Costco 2009 Annual Report Download - page 13

Businesses, including individuals with a business license, retail sales license or other evidence of
business existence, may become Business members. Business members generally pay an annual
membership fee of $50 for the primary and spouse membership card, with add-on membership cards
available for an annual fee of $40 (including a free spouse card). Many of our business members also
shop at Costco for their personal needs. Individual memberships (Gold Star memberships) are
available to individuals who do not qualify for a Business membership, for an annual fee of $50, which
includes a spouse card.
Our membership base was made up of the following (in thousands):
2009 2008 2007
Gold Star ................................. 21,500 20,200 18,600
Business ................................. 5,700 5,600 5,400
Business, Add-on Primary ................... 3,400 3,400 3,500
Total primary cardholders ................ 30,600 29,200 27,500
Additional cardholders ...................... 25,400 24,300 22,900
Total cardholders .......................... 56,000 53,500 50,400
These numbers exclude approximately 2,800, 2,800, and 2,700 cardholders of Costco Mexico at the
end of 2009, 2008, and 2007, respectively.
Executive membership is available to all members in the U.S., Canada, and United Kingdom for an
annual fee of approximately $100. The program offers additional savings and benefits on various
business and consumer services offered by Costco, such as merchant credit-card processing, auto
and home insurance, business telephone service, and check printing services. The services are
generally provided by third-parties and vary by country and state. In addition, Executive members
qualify for a 2% annual reward (which can be redeemed at Costco warehouses), up to a maximum of
approximately $500 per year, on all qualified purchases made at Costco. At the end of 2009, 2008, and
2007, Executive members represented 29%, 26%, and 23%, respectively of our primary membership
base. Executive members spend more than other members, and the percentage of our net sales
attributable to these members continues to increase. In 2008, Costco Mexico launched an Executive
Membership program similar to the program in the U.S. and Canada.
Labor
Our employee count approximated:
2009 2008 2007
Full-time employees ..................... 79,000 75,000 70,000
Part-time employees .................... 63,000 62,000 57,000
Total employees .................... 142,000 137,000 127,000
These numbers exclude approximately 9,000 individuals who were employed by Costco Mexico at the
end of 2009, 2008 and 2007. Approximately 13,500 hourly employees in certain of our locations (all
former Price Company locations) in five states are represented by the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters. All remaining employees are non-union. We consider our employee relations to be very
good.
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