In the industry, Kirkland Signature is seen as really a shining example of what a retailer can do with its house brand.

在業界，Kirkland Signature 被視為零售商利用自有品牌的光輝典範。

Today, the Kirkland brand accounts for around one-third of a company's sales.

如今，柯克蘭品牌約佔公司銷售額的三分之一。

But the decision to create just one private label 30 years ago was risky, especially in a world where the most successful ones were divided up by product type.

但是，30 年前只創建一個自有品牌的決定是冒險的，尤其是在一個最成功的自有品牌按產品類型劃分的世界裡。

We were kind of flying right in the face of that success story.

我們就像是在成功的故事面前飛來飛去。

Here's the case study on how Costco went against industry standards and in the process created a negotiation tool that would forever change big box retail.

以下是關於好市多如何違背行業標準，並在此過程中創造出一種將永遠改變大型零售業的談判工具的案例研究。

When Costco first started in 1983, the premise was simple, carry a limited number of name brands in each product category, but sell a lot of them.

好市多於 1983 年創立之初，其前提條件很簡單：在每個產品類別中銷售數量有限的名牌產品，但要賣得多。

One of the significant disciplines of our business is the limited selection.

我們業務的一個重要特點是選擇有限。

We weren't going to carry all the SKUs the other retailers carried.

我們不會經營其他零售商經營的所有 SKU。

We were only going to carry the highest quality goods. 4,000 items as opposed to 140,000 items because everything that's presented at Costco is presented pretty big, hits you right in the face whenever you walk in there.

我們只經營最高品質的商品。4,000 種商品比 140,000 種商品多，因為好市多的所有商品都非常大，每次走進去都會讓你眼前一亮。

But just a few years into this, data showed that the price of these name brand items were going up, even while the cost for brands to make them were going down.

但就在幾年前，數據顯示，這些名牌產品的價格在上漲，而品牌的生產成本卻在下降。

Every year they had to raise their price to continue to satisfy Wall Street.

為了繼續滿足華爾街的要求，他們每年都不得不提高價格。

But Costco co-founder Jim Sinicle saw an opportunity.

但是，好市多的聯合創始人吉姆-辛尼克（Jim Sinicle）看到了商機。

We were seeing articles being written about what was happening with private label.

我們看到有人寫文章介紹自有品牌的情況。

This 1991 Forbes article in particular outlined how consumers in Europe were turning away from name brand items and instead buying products manufactured by stores directly, known as private labels.

1991 年《福布斯》的這篇文章特別概述了歐洲消費者如何放棄名牌產品，轉而購買商店直接生產的產品，即自有品牌。

He wrote a whole bunch of his observations on this article and then asked all of his executives to kind of initial it to acknowledge they had read it.

他就這篇文章寫了一大堆自己的看法，然後要求所有高管在文章的首字母上註明他們讀過這篇文章。

It's this moment where you can see his wheels turning about, look, their price increases are our opportunity.

此時此刻，你可以看到他在思考：看，他們的漲價就是我們的機會。

That opportunity came down to profit margins.

這個機會最終取決於利潤率。

While retailers typically markup name brand items anywhere from 24 to 30 percent, Costco had a strict maximum markup of 14 percent.

零售商通常會對名牌商品加價 24% 至 30%，而好市多卻嚴格規定最高加價不得超過 14%。

But with a private label, Costco could now control more of the manufacturing costs for a lower starting price.

但有了自有品牌，好市多就可以控制更多的生產成本，從而降低起步價。

So?

所以呢？

We allowed a private label to take one more percentage point higher in a markup.

我們允許自有品牌的加價幅度再高一個百分點。

The private labels quickly started piling up.

自有品牌很快堆積如山。

We had Chelsea toilet paper.

我們有切爾西衛生紙。

Clout detergent.

Clout 洗滌劑

Traditions.

傳統。

Pinnacle.

Pinnacle.

We were just making up names as we went along.

我們只是隨口編了個名字。

But then something happened that would change everything.

但後來發生的一件事改變了一切。

I was in one of our warehouses down in Los Angeles and I asked the warehouse manager, did you get the new legal tablet that we had in our private label?

我當時在洛杉磯的一個倉庫裡，我問倉庫經理，你拿到我們自有品牌的新法律片劑了嗎？

And he said, no, I don't think so.

