Costco's CFO says he will not copy Walmart's grocery strategy

Costco does not get started quickly in the grocery shopping game.

In response to a question about the results of Scot Ciccarelli from RBC Capital Markets, who wanted to know if Costco was planning to embark on the recovery, like Walmart, the CFO Richard Galanti threw out the money. cold water at the idea.

He added that the company would continue to observe the space, but did not plan any new development at the moment.

"We keep looking, we continue to scratch our heads about it," Galanti said at the call. "We are aware that they and others are financially committed to this task, and I think what you are going to find is like all that life has to offer Costco. Over time, we will find a way to do it our way – it makes sense for us, it always works. "

Costco is a click-and-collect business, but it's mostly small and expensive products like electronics, jewelry or handbags.

Read more: Someone spent $ 400,000 on a diamond ring at Costco

For groceries, Galanti says the pickup could cannibalize in-store sales, while its current two-day delivery offer and its same-day partnership with Instacart are "additives".

"If someone wants something in an hour, he's probably not going to get it from us," Galanti said. "We always want to drive you into the warehouse."

Walmart is one of the largest push-buying promoters and plans to expand the service to 3,100 sites by the end of fiscal year 2020, according to a report released by Cowen in March.

There is a good reason for this: the customers seem to like the service. According to Cowen, no less than 13% of Walmart's customers have used and will soon account for 33% of Walmart's online sales, accounting for a $ 7.4 billion business turnover during the year. This year also attracts new customers: 40% to 60% of one-click sales come from new Walmart customers.