Canadian Retailer - Store 2016 - 36

STORE 2016 AWARDS OF DISTINCTION

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

HONOURING A LIFETIME
OF SUCCESS
Iconic Canadian retail leader celebrated for a career of
innovation and the unprecedented legacy that she's built
BY KEN MARK

"We take care of our members
by offering quality goods at the
lowest possible price. We take care
of our employees, shareholders
and vendors. And we're committed
to living up to what we promise.
By doing so we're able to satisfy
everyone. That to me is success."

WHEN Louise Wendling helped found Price Club
Canada Inc. in 1986, building from scratch a membership base for a new concept, warehouse club,
she likely never could have imagined the success
that lay ahead of her. But fast-forward 30 years, and
Wendling is being honoured for a tremendous career in retail with Retail Council of Canada's 2016
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Wendling started her career in retail with Hudson's Bay Co. And after spending 11 years, rising to
become Divisional Merchandising Manager, she
joined Price Club Canada Inc.
Seven years after Wendling joined the company,
Price Club merged with Costco Canada. Wendling
became head of the Eastern Canadian operation and
eventually went on to oversee both Eastern and Western
Canada as Country Manager.
In the face of convention

The success Wendling achieved at Costco is quite remarkable considering the fact that the company's business model defies many etched-in-stone rules of retailing.
It does no advertising. It charges an annual fee of $55 to
consumers to shop in its stores. In addition, it treats its
employees well by paying them a living wage and by offering eligible workers-around 91 per cent-medical and
other benefits, including a pension.
The company, however, also executes other basic retailing principles with strategic precision. Start with price.
Goods are sold at the lowest possible price which gives it
margins up to 15 per cent. Product selection is tight-about
3,500 different SKUs per location. As well, stores offer
highly efficient cashiers and quick responses, often within
24 hours, to customer queries and complaints. All of this,
the combination of conventional and unconventional approaches that the company takes to business, adds up to
retail success.

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CANADIAN RETAILER | STORE 2016

- LOUISE WENDLING
Measured success

By most conventional corporate metrics-
annual sales volume, expansion, rising stock
price and dependable dividends-Costco is a
roaring success. But the key business indicator
that Wendling has always been most interested in is what she calls Costco's annual report
card-the yearly renewal rate. It's estimated
that this year, more than 90 per cent-around
12.5 million Canadian members are renewing.
Wendling has enjoyed the tremendous results that have come from a lot of hard work
and determination. However, she's quick to
point out that the success she's enjoyed at
Costco Canada is rooted in the culture that's
been developed within the company and the
people that she works with. "We take care of
our members by offering quality goods at the
lowest possible price. We take care of our employees, shareholders and vendors. And we're
committed to living up to what we promise. By
doing so we're able to satisfy everyone. That to
me is success."

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