User:Deansfa/sandbox
 A Costco food court in New Jersey featuring the $1.50 hot dog and soda combo. | |
| Place of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Invented | 1985 |
The Costco $1.50 hot dog and soda combo is a menu item sold at American warehouse retailer Costco's food courts.[1] Launched in 1985 at its original Seattle warehouse store, it became a signature item of Costco's food court, and gained notoriety because of its price that never changed overtime despite inflation.[1] In 2022, the Wall Street Journal was reporting that the company was selling about 130 million of its hot dog combo per year.[1]
The $1.50 combo includes a Kirkland Signature hot dog and fountain soda with unlimited free refill.
History
[edit]The origins of Costco's food court business can differ depending if we include later-acquired Price Club. Price Club' San Diego warehouse started selling hot dogs with a single hot dog cart in 1984[1][2], the cart being supplied by hot dog brand Hebrew National.[2] But a hot dog and soda combo selling for $1.50 was launched in 1985 at the original Costco location in Seattle.[3]
Price
[edit]Since its launch in 1985, the hot dog and soda combo's price has never changed.[1] According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, if the price of the meal had followed inflation's rate, it would cost about $4.13 as of 2022.[1]
Costco founders and executives have expressed multiple times that the company has no plan to increase the price of its combo. During the 2021–2023 inflation surge in the United States, Costco CFO Richard Galanti declared during a 2022 earnings call meeting that the price of the combo will stay in place possibly forever.[4] In 2018, an exchange between Costco founder Jim Sinegal and Costco CEO Craig Jelinek became famous when, to Jelinek's suggestion to raise the price of the combo from $1.5 to $1.75, Sinegal reacted strongly against it, declaring "If you raise the [price of the] effing hot dog, I will kill you."[5][6][7]
Several reasons are advanced to explain how Costco was able to keep that $1.50 price tag on its combo overtime, including:
- switching from soda cans to fountain drinks,[8]
- stopping using Hebrew National as its supplier, and building a Kirkland Signature hot dog factory in Los Angeles, and then later in Chicago.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Joseph De Avila (14 July 2022). "The $1.50 Costco Hot Dog Combo That Defies Inflation". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q120423301. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ a b Edwin Goei (6 March 2009). "The $1.50 Costco Hot Dog: Hebrew National Out… Kirkland Brand In". OC Weekly. Wikidata Q120431546. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ Conroy, Bill (September 2019). "Costco's First Warehouse Store Was a Springboard to Global Growth". Seattle Business. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
- ^ Scott Gleeson (26 September 2022). "Don't worry, Costco commits to $1.50 hot dog and soda combo price — maybe 'forever'". USA Today. ISSN 2165-1779. Wikidata Q120451156. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- ^ a b Shawn Langlois (21 September 2020). "Costco co-founder once said 'I will kill you' to CEO who wanted to hike the price of the $1.50 hot dog combo". MarketWatch. Wikidata Q120451065. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- ^ Todd Matthews (April 18, 2018). "Costco CEO Craig Jelinek on Shareholders, Costco.com, and Hot Dogs". 425business. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ Alex Kasprak (March 28, 2021). "Did Costco Founder Say 'I Will Kill You' to CEO Who Wanted To Raise Hot Dog Prices?". Snopes. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
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