Kirkland Signature

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Kirkland Signature is Costco's store brand, otherwise known in the retail industry as an "own-brand." It is found exclusively at Costco stores and is trademarked by the company. The name derives from the fact that Costco's corporate headquarters were located in the city of Kirkland, Washington between 1987 and 1996.^[1]

Costco offers a variety of products under the Kirkland Signature name at a discount, from clothing and electronics to dairy products and more.

Contents 1 Strategies 1.1 Price/Quality 1.2 Co-branding 2 References

[edit] Strategies

[edit] Price/Quality

Store brands have historically struggled to gain consumer confidence. According to Costco, it approached a strategy much different than how most supermarkets handled price points. The traditional method for offering a product on special, is to reduce volume, quality, etc in order to even out losses. The Kirkland Signature brand in contrast, maintains the quality of the product, allowing the price to remain above competitor brands if their prices dip. The strategy here is to build consumer confidence through high quality so that consumers will remain loyal despite difference in price. In general however, the Kirkland Signature brand prices products below the average national brand making it popular among consumers. [1]

[edit] Co-branding

To counteract the consumer confidence problem common in store branding, Kirkland Signature sometimes relies on Co-branding. According Costco, while consumers may be wary of same-store-branding, they are less likely to be wary of brands that they are familiar with and trust. [2]

[edit] References