SEATTLE — To say David and Susan Schwartz are a little obsessed with retail giant Costco is a bit of an understatement.
"I'm head-to-toe Costco. Everything is Costco except for this (points at husband). But I know people who have found their husband at Costco too," said Susan Schwartz.
Their deep infatuation with the company led to an intriguing idea.
"Why don't we write a book together about Costco? We love the company, we get to travel all over the place to see Costco. And we can find out all about how they do it," said David Schwartz.
That idea became the book: The Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A to Z.
"We didn't want it to look like a catalog. We wanted it to look like a fun adventure you can jump into and the A to Z format is perfect because it's so random and arbitrary. It replicates the experience of being in Costco," said David. "We have traveled over 220,000 miles, we've been around the globe three times, literally. And every one of the 46 US states plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, and at least one warehouse in each of the other 13 countries. So we've done a lot of travel."
One of the places they traveled to was Seattle where businessmen Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman started the company in 1983.
"Jeff and Jim put their heads together and came up with with Costco and opened the first one in 1983. Right here on Fourth Avenue," said David. "The first day was a little chaotic because the cash registers went down so they had to do all their sales by hand. Once they got over that, sales doubled every week from that point on."
Among the things the book shows is what a powerhouse Costco has become.
"They changed their sourcing of Costco salmon from Chile to Norway, and it impacted both economies," said Susan. "Costco sells half the world's cashews. They sell more wine than anybody in the world."
Love their $5 roast chicken? Costco makes sure their birds never nest for too long.
"When it comes out of the oven, they timestamp the containers. And so two hours after, after it's come out of the oven. It gets pulled off of the shelf and re-purposed for all sorts of other things in the deli. The reason they do that is not because it's not healthy to eat, it just doesn't taste as good," David said.
Much of Costco's inventory is based on what is around a particular warehouse.
"We traveled all over the world, literally. 40% of the product is different wherever you go. It's regional."
But there are still some staples you'll find at every Costco around the globe.
"Kirkland Signature water everywhere in the world. Kirkland Signature bath tissue is everywhere in the world. Kirkland Signature paper towels everywhere in the world,” said David. "What you find there is high-quality merchandise at low prices. It's not crap."
Their book may paint a pretty picture in its pages, but the Schwartz's say their view on Costco was never for sale.
Susan said, "We're not Costco employees. We're not shilling for Costco. We did this entirely independently." David added. "This is a fan book. It's a love letter to Costco."
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