他說，不，我不這麼認為。

So we went to the section and we had it under the Pinnacle name.

是以，我們去了那個部門，並把它放在了 Pinnacle 的名下。

So I showed it to the manager.

於是我把它拿給經理看。

I said, well, here it is right here.

我說，好吧，就在這裡。

He said, I didn't know that was our label.

他說，我不知道那是我們的標籤。

And it was like a bell.

它就像一個鈴鐺。

Hell, if we don't understand within the organization what we're doing with our label, how are the customers going to?

該死的，如果我們在組織內部都不明白我們的標籤在做什麼，客戶又怎麼會明白呢？

We decided we need to get one name.

我們決定要取一個名字。

Consolidating all of these labels under one brand would go against every proven best practice.

將所有這些標籤合併到一個品牌下，有悖於所有行之有效的最佳做法。

Retailers tend to not use one private label brand because they're afraid that if you have a bad experience with one item, it might translate across the whole store.

零售商傾向於不使用一個自有品牌，因為他們擔心如果你在一件商品上有不好的體驗，可能會影響到整個商店。

If they don't trust the brand in the golf ball, they don't trust the mixed nuts.

如果他們不相信高爾夫球裡的品牌，就不會相信混合堅果。

You look at Sears, which was a successful retailer at the time.

你可以看看西爾斯百貨公司，它在當時是一家成功的零售商。

They had multiple brands that were their store brands in different categories.

他們有多個品牌，是不同類別的商店品牌。

You can't argue with the success that that Sears had.

西爾斯百貨的成功是無可爭議的。

That one warehouse manager who couldn't tell me where the tablets were was an illustration of where you could go wrong and something like that.

有一位倉庫經理連藥片在哪裡都說不清楚，他就是一個很好的例子。

And then the question was, what would that name be?

那麼問題來了，這個名字會是什麼呢？

We thought Costco was not the right name to put on it.

我們認為 Costco 這個名字不合適。

Because we did so much business with other people and we decided on Kirkland name.

因為我們和其他人做了很多生意，所以我們決定使用柯克蘭這個名字。

At the time, the headquarters were in Kirkland, Washington.

當時，總部設在華盛頓州柯克蘭。

We promptly moved the home office to Issaquah.

我們立即將總部搬到了伊薩誇。

Nobody could spell Issaquah anyway, so we'll just keep Kirkland.

反正也沒人會拼 Issaquah，那我們就保留 Kirkland 吧。

And we've used that same label ever since.

從那以後，我們就一直使用這個標籤。

Over the next few years, Costco slowly rolled out the Kirkland name.

在接下來的幾年裡，好市多慢慢推出了柯克蘭這個名字。

I do remember when Kirkland Signature Shampoo came out.

我還記得 Kirkland Signature 洗髮水問世的時候。

It was the first hair care that we did.

這是我們第一次做頭髮護理。

And then we had some vitamins that came out shortly after that.

之後不久，我們又推出了一些維生素。

Today, Kirkland has over 350 products across a variety of categories.

如今，Kirkland 擁有 350 多種產品，涵蓋各種類別。

But the company still operates with a limited selection in each of these, what the industry calls a limited-skew environment.

但該公司在每種產品中的選擇仍然有限，即業內所說的有限傾斜環境。

I think the limited-skew environment is a very misunderstood or under-understood secret of a lot of things about Costco, including private label.

我認為有限傾斜環境是好市多很多方面（包括自有品牌）的一個非常容易被誤解或理解不足的祕密。

When a new Kirkland item hits the shelf, that category becomes even more competitive.

當 Kirkland 的新產品上架時，該品類的競爭會變得更加激烈。

If you're a supplier at Costco, it's kind of existential.

如果你是好市多的供應商，這就有點像生存問題。

It could reduce your sales.

這可能會降低您的銷售額。

It could kick you off the slot entirely.

它可能會把你完全踢出插槽。

So it's a real moment of head-on competition for a supplier.

是以，這是一個真正的供應商正面競爭的時刻。

It's an $80 billion brand, so it drives a lot of sales.

它是一個價值 800 億美元的品牌，是以帶動了大量銷售。

Nobody wants to be that dramatically higher priced than them.

沒有人希望自己的價格比他們高出那麼多。

I see it as a tremendous negotiation tool.

