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

Trendingnow

1

Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it

2

Iran strikes 85 U.S. military sites in the Gulf, sparking a global selloff in stocks and a spike in the price of oil

3

Current price of gold as of July 8, 2026

1

Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it

2

Iran strikes 85 U.S. military sites in the Gulf, sparking a global selloff in stocks and a spike in the price of oil

3

Current price of gold as of July 8, 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

Peter Cancro shakes oregano over an open sandwich.
RetailFood and drink
Jersey Mike’s $12 billion IPO filing reveals a $50 million payday for the founder’s stepson and a $41 million jet
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 9, 2026
2 hours ago
‘Sony essentially destroys its own defense’: How its disc-free PS5 plan triggered a $457M lawsuit and  undercut its antitrust defense
LawSony
‘Sony essentially destroys its own defense’: How its disc-free PS5 plan triggered a $457M lawsuit and  undercut its antitrust defense
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 9, 2026
3 hours ago
Altman says OpenAI made ‘many changes’ during talks with U.S.
AISam Altman
Altman says OpenAI made ‘many changes’ during talks with U.S.
By Lorelei Smillie and BloombergJuly 9, 2026
3 hours ago
Starbucks taps AI to cut reliance on Microsoft, IBM software
AIStarbucks
Starbucks taps AI to cut reliance on Microsoft, IBM software
By Daniela Sirtori, Brody Ford and BloombergJuly 9, 2026
6 hours ago
PepsiCo cut chip prices to win back frustrated shoppers. The Iran war got in the way
RetailPepsiCo
PepsiCo cut chip prices to win back frustrated shoppers. The Iran war got in the way
By Dee-Ann Durbin and The Associated PressJuly 9, 2026
6 hours ago
A woman, standing in a grocery store, looks at a bag of apples.
EconomyTariffs
Trump has created a ‘trickle up’ tariff economy that means U.S. companies aren’t done hiking consumer prices over import taxes
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 9, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it
Success
Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it
By Preston ForeJuly 6, 2026
3 days ago
Iran strikes 85 U.S. military sites in the Gulf, sparking a global selloff in stocks and a spike in the price of oil
Newsletters
Iran strikes 85 U.S. military sites in the Gulf, sparking a global selloff in stocks and a spike in the price of oil
By Jim EdwardsJuly 8, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of July 8, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of July 8, 2026
By Danny BakstJuly 8, 2026
1 day ago
Mining CEO worth $24 billion nearly drowned and had to break his own leg in a freak hiking accident—he used the recovery time to go back to school
C-Suite
Mining CEO worth $24 billion nearly drowned and had to break his own leg in a freak hiking accident—he used the recovery time to go back to school
By Eleanor PringleJuly 8, 2026
1 day ago
Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI
AI
Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 5, 2026
4 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 8, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 8, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 8, 2026
1 day 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.