• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Retailwine

Sam’s Club Launches Challenge to Costco’s Wine Business

Phil Wahba
By
Phil Wahba
Phil Wahba
Senior Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
Phil Wahba
By
Phil Wahba
Phil Wahba
Senior Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 19, 2017, 6:00 AM ET
A employee walks by a meat cooler in the grocery section of a Sam's Club during a media tour in Bentonville
Photograph by Rick Wilking — Reuters
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Sam’s Club wants in on the wine boom.

The Wal-Mart Stores-owned wholesale club chain is launching its first ever house brand wines this year, with its eyes firmly on the bonanza reaped by archrival Costco Wholesale (COST), the largest wine retailer in the country.

Sam’s, which operates some 650 U.S. clubs, recently introduced an $8 Chardonnay from California’s central coast under its Member’s Mark store brand, and this year will start selling a Cabarnet from Napa Valley, a prosecco and a champagne under that label as part of an initiative announced on Wednesday. (Sam’s already sells wine, just not under its own brands.)

The wine, along with a push to add premium, gourmet foods like olive oil from Italy and handcrafted caramels, are part of Sam’s Club’s efforts to upgrade its store brands. Costco’s Kirkland brand, which includes well regarded wines, spans a wide variety of products and generates some 20% in annual sales and is one of the key weapons Costco has used to regularly outperform Sam’s Club’s sales growth for several years.

So the initiatives are a key way for Sam’s Club is to reach a goal it shared with Fortune last year: to reach more affluent customers and raise the average household income of a Sam’s shopper to $100,000 from about $80,000, in large part by overhauling its food. That compares to about $120,000 for Costco, whose stores are heavily concentrated in West Coast urban areas and other, wealthier markets. Sam’s Club locations are often close to Walmart stores in more modest income markets.

Last year, Sam’s Club finished whittling down 21 house brands into one, Member’s Mark after finding simplicity in its branding would spur sales.

A more compelling food offering is key for Sam’s Club: it got about 59% of its $57.4 billion in revenue last year from food and rivals are upping their own grocery game.

“They pay a membership fee so they expect to find unique items,” Chandra Holt, vice president of Sam’s Club’s private brands business told Fortune in an interview, referring to customers.

The new products are the first results of a year-long effort to up its food game by hiring a complement of product developers and quality testers. Last year, Sam’s Club installed regional buying teams to source specialty fine foods and give a store in a given region more say in what it sells, a tactic successfully employed by everyone from Target to Whole Foods as grocers cater to local tastes and consumers adopt the farm-to-table way of eating.

Over the course of 2017, Sam’s Club will be introducing 300 new items, 200 of which are food items, and another 300 next year. The retailer will also be updating another 600 items this year, no small task for a retailer that offers about 2,000 kinds of items under its house brand umbrella. (All in, a Sam’s Club store offers about 6,000 different kinds of items, and about ten times that online.)

For years, Sam’s Club’s focus was to offer house brands that were on a par with brands found at any large retailer. But that hasn’t proven to be enough.

“In today’s environment, a lot of our members want better than that,” Holt said.

About the Author
Phil Wahba
By Phil WahbaSenior Writer
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Phil Wahba is a senior writer at Fortune primarily focused on leadership coverage, with a prior focus on retail.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Retail

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Retail

Mamdani’s picks sweep New York City’s congressional primaries, ousting two incumbents
PoliticsNew York
Mamdani’s picks sweep New York City’s congressional primaries, ousting two incumbents
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
a
RetailAmazon
Amazon’s record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
3 hours ago
As marketers grapple with AI, business leaders at Cannes Lions say human creativity and authenticity matter more than ever 
Europecannes lions
As marketers grapple with AI, business leaders at Cannes Lions say human creativity and authenticity matter more than ever 
By Sam BirchallJune 24, 2026
6 hours ago
Amazon Prime Day isn’t a midsummer shopping event anymore. Here’s what changed in 2026
RetailAmazon
Amazon Prime Day isn’t a midsummer shopping event anymore. Here’s what changed in 2026
By Vidhi Choudhary and Retail BrewJune 23, 2026
20 hours ago
Olympic rings at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on February 03, 2026 in Tesero, Italy.
North AmericaSports
After the Knicks and World Cup, New York is ready for another challenge: the Olympics
By The Associated PressJune 23, 2026
21 hours ago
UPS workers process boxes in a sorting facility.
North AmericaUPS
UPS is shelling out nearly $50 million on temperature-controlled facilities to meet the booming demand for GLP-1 deliveries
By Sasha RogelbergJune 23, 2026
22 hours ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
11 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
Real Estate
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
By Sydney LakeJune 22, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.