Costco Says It Plans to Keep Its Hot Dog-Soda Combo $1.50 'Forever'
Shoutout to co-founder Jim Sinegal for practically forcing the company to do so.
Earlier this year, Costco senior executive Bob Nelson shot down rumors that the retail giant had increased the price of its famously cheap hot dog-soda combo, but now, a top exec is promising to keep that number as is "forever." In a world of never-ending inflation, Costco remains a pillar of hope.
During Costco's quarterly earnings call last week, Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said the company will keep the price at $1.50—exactly what it was when first introduced in the mid-1980s, CNBC reports.
In response to a question during the Q&A portion of the call, Galanti reportedly said that the company plans to hold onto the deal "for a little longer" before quickly changing his answer to "forever."
Costco CEO Craig Jelinek has offered a similar take on the subject, previously telling 425 Business that co-founder Jim Sinegal was ardent about maintaining the original price tag.
"I came to [Sinegal] once and I said, 'Jim, we can't sell this hot dog for a buck fifty. We are losing our rear ends.' And he said, 'If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out," Jelinek said in the 2018 interview. "By having the discipline to say, 'You are not going to be able to raise your price. You have to figure it out,' we took it over and started manufacturing our hot dogs. We keep it at $1.50 and make enough money to get a fair return."