Millennials and Costco
The suburban, car-loving, McMansion-owning parents of millennials represent Costco’s (COST) core customer base. But what about millennials themselves?
As far as retail success stories go, few can compete with Costco’s run in recent years. In surveys, customers routinely weigh in on how much they love the Costco shopping experience, and the company’s unique business model is celebrated in TV documentaries and glowing magazine profiles alike.
But the fact that in early March Costco reported lower-than-expected earnings and its stock price has slumped now has some wondering if the company can stay on its hot growth streak going forward. In particular, concern is being raised that Costco’s membership model and its bulk-goods products don’t appeal to the nation’s young consumers—and that the Costco experience might not be a good match for the millennial generation even after they grow older and have families.
When it comes to retailing, big is not so beautiful anymore. Weak sales, online competition and changing consumer habits have big-box chains looking to downsize. 
The United States exported more goods and services in March than in any single month in its history: $172.7-billion (U.S.) worth. It was the country’s 21st consecutive month of rising exports, pushing the year-over-year increase to 20.9 per cent. In these 12 record-setting months, exports reached within one-tenth of 1 per cent of $2-trillion – more than four times the cost of the country’s imports of crude oil. This is significant. People are starting to take notice. Markets writer Joseph Lazzaro (on the Daily Finance website) anticipates that the U.S. up-trend in exports could last for years and turn its intractable trade deficit into a surplus. More dramatically, Boston