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A woman who has visited more than 200 Costco stores around the world reveals the most interesting warehouses she's seen - and the 2 things they all have in common
A woman who has visited more than 200 Costco stores around the world reveals the most interesting warehouses she's seen - and the 2 things they all have in common
Shoshy CimentFeb 2, 2020, 20:26 IST
Shoshy Ciment/Business InsiderCostco has close to 800 warehouses all over the world.
Ramsey Monroe has visited 226 Costco warehouses in five countries.
She calls herself the "Costco Connoisseur" and hopes to eventually visit all 776 warehouses worldwide.
Monroe says that every Costco warehouse is different and unique, but that the Kirkland Signature brand and the general store layout is a constant in all the locations she's visited.
"I just feel at home at Costco so no matter where I am in the world, it's just comforting," she said.
For some people, Costco is just a warehouse. For others, like Ramsey Monroe, its an essential part of living.
The 36-year-old systems engineer has been to 226 Costco warehouses in five countries, including Australia, the UK, and Mexico. She documents her journey towards her goal to eventually hit all 776 warehouses on her website, as well as on her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, the last of which has over 28,000 followers.
Monroe, who calls herself the "Costco Connoisseur," started her corresponding Instagram in August 2014, shortly after starting her website, where she blogs reviews of Costco products and price comparisons. But Monroe's affinity for the warehouse chain began long before then. She went to Costco as a teenager but started shopping there for herself in her early twenties. As she traveled abroad for work or vacation, she started visiting different Costco stores that she found along the way,just for fun.
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"It kind of became a game," Monroe said. "And I just really enjoyed and looked forward to, 'Oh, there's one I haven't been to. Let's go see what's different.'"
Eventually, the hobby snowballed into a passion. Monroe now plans vacations around areas with Costco stores that she wants to see. But even though she hopes to see them all one day, she said she knows reaching her goal is probably unlikely.
"If I get to them, I get to them," she said of the warehouses she has yet to cross off her list, some of which are located in far-flung destinations like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Iceland.
Now having visited over 200 Costco stores, Monroe's title as the Costco Connoisseur is certainly fitting. She says she's developed a finer understanding of the company that has made her able to notice features a regular shopper might gloss over on a regular visit.
Monroe revealed the most interesting Costco stores she's seen and explained how she came to understand why each warehouse is unique, yet meaningfully similar in a few key ways.
"I sort of naively assumed everything was the same," Monroe said of her understanding of Costco stores in her early days as the Costco Connoisseur.
Most Costcos have a similar, no-frills warehouse layout, so it's easy to assume they all carry the same products. Monroe said that assuming this was one of her biggest mistakes early on.
"I started to realize that literally every warehouse is different and no two warehouses carry the exact same merchandise," Monroe said.
Monroe said this was evident when she visited two Costco stores in California.
"[The stores are] literally across the freeway from one another and they sell different stuff," Monroe said. "And there's things you can get at one that you can't buy at the other."
When it comes to international Costco stores, there are certain specialties that each store offers that are unique to the warehouse or region.
For Monroe, finding these unique items is part of the fun.
"Sometimes there are things that literally are only available at one Costco location and it's kind of cool to find them," she said.
In addition to item assortment, Monroe quickly realized that different elements that were present in some stores were not in others.
"There's some warehouses that have some unique attributes to them that stand out from other warehouses," Monroe said."So it's fun to go to those."
For example, the Costco in Pentagon City in Arlington, Virginia, has a chocolate shop in its bakery section.
Monroe said the chocolate shop in the Pentagon City Costco makes the Virginia warehouse store one of the more special Costcos she has visited.
People can pick up Easter bunnies, nutcrackers, Santas, and champagne bottles — all made out of chocolate, Monroe said.
The chocolate shop also produces molds of the Capitol and the Pentagon.
"It's really fun to find unique things like that," said Monroe.
The Costco Business Center in Orlando has a "Costco Market" where you can buy cheap items individually — not in bulk.
Ramsey said that this Costco Market, located in a Costco Business Center in Orlando, Florida, is a must-visit every time she is traveling nearby.
She described the Costco Market as a "Costco convenience store" where customers can pick up individually packaged items.
"I love it because you get the Costco things that you enjoy, you get this amazing price, but you dont necessarily have to walk away with a case of everything," she said. "You can get a variety."
Monroe said a Costco warehouse in Queens, New York, is located inside an old foundry for metal casting.
"It has a super unique kind of quirky layout," Ramsey said of the warehouse.
Though there are a lot of differences among Costco stores, Monroe said that there are certain constants she can always rely on, like the Kirkland Signature brand and the general layout of each store.
Costco's in-house Kirkland Signature brand is one of the defining characteristics of the warehouse store. Costco lovers constantly praise the brand for its low prices and high quality.
Monroe says she can always depend on a Costco warehouse carrying the Kirkland brand, which gives her a sense of familiarity and comfort when she's traveling abroad. She also said that the general layout of each warehouse follows a similar pattern.
"If I ever feel homesick, I can just go to Costco," Monroe said, later adding, "I just feel at home at Costco so no matter where I am in the world, it's just comforting."