我認為這是一個巨大的談判工具。

One of the clearest examples of this leverage is Kirkland diapers.

Kirkland 紙尿褲就是這種槓桿作用最明顯的例子之一。

Costco knew that they wanted to have a Kirkland version of a diaper.

好市多知道他們想推出柯克蘭版的尿布。

But because of its limited-skew environment.

但由於其有限的傾斜環境。

We weren't going to carry both Huggies and Pampers.

我們不會同時銷售 Huggies 和幫寶適。

We were going to carry one brand and a Kirkland signature.

我們打算只賣一個品牌和 Kirkland 簽名產品。

To see who might make the Kirkland diapers, Costco approached two market leaders, Procter & Gamble of Pampers and Kimberly Clark of Huggies.

為了瞭解誰有可能生產 Kirkland 紙尿褲，Costco 找到了兩家市場領導者，分別是幫寶適的寶潔公司和 Huggies 的金佰利公司。

There was a series of negotiations.

雙方進行了一系列談判。

Kimberly Clark agreed.

金佰利公司表示同意。

And although Costco says Kirkland manufacturing negotiations are separate from conversations about shelf space.

儘管 Costco 稱 Kirkland 的生產談判與貨架空間的談判是分開的。

There's always been only Huggies diapers and Kirkland diapers on Costco shelves for many, many years.

多年來，好市多貨架上一直只有 Huggies 紙尿褲和 Kirkland 紙尿褲。

It was decided on the basis of who came in and presented the best deal for the diapers.

決定的依據是誰來買尿布最划算。

Even after a product is established, Costco buyers continue to monitor that category.

即使在某種產品確立之後，好市多的買家仍會繼續關注該類別產品。

Our buyers are very aware of the commodity inputs, the raw ingredients that go into something.

我們的買家非常瞭解商品的投入，也就是商品的原材料。

They know everything.

他們什麼都知道。

And this knowledge can lead the company to change its Kirkland vendors.

這些知識可以幫助公司改變柯克蘭的供應商。

Recently, Costco shifted to the cuties manufacturer, First Quality.

最近，好市多轉而使用可愛小熊製造商 First Quality 的產品。

We felt like we could produce a higher quality product at a lower price for our members.

我們認為，我們能以更低的價格為會員提供更高質量的產品。

Having not that many products on shelves compared to other retailers is a huge benefit with Kirkland because they can be very strategic about the fact that there's only a few slots.

與其他零售商相比，Kirkland 的貨架上沒有那麼多產品，這對他們來說是一個巨大的優勢，因為他們可以非常有策略地處理只有幾個貨架的事實。

It allows them to dictate what they want for their shoppers.

這讓他們可以對購物者的需求指手畫腳。

With Kirkland's name on hundreds of products, these negotiations are happening on almost every aisle of the warehouse.

由於數百種產品上都有 Kirkland 的名字，這些談判幾乎發生在倉庫的每一個過道上。

When I look back at that Forbes article, one thing that really struck me is, wow, brands really had a chance to not charge more than they needed to to give retailers kind of an in to create these really successful private label products.

當我回看《福布斯》的那篇文章時，讓我印象深刻的一件事是，哇，品牌商真的有機會不收取超過他們所需的費用，讓零售商有機會創造這些真正成功的自有品牌產品。

But that's ancient history.

但那已經是陳年往事了。

It's too late now.

現在為時已晚。

Consumers again have really turned to store brands.

消費者再次真正轉向商店品牌。

While national brands are still a bigger industry than private labels, in 2024, sales for private labels like Kirkland grew about four times faster than the national brands, hitting a record high.

雖然全國性品牌仍然是比自有品牌更大的產業，但在 2024 年，Kirkland 等自有品牌的銷售額增長速度約為全國性品牌的四倍，創下了歷史新高。

And with $86 billion in sales last year, Kirkland is now a bigger brand than Procter & Gamble and Kraft Heinz.

Kirkland 去年的銷售額達 860 億美元，現在已成為比寶潔和卡夫亨氏更大的品牌。

Is it the most significant thing for the company?

它是公司最重要的事情嗎？

I'd certainly say it's up there with the top three or four.

我肯定地說，它能排進前三名或前四名。

But analysts say Kirkland's success is hard to replicate.

但分析人士認為，柯克蘭的成功很難複製。

There's a few retailers that have gone to one private label, not many, but a direct competitor like Sam's Club.

