angeles has several local channels. However, due to pure commercial competition, the ratings of local TV stations are simply not as good as those of local TV stations such as NBC and CBS. The gap is huge. Very large, and because the current TV channels are mainly paid, many people do not open local channels. Only some packages come with some bonuses, so the effect of advertising on local TV stations is very low, but the price is also It's not expensive. Pierce arranged seven or eight advertising positions at different times every day and played them non-stop.
As for large TV stations, I have never considered it. Red Bull, a sales target in the United States, is suitable for advertising on large TV stations like NBC. Forget about regional supermarkets. Unless one day, all kinds of supermarkets can be found in most parts of the United States. The meaning of delivery.
Apart from TV, there are naturally newspapers. The Los Angeles Daily News, which has the highest sales volume in the local area, has been advertising Costco’s opening for many days in a row. However, the price of the advertising page is too high and it only serves a promotional purpose. For users to truly understand the discounts of the supermarket, it needs to be large. Distribute leaflets on a large scale.
Chen Zhiwen's strategy is to hire local high school students. Many of them just want to earn pocket money to buy condoms. They don't have enough knowledge about society and are relatively cheap. However, Pierce stopped it because he has the ability to save money. method.
Pierce arranged for people to find newspaper deliverymen in Los Angeles and put them directly in charge of distributing leaflets to every household that ordered a newspaper. In the United States, basically anyone with some financial means will order a newspaper. This has almost covered the non-poor people in Los Angeles. At the same time, , because the newspaper deliveryman has to deliver something to every household every day, and delivering one more leaflet will only add a little more burden cost.
Originally, Chen Zhiwen planned to spend US$30,000 on flyers, but he changed his strategy and was able to get it done for US$5,000. Of course, Chen Zhiwen did not expect this. It may also be because he does not understand the operation of American society, because In Hong Kong, newspapers are all bought by yourself.
The purchasing of goods within the supermarket is naturally the responsibility of the Pierce team. They mainly use the suppliers from Fedmart. A small number of them are cheap clothing from Hong Kong, such as socks, hats, slippers, toys, etc. These Hong Kong goods are cheap, even if According to Costco's pricing, it is a very big discount for many people, especially socks, which are sold by the dozen (12 pairs), many for only $0.69, and the quality is quite good.
Everything was ready. On November 11, 1974, the day specially chosen by Chen Zhiwen, Costco in Los Angeles, California, USA officially opened, which was also the first opening in the world.
There is no crackling of firecrackers. Cultural differences are secondary. The main thing is that a crackling of firecrackers anywhere in the United States can scare everyone and make them flee everywhere. It is like the end of the world.
Cheap items can always attract people. In order to ensure the flow of people, Pierce specially launched a lot of limited edition cheap products, such as high-end red wine, famous brand electrical products, etc., with only a few hundred or thousands of quantities available a day, which is enough to force people to I want everyone to come here as soon as possible, because if they are late, they will be gone.
At 8:55, a group of people had gathered outside the Costco gate. Fortunately, Los Angeles is neither hot nor cold in November, with an average temperature of more than ten degrees. Otherwise, it would be very painful.
Several security guards squeezed into the crowd and were sweating profusely to maintain order. The words they shouted could not be heard at all, and were soon covered up by the roar of people.
"Good guy, this crowd is bigger than the opening of a supermarket in Hong Kong. I thought Americans were very rich and wouldn't care about this little bargain?" An Qi, who was on the second floor, looked at the dense crowd below and said, He couldn't help but say.
"There are many rich people, but there are even more poor people. I really think that the United States is full of gold." Chen Zhiwen smiled and shook his head.
Compared with other non-developed countries, the living standards in Europe and the United States are naturally much higher, but this is only due to the global wealth gained under the massive ZM economy over the past century and the early development of science and technology. The increase in overall productivity has benefited the people at the bottom, but regardless of In any society, big fish eat small fish. The good life of the people at the bottom is also controlled by the upper class. In order to make more profits, the upper class must try their best to suck blood from the small fish. This is not only material, but also spiritual.
The credit card culture of enjoying the present and spending the future is actually a higher blood-sucking method, because the existing blood of the small fish can no longer satisfy the big fish.
The economy was developing very well before and everything was balanced. However, after the oil crisis, the manufacturing industry collapsed and GDP experienced negative growth.
Many people have no concept of GDP growth. To put it simply, in future generations of China, an annual GDP economic growth of 8% can make many people live very comfortably, but once it drops to 4%, countless people will find it difficult to do business. If prices soar and GDP plummets, it will be hell on earth.
Of course, this comparison is based on the previous life. It is difficult to change from luxury to frugality. People who are used to living a luxurious life will feel that they are not as good as Africa when life is a little bit more difficult. Just like Europe in a certain year in later generations, it is actually not that there is no such thing. Natural gas, but you can't eat popsicles indoors in winter like before. However, various protest marches attracted the attention of the global media. At the same time, famine occurred in southern Europe and Africa, and tens of thousands of people starved to death. However, the international community No one knows, no one cares.
The current economic situation in the United States is worse than that in Europe in 2022. Inflation has skyrocketed, and a large number of small-profit companies have closed down. Many people have fallen into a bankruptcy crisis after spending their future income, and have to start living austerely.
At this time, it is the best time to revolutionize the retail industry. People's living habits no longer care about price or service convenience, but are truly pragmatic. This is the opportunity for Wal-Mart and Costco.
The time soon reached 9 o'clock, the supermarket door opened, and a group of people rushed in. Some people ran to buy red wine, some people ran to buy cheap clothes, some people went to buy food, but more people rushed to the daily necessities area. , toilet paper was being snatched up like crazy.
"???" Chen Zhiwen had a question mark on his face. Although the price of toilet paper is a bit cheaper, you don't have to be so crazy, right?
