Costco

Costco Selling $1 Million Diamond Ring

Filed under: Jewelry

96-count package of toilet paper? Check. A massaging recliner chair? Check. A casket? Check. A $1 million diamond ring? Why, check. Check, indeed.

The Consumerist points out that everyone's favorite discount store, Costco, is now shilling a 6.77 ct solitaire. Yes, there's only one available, but like everything else lining the store's shelves, the piece of bling is being offered at a steep price reduction -- original IGI (International Gemological Institute) value: $1,601,875. That's over $600k in savings (roughly one million rolls of toilet paper if we did the math correctly, and there's no promises we did).

Aside from wondering who will buy the hunk-o-jewelry, we are curious about what's going on chez Costco these days.

Just last month, the mass-market retailer announced it would be collaborating with designer Kirstie Kelly on a collection of six wedding dresses, priced from $699 to $1,399. Costco: your one-stop wedding destination? Or your wannabe bridal salon?

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Tags: 1 million, Costco, diamond rings, diamonds, jewelry

Supreme Court To Decide Fate Of Luxury Items Gray Market: Costco v. Omega

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This topic is near and dear to my heart because of the legal aspect and the watch aspect. I am not going to present to you a law school style outline of the legal history or implications of this case, but rather what it all means.

Back in 2004 Omega got pissed at Costco for selling Omega watches that it purchased not from Omega as an authorized dealer, but rather from gray market distributors. Costco has some good deals on high-end watches because it legally buys watches from people who have inventory acquired from unsold authorized retailer inventory or otherwise from retailers around the world. Costco is able to buy these slightly older model watches at lower prices. At the same time, they are not bound by Omega's pricing policies that govern authorized dealers.

Omega can't stop Costco from selling the watches because Costco legally bought them from sources that somewhere down the line, legitimately bought them from Omega. So after much bitching and moaning, Omega sued on a copyright claim.

The claim says Costco had no right to sell products with Omega intellectual property without Omega's permission. The first court sided with Costco, and Omega appealed. The second court sided with Omega, and the Costco appealed to the Supreme Court. At this point the Supreme Court doesn't need to hear the case. For the most part, the Supreme Court chooses the cases it wants to hear. Recently, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear the case in the Fall. The case is: Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Omega, S.A., 08-1423.

Aside from being interesting as the parties are companies most people know well, the outcome of the case has some serious implications. On the one hand, the case might strike a serious blow to the life of the gray market, which are lower cost goods that are resold into the market and ultimately sold at lower prices to consumers. On the other hand, the case might validate the gray market, forcing brands like Omega that are highly price sensitive to rethink their business model and reduce their reliance on third party authorized dealers.

The watch world will be looking very closely at the issue, especially as the decision is published in the next year.

Major watch brands are also preempting the gray market issue by making serious changes to the way they do business. This of course also applies to luxury brands that offer products other than just watches. Instead of selling as much product to authorized dealers as possible, the business model of the future for luxury brands may likely be to sell directly to consumers. This strategy would bypass traditional dealer networks altogether.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: case, costco, court, gray market, omega, suit, supreme court

No Ratatouille Wine After All

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

A few weeks ago, we heard news that there would be a wine associated with the Disney movie Ratatouille. But it turns out that the wine won't be making it to stores after all. Walt Disney has announced that they are not releasing the wine after all. The reason? The LA Times reports that Disney was getting too much pressure from California winemakers and opponents of underage drinking. Disney says that the California Wine Institute was upset because it was a French wine but a California Wine Institute spokeswoman said that they were upset because the label, which showed the cartoon rat, Remy , holding a glass of wine, would appeal to people below the legal drinking age. The offering was to be small, around 500 cases. I wonder what will happen to the wine, if it will be destroyed or find its way onto the market in some quiet and more limited way.

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Tags: burgundy, costco, ratatouille, wine

Sears Adds A Touch of Luxury

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Luxury items at Sears? We've seen luxury come to Costco and Wal-Mart and now Sears is trying to tempt buyers with items that skew toward the higher end. Because Kmart and Sears merged, Sears has the right to sell Martha Stewart goods in Sears Roebuck stores but they aren't taking that option since Martha recently announced to that she will be selling her higher-end wares at Macy's. Instead Sears has a new strategy to sell ready-to-assemble furniture, add more Lands' End mini-stores inside Sear's stores and create a private label line of bed and bath products called Everyday Luxe. The Everyday Luxe line is already for sale on the internet and features 400-thread-count duvets and 500-thread-count sheets. Sheet sets start at $99.99 for Queen.

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Tags: costco, macy's, martha stewart, sears, sheets, wal-mart

Wal-Mart Tries Out a New Upscale Store

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

We've been watching as super stores like Wal-Mart and Costco have inched their way toward the posh. Now Wal-Mart has taken a big step opening up a palace of luxe in Plano, Texas. The new store will offer high-end electronics, fine jewelry and gourmet food and wine. The Houston Chronicle quotes a study that says nearly half of American families shop at Wal-Mart at least once a week. With market saturation reaching its peak, the retail giant is hoping to court the upscale consumers. The store may also help Wal-Mart land vendors who have turned their up their noses at being associated with the brand. The new store is larger than the traditional Supercenter but the exterior is two-tone brick and inside their are wood floors and wide aisles with lower shelves. And no blue smocks! The first store is located in an area where there is also a SuperTarget and a Costco giving Wal-Mart a chance to try out the concept against their biggest competition.

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Tags: affluence, costco, shopping, texas, wal-mart

Chateau Mouton Rothschild at Costco

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Continuing our occasional series of amazing things that can be purchased at Costco, we happened on this opportunity to own a selection of three vintages from the prestigious Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The wines come directly from the Chateau library and were purchased for these commemorative boxes. The ’99 and ’01 vintages feature work from Raymond Savignac and Robert Wilson and the ’00 bottle, features a hand glass-etched gold ram. The set sells for $869.99.

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Tags: chateau mouton rothschild, costco, red wine, wine, wine verticals