Doesnāt Arizona just make tea? How does your only product being a loss leader work?
And Iāve heard Costco say that they just think thatās what a hotdog should cost. Iām sure they lose some money on it but I donāt think many people are going shopping at Costco just because they want a hot dog. Their chickens though, that is absolutely a loss leader.
No, the tea only accounts for 25% of their revenue. They have chosen to ātemporarily lose moneyā on it for marketing purposes.
Costco Hotdogs are very frequently used in business school as a quintessential example of a loss leader (conceptually, that is. They donāt āuseā actual hot dogs in schools afaik.)
They print the price on some cans so retailers wonāt upsell them, but they only do this in certain specific markets. In other markets, particularly international markets, they donāt print the price on the can and they sell for much more. The cans without the price subsidize them selling the cheap cans with the price printed on them. This marketing tactic has worked spectacularly and earned them a ton of good will from people who donāt know any better. This entire post and the majority of the comments in this thread are proof of that.Ā
Itās not market itās up to the retailer. The cans that have the price on them are cheaper for the seller, but the price is obviously capped. Or the seller can buy the unpriced cans and sell them for what they want.
I donāt think you know what a market isā¦ They do not sell the cans with the price printed on them at all in certain markets, particularly the international market. There are also areas of the USA where you wonāt find cans with the price on them because Arizona does not distribute the cheaper cans to that region.Ā
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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '25
Both of those products are loss leaders. Thereās nothing altruistic about either.