One Costco employee at each new store can win $500 in cash if they correctly guess first-day sales
Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
- Ten new Costco warehouses opened in November, which means cash prizes for 10 lucky employees.
- In a company tradition, employees at opening warehouses guess their location's first day sales.
- Guesses are written on dollar bills that are then given to the winner with the best number.
November was a busy month for Costco, with 10 new locations opening up during the month, and seven of those within a ten-day span.
Ten openings also mean cash prizes for 10 lucky employees — one at each location.
The night before opening day is VIP night, where employees and their families are joined by company leaders and local representatives at the new warehouse.
"It's just a special moment to pause and be proud of all the hard work you've put into this before it opens up," Costco employee Maggie Perkins said in a recent TikTok about the opening of the Newark, California location on November 18.
Perkins highlighted a company tradition in which employees are invited to write their name and their best guess for the location's first-day sales total on a dollar bill.
"That dollar goes into an envelope, and whoever guesses the closest gets to keep the cash," Perkins said in the video.
@itsmaggieperkins At this time last year, I was working on the membership team at a brand new Costco. A year later I am on the marketing training team and part of my job is traveling to new warehouse openings. This is my first official new warehouse opening and I am so excited to be part of this opening in Newark, California. I love new warehouse openings because there are items that we do not carry all the time, and some warehouse traditions as well. the excitement is palpable. The pride that employees have at VIP night is really special. #costcofinds#costcoopeningday#costcoopening#newcostco#corporatetrainer
♬ original sound - Maggie Perkins ????
Costco did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the lottery, but two current employees confirmed the tradition. Business Insider has verified their identities but is keeping them anonymous as they are not authorized to speak to the media.
A forklift driver in Chicago said that when co-founder Jim Sinegal was CEO, he would personally collect the dollars and shake hands with the employees.
"Craig Jelinek continued the tradition, and I'm sure Ron Vachris will continue it when he takes over as CEO," the worker said.
The employees said the total prize was typically between $300 and $500, since most warehouses employ about 250-300 people.
That's still the equivalent of more than two days' pay for a worker earning the starting wage of $18.50, which was recently increased in September.
In her video, Perkins shows her guess of $1,000,500.99, but she said the total actually came out to $1.8 million.
She also said first-day sales can be a bit higher than an average day, since Costco will offer certain items on opening day that it doesn't typically sell, like jumbo teddy bears and specialty bottles of liquor.
Perkins said the Newark opening brought to mind fond memories of her own first VIP night a year before when she joined the company after leaving her career as a teacher.
Only two locations are currently listed for opening in 2024, but the company has typically opened about 24 locations per year, announcing specifics in December.
Costco now has 870 locations around the world, and CFO Richard Galanti said last year the goal is to reach 30 new openings per year, with half of those in the US and half overseas.
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