有幾家零售商選擇了一個自有品牌，數量不多，但都是直接競爭對手，如山姆會員店（Sam's Club）。

More recently, 2017, they went to Member's Mark, which is their private label brand.

最近，即 2017 年，他們又推出了自己的自有品牌 "Member's Mark"。

I'm guessing they got that from us.

我猜他們是從我們這裡學到的。

Since consolidating, Sam's Club private label sales have nearly doubled.

自合併以來，山姆會員商店的自有品牌銷售額幾乎翻了一番。

And when asked about its strategy shift, Sam's Club said in an email to The Wall Street Journal that one reason it simplified its products into a single brand was to reduce confusion for its members.

當被問及戰略轉變時，山姆會員店在給《華爾街日報》的一封電子郵件中說，將產品簡化為單一品牌的原因之一是為了減少會員的混淆。

But despite these successes, many big retailers aren't following Costco's lead.

儘管取得了這些成功，但許多大型零售商並沒有效仿好市多的做法。

Target and Walmart have multiple private label brands.

塔吉特和沃爾瑪擁有多個自有品牌。

They have to make that choice themselves.

他們必須自己做出選擇。

I mean, the choice we think in retrospect was right for us, but it could have been wrong.

我的意思是，現在回想起來，我們的選擇是正確的，但也可能是錯誤的。

I think there's something else so specific to like the club channel, like a Costco, Sam's Club, you pay a membership fee.

我覺得俱樂部管道還有一些特殊的東西，比如好市多和山姆俱樂部，你需要支付會員費。

So it's a little bit of a different environment.

是以，這是一個有點不同的環境。

You're a little bit more bought in.

你會更投入一些。

You've already shown loyalty to what they have to offer in a way that's just a little bit different.

你已經用一種略有不同的方式表達了對他們所提供服務的忠誠。

Compared to other mass retailers like Target and Walmart, club channels like Costco and Sam's Club are winning the private label food and beverage space shown in their growth over the last year.

與塔吉特（Target）和沃爾瑪（Walmart）等其他大眾零售商相比，好市多和山姆會員店（Sam's Club）等俱樂部管道在自有品牌食品和飲料領域正在取得勝利，這從它們去年的增長中就可見一斑。

We still want to sell name brands.

我們仍然希望銷售名牌產品。

We think that shows value to the membership.

我們認為這體現了會員的價值。

So we really use Kirkland Signature strategically to make sure that we're priced correctly on brands and that we're offering a better quality.

是以，我們確實戰略性地使用了 Kirkland Signature，以確保我們的品牌定價正確，並提供更好的品質。

And the revenue from Kirkland is set to rise as the company looks to expand its offerings like Kirkland Sushi to its U.S. stores.

隨著柯克蘭壽司（Kirkland Sushi）等產品在美國門店的推廣，柯克蘭的收入也將隨之增加。

I don't want to push our employees or our managers and our buyers to go out and hit quotas about number of Kirkland items I want developed out there.

我不想逼迫我們的員工、經理和採購員去完成我希望開發的柯克蘭產品數量配額。

I want them to do it naturally as they go through their categories.

我希望他們在分類過程中自然而然地做到這一點。

And look for those opportunities.

並尋找這些機會。

We don't need to put our name on a product just to put our name.

我們不需要為了在產品上冠以自己的名字而冠以自己的名字。

It's a lot of work.

工作量很大

In fact, every Kirkland product ever made since 1995 has been signed off by the CEO directly.

事實上，自 1995 年以來，柯克蘭生產的每一件產品都是由首席執行官直接簽字確認的。

The final approval on the products would come to me and I would initial it in green ink.

產品的最終批准權歸我，我會用綠色墨水草簽。

Those were known as green ink meetings because they got the green ink to proceed.

這些會議被稱為 "綠色墨水會議"，因為他們得到了綠色墨水，可以繼續進行。

It was as simple as that.

就這麼簡單。

To this day, Costco still holds green ink meetings for all final approvals.

時至今日，好市多仍在為所有最終審批召開綠色墨水會議。

Even though that pen color is now retired.

儘管這支筆的顏色現在已經退役了。

I think I'm probably the only person who writes in green around here.

我想我可能是這裡唯一一個用綠色書寫的人。