Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

August 30, 2008 1:47:38 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

No-Frills Chain Has CEO to Match

Posted Dec 2, 07 9:05 AM CST in Business 

(Newser) – With his hot-dog lunches, second-hand desk, and disdain of ties, Jim Sinegal of Costco is not your typical Fortune 500 CEO. But the 71-year-old's steadfast devotion to the company's no-frills business plan and generosity to employees has helped make Costco a formidable player in the retail business, writes the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Sinegal's down-to-earth manner meshes with the company philosophy, which is to sell  mass quantities of discount household items to its 51 million members. The chain, No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list, also pays its workers an average of $17.60 an hour, well above competitors. Sinegal shrugs off Wall Street critics. "Doesn't it make sense to have the most productive employees?" he asks.

Source Seattle Post-Intelligencer

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Sam's Club Joins Costco in Limiting Rice Purchases

    Apr 23, 08 8:25 CDT
    Sam's Club Joins Costco in Limiting Rice Purchases Sam's Club joined Costco today in limiting how much rice customers can buy, Bloomberg reports. The restrictions by the nation's largest warehouse retail chains come with the price of rice at record highs around the world, which has spurred some to begin hoarding, Bloomberg notes. Sam's Club customers can buy no more than four bags per visit. More »

  • Wal-Mart Leads Feb. Retail Rally

    Mar 6, 08 10:47 AM CST
    Wal-Mart Leads Feb. Retail Rally Big retailers showed unexpected signs of life in February, beating weak sales predictions to inject some hope into the market. Wal-Mart led the way, posting a 2.6% same-store increase, beating its own predictions of flat-to-2% growth. Overall, same-store sales climbed 1.9%, with more than half of retailers beating predictions, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

Shoppers push their carts towards the exit at the Costco store in Cranberry, Pa. Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)   (Associated Press)
A family leaves a Costco store in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007. Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. jumped nearly 10 percent Wednesday, Oct. 10 after the discount retailer said its fiscal fourth-quarter...   (Associated Press)
Egon Handel picks out a market steak at Costco wholesale store in Mountain View, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007. A big drop in the cost of gasoline in July contributed to the smallest rise in consumer...   (Associated Press)
This is the Costco store in West Homestead, Pa., on Thursday, July 12, 2007. Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a 6 percent gain in same-store sales, in line with the 6.1 percent estimate. (AP Photo/Gene...   (Associated Press)
Costco CEO Jim Sinegal rarely wears a tie.   (Costco)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Tags

Wall Street  • wages  • Costco  • employers  • Sam's Club


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular


Other Business Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »