Hello, and welcome to the Annual Shareholders Meeting of Tresco Wholesale Corporation. This meeting is being recorded. There will be a general question and answer session after the formal meeting adjourns. Shareholders that have logged in with a control number Some of the comments today may contain forward looking statements. Additional information about this is included among your meeting materials available on your screen.
It is now my pleasure to turn the meeting over to Tony James, Chairman of the Board of Directors of COSCO.
Thank you, Anne, and good afternoon, everyone. I want to welcome you to the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders for Costco. I'm Tony James, Chairman of the Board, And this is our 1st virtual stockholders meeting. Before we get started, I want to make a few other introductions. John Sullivan, our Corporate Secretary, will act as secretary for this meeting.
Deanna Nakashima, Acting as Inspector of Election, we'll be counting ballots and reporting on the final vote. I will now introduce our terrific Board of Directors, All of whom are present virtually today. Sue Decker. Sue is Founder and CEO of an exciting startup around engagement of college students called Rafter. Previously, she was President of Yahoo!
Sue also sits on the Board of Berkshire Hathaway and Other Noteworthy Companies. Ken Denman. Ken is a leading technology executive. He was formerly CEO of Emotion, which was acquired by Apple. Ken sits on several other corporate boards and is a trustee of the University of Washington Business School.
Richard Galanti, our long standing CFO. Richard is truly one of the best in the business and he is a former Director of the Federal Reserve Bank San Francisco. Craig Jelnik, our fantastic CEO, who needs no introduction here. We'll all hear more from Craig in just a few minutes. Sally Jewell.
Sally is our newest Director. She was formerly CEO of The Nature Conservancy. Prior to that, she was Secretary of the Interior in the Obama Administration and previously CEO of Cult Retailer REI Charlie Munger, another person who needs no introduction. Charlie is Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett's alter ego. Charlie is renowned for his wisdom And his acerbic wit.
Jeff Raikes. Jeff is Co Founder of the Raikes Foundation. Previously, Jeff was CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a Senior Executive at Microsoft. John Stanton, Another of Seattle's leading lights, John was a pioneer of the wireless industry as CEO of Western Wireless and of T Mobile USA. He is the Director of Microsoft and Managing Partner of the hometown Seattle Mariners.
Maggie Wilderroder, Formerly CEO of Frontier Telecom, Maggie was one of the few women CEOs of a Fortune 500 company. She is currently a Director of several noteworthy public companies And has served as a Director on a number of other boards, including many of the most prominent companies in America. And finally, our Director Emeritus, Rick Levinson. Rick was one of the creators of the warehouse club industry And has been a key advisor to the company for over 25 years. Okay.
On to business. We're going to do the formal part of the meeting first. I hope to make that efficient and relatively brief. Then we will turn it over to Craig to give his presentation on the state of the company, After which, we will open it up to questions. The polls are still open and will close shortly.
Shareholders who held shares As of the record date for this meeting, you are entitled to vote. If you have already voted your shares, there is no need to vote again, unless you wish to change your vote. If you would like to vote your shares or change your vote, you may do so while the polls are open by following the instructions on your screen. The record date for the meeting was the close of business on November 12, 2020. Each shareholder of record on November 12 mailed a notice of availability of proxy statement on or about December 10.
The proxy statement was posted on our corporate website on December 10. Affidavits of mailing and posting of these materials will be attached to the minutes of this meeting. A complete list of shareholders of record entitled to vote is available for your inspection through the link on your meeting page. This list will be kept open for inspection during the entire meeting. To conduct business, we need a quorum And a quorum for this meeting is a majority of the shares entitled to vote.
The Inspector of Election has reported that we do indeed have a quorum today. I will now review the various items which were put up for shareholder votes and the preliminary results of the voting. Preliminary vote totals for the 7 individuals nominated as directors show that all have received substantially in excess of a majority of the shares voting. Accordingly, the nominees have all been reelected as directors. Preliminary vote totals for the other two proposals, The say on pay and ratification of the selection of auditors also show both receiving substantially in excess of a majority of shares voting.
These proposals both passed also. That concludes our official business. The polls are declared closed and the Inspector of Election will tabulate the votes. The final results will be reported In our 8 ks, which will be filed shortly. As Chair of the meeting, I declare the official meeting adjourned.
Thank you all. I would now like to introduce our CEO and President, Craig Jelnick. Following his presentation, Craig will address questions and comments from shareholders for approximately 30 minutes. Please remember, only shareholders are permitted to ask questions and make comments. Shareholders that have logged in with a control number may submit a question at any time by clicking on the Submit Question button on your screen.
And please keep your questions and comments brief because we want everyone to get a chance to get theirs in. Others Who have comments are free to address them after the meeting in writing to the Corporate Secretary. Craig, take it away.
Good afternoon. I'd like to welcome everyone to the Costco 2021 Shareholders' Meeting, our first virtual shareholder meeting. Another first of many things this past year due to events surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. As the virus pandemic swept the globe and significantly impacted all of our lives, Costco was designated as an essential business. We took this responsibility seriously.
In time of uncertainty and panic, we went all out to try to maintain Adequate supplies of necessities, including food, cleaning products and personal care items. In our warehouses, we installed protective barriers and increased sanitation. In addition, we established social distancing protocols and face covering policies, Created special operating hours for high risk individuals and first responders and donated surgical masks to healthcare workers. In order to reward our employees for their service in difficult times, we temporarily increased spending for wages and benefits. These increases are still in place.
Since our last meeting, we've all experienced an extraordinary year. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our Costco employees, especially those on the front lines of our warehouses, Whose exemplary service to members, dedication to the company and support of one another have truly demonstrated excellence. I also thank Costco members around the world for their loyal support and trust in our business. Together, we've made it through this trying year, And we will tackle the future with strength and optimism. Over a year's time, the investment community has responded positively To our efforts, we feel fortunate to have the support of our shareholders.
The following presentation shares some highlights from the past fiscal year. After the presentation, we will allow time for questions, which shareholders are welcome to submit throughout the presentation. Thanks again to our employees, our members, suppliers and shareholders for being part of what made Costco successful This past year, I'm very proud to be associated with all of our valued stakeholders.
Quarantine while an interesting tidbit is making the rounds online about Costco, which has charged $1.50 for its iconic hotdog and soda combo Since 1985, Costco hasn't changed their hotdog price since 1985. Big whoop. 711 hasn't changed their hotdog since 1972.
All right. Chloe, name 3 things you love to buy at Costco.
Oh my god, cereal, toilet paper and A vacuum? I buy a lot of vacuum. Yes.
How often do you go to the Costco?
My mom and I are obsessed with Costco. Really? Love Costco. Yes. Oh my God, first person there.
I put on Instagram, my Instagram page that I'm now a big girl and got And I said, what do I need to buy? The amount of responses was un
You got a lot. A lot of people had opinions.
People Want me to get all the things.
I found that at Costco, they always know that I like the crab legs. Always.
They really do have the products that people want. And they have the balance sheet and they have the market share. And I also think their global business and global growth opportunities are real. I think they're underappreciated. I think they can grow globally 2% to 3% a year in terms of their store base.
And I don't think that's really factored in.
The international story is unbelievable. You'd remember, they had to close the China story while they open because there was such demand. To be disappointing Costco is to be disappointed in the best retailer in the world. But what I really love about Costco is the wide aisles and the fact that they were the first ones to say mass. Now they were very worried when they said, you know what, We're going to make the people who work here and we're going to make the people who customers, David, wear a mask, okay?
Well, you know what happened? They ended up gaining share because people like to shop in a healthy environment.
But Costco has been ahead on this for years. They pay the most and they have the most generous benefits as well, don't they, Jim?
And that's why when you go to Costco, you see the same associates And you always have the same managers and you can talk to them and suggest this or suggest that. Look, I once said, look, I went to my manager, I think that your roasts are the best roasts I've ever had. So then you're going back to the next time, it's like, hey, are you going to get a roast again? I mean, it's the kind of thing, it doesn't David, it doesn't happen. Think about what they build here based on the fact that they pay top wages.
Yes. Chamber of Commerce members say Costco has been one of the most anticipated openings ever in the Bismarck area.
After the ribbon was cut, But in the 151,000 Square Foot Warehouse, shoppers Are confident that they can find what they need and more. And what do you
all come out with today?
Way more than what I went in for.
Today, the First Nation of Tsuut'una marked the opening of the 1st Costco to be built on a First Nation. First Nations members say they're excited about the opportunities and so
This is a celebration for Tsujina, Tsujina people, It's neighbors and our council.
I think more than anything it will open up this community to people.
We really welcome Costco and we really want to see success for you and for our community.
Costco isn't just a store. It's an ecosystem.
My mom is a master of Costco. She even bought curtains there, And she gets gas there. She's embedded in the whole Costco ecosystem.
The most loyal consumers have been dedicating more and more share of wallet Towards Costco, so they might have started with household goods and then they went into grocery, then they started buying appliances Before they know they were getting all of their furniture from Costco. And now you see a lot of people also
Costco plays by the golden rule. You treat your suppliers and employees well,
I was at my nephew's 5th birthday party Last weekend. Thank you for that round of indifference. And my The kids are playing in the backyard, the parents are sitting on the patio and all of a sudden my sister comes out With this huge vat of Kirkland vanilla ice cream. And the first thing that popped into my head was, Can I eat something with the same brand name as the underwear I currently have on?
We ended the year with 7 95 Costcos globally, Which included 13 new openings this year. One of the problems we had with new openings, we've always tried to get to about 20 buildings. With the pandemic this year, it was very difficult to get things accomplished. Currently, right now, at this day, we have 803 Costcos. Some of the buildings we opened are 1st building in Mississippi, Richland, Mississippi.
Perth, this was our 12th building in Australia, Which is also our largest volume building that we have in Australia. This one's about 3,000 miles away from the rest of the buildings, Which is on the West Coast of Australia. Sacramento Business Center, we opened this year. We currently have 22 business centers. We continue to see big opportunities in growing our business centers.
Our 3rd building in Spain, Los Rosas, which is in Madrid, And we see a good opportunity to continue to expand in Spain. Kisarasu, Japan, this was our 20 7th building in Japan that we opened up this year, we will continue to expand in Japan. Idaho Falls, Our building that we opened up in Idaho this year to help us fill out that market Bismarck, North Dakota St. Hubert Business Center in Quebec. This was our 2nd business center in the Canadian market.
Midland, Michigan, which is right in Saginaw, Michigan, one of the new buildings we put in that market And North Taichung, Taiwan, this is our 14th building in Taiwan. Other openings Ontario Business Centre, Saratoga Springs, Utah, which was our 11th building in Utah Southwest Calgary, Alberta, which was our 7th building in Alberta, Canada Cherry Hill, New Jersey Champaign, Illinois San Jose Business Center Meridian, Idaho, which was our 3rd building in the Boise market And Plainfield, Illinois to round out the new buildings that we opened up this year. Costco today, we're the 3rd largest global retailer, 14th largest in the Fortune 500, we currently have a market cap as of January 8 of $164,000,000,000 The year we just finished in 2020, our biggest year, dollars 163,000,000,000 We currently have 117,000,000 square foot of CellSpace and currently now we have 275,000 employees worldwide. As I told you earlier, we started with 803 warehouses worldwide, 14 in Taiwan. I won't go and read them all.
You can certainly see them on the slide. Today, 59,000,000 member households, 107,000,000 cardholders, 88% worldwide renewal rate in our company And currently have $3,500,000,000 in membership fees each year. 20 highlights, record sales and earnings, 8% comp sales increases, Exceptional teamwork, as you know, with the COVID-nineteen pandemic navigating through this. We grew our e commerce at 50%, Which delivery was a key to serve our members. We acquired Innivel, which is now Costco Logistics, to improve our last mile delivery.
We improved documentation and implementation of social and environmental processes in our operations. Our fiscal year, dollars 163,000,000,000 net income, dollars 4,000,000,000 earnings per share, dollars 9.02 Our first quarter was a very good quarter for us with the pandemic, dollars 42,347,000,000 Net income of $1,166,000,000 with $2.62 a share compared to $1.90 last year. As you can see, our traffic has been very strong since 2017. We took a hit in 2020 Because of COVID and the closures, we had a lot of markets that we had to monitor how many individuals came into the building, they could shop. It was a very difficult year for shopping retail.
But this year, the Q1, our traffic was up 5.5%. So We see brick and mortar being strong and stable and continuing to move forward. Some key highlights. TVs were a very big year for us. Last year, particularly with the pandemic and people staying at home, 14% increase over the previous year.
Computers, again, very big for us this year. I think that had to do a lot with people at home working from home, up 53% for fiscal 2020. Another interesting thing, I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing with the pandemic, but one of the biggest increases we've ever had And beer, wine and spirits up 17% over last year. Our produce business very strong, With the closure of a lot of restaurants, up 16%. We're currently sourcing from 44 countries.
Our meat department, significant growth, up 21%. One of the areas that we just continue to grow, if you could Over the years, our prime beef now, dollars 570,000,000 continuing to grow, up 34% from the previous years Our service deli, 101,000,000 rotisserie chickens, sold globally last year. One of the reasons that we've been able to keep in stock in these chickens and continue to maintain our price, we opened up our own poultry complex This year in Fremont, Nebraska, 432 Acres site and we're processing over 2,000,000 chickens per week. Some merchandise highlights, a lot of new brands this year, Husqvarna, Wolverine, All Clad, Vicki Freeman, just to name a few. We continue to always look for new brands that we can bring value to And more and more we're getting some of these brands that want to sell to us because of the amount of traffic we're generating in our buildings.
Some examples, Clipsearch Premium Audio become a very big supplier for us, all very high end audio equipment. The surround sound system, dollars 899.99 the channel surround sound system, dollars 449.99 All premium audio equipment. LG Electronics sales for 2020, 41%. Again, with Innovell, we continue to be a big opportunity to deliver appliances, large TVs, and this has become a very big supplier for us. Another new item, we've talked about this over the last couple of years, our Kirkland Signature Golf Ball new version, dollars 24.99 for 24 balls, Savings of 74%.
With the success that we've had with our golf ball, we've decided to get a little bit bigger into Some other golf items, Kirkland Signature 3 Piece Wedge Set, sale price $159.99 that's a 67% Savings in the market to brands and our KS putter, which has also been a very big item for us, dollars 139.99 Which is a 65% savings in the market. I encourage if any of you like to golf, look into these products. Beauty, we're always trying to improve our beauty business with our member Perricone no makeup mascara, dollars 29.99 Buttered London 4 Piece Nail Set, dollars 1999. Other items that we were able to bring value Alaska Airlines $500 gift card for $449.99 Uber Eats, which was very popular with delivery, $2.50 cards for $79.99 Costco online with the pandemic And our delivery has also continued to be a big business for us with great opportunities, particularly in larger type items. Our websites worldwide, U.
K, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, U. S, Canada, Mexico, We will continue to expand in these markets with more items and look at other countries where we do business. Some of the things we're trying to accomplish with our strategy with Costco Online, we want to complement our warehouse business, convenience of big and bulky purchases, Delivery and installation available. We've expanded our grocery online 2 day business, same day fresh delivery and expand the Costco Treasurer Hunt. Some of the unique items, and I know this looks a little pricey, Japanese Wagyu 8 6 ounce fillets for $629.99 You wouldn't want to have a steady diet of that, I don't think.
Our Grand Traditions basket, This is £20 of imported chocolates, high end import chocolates and European cookies and crackers And Pursuita leg kit £12,219.99 very popular items this holiday season. Other treasure hunt online business, we've got a Babe Ruth baseball, autograph baseball for $64,000 We're offering a Ty Cobb Autograph Louisville Slugger bat for $160,000 Other great items, Diamond solitaire ring, 1 of a kind, dollars 170,000 1.5 carat diamond solitaire, as you can see, dollars 24,000 And the diamond stud earrings, dollars 118,000 all very exciting items that we have online. Our grocery online business, we actually have 2 member options. In the U. S, we have same day all groceries including fresh and household supplies Through Costco Grocery, can be delivered same day with a partnership and Instacart.
And then we have a 2 day, which is non perishable Food and household supplies, which currently we have in Canada, U. K, Taiwan, Korea, Australia and Japan. We will be starting other countries on same day during the next year. Costco Logistics, we closed the purchase of this in March of 2020, Which is basically the same time that things got interesