You probably noticed that the price of food has been going up in recent months. You only need to look at your favorite fast-food joints to realize that burgers and fries are not really as affordable as they used to be. However, there is one place that is still resisting the urge to bring their food prices up.
The food court at the retail store chain Costco is still keeping its promise of offering Americans affordable meals. This is especially the case with their hot dog-drink combo, which weathered all sorts of economic challenges to keep its price at $1.50. And according to Costco CFO Richard Galanti, the company intends to stick with that price “forever.”
During a recent fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call, Galanti made a promise to keep the hot dog-drink combo price intact despite lower margins, saying that the company is able to do that thanks to bigger margins in some other areas.
“Some businesses that are doing well with margin … those things help us be more aggressive in other areas, or, as you mentioned, hold the price on the hot dog and the soda a little longer — forever,” Galanti shared.
Costco introduced a jumbo all-beef hot dog and a 20 oz. soda combo back in 1985 for a price of $1.50. And the deal became so iconic that the company just decided not to mess with it. The price remained the same for almost four decades and could well be there four decades from now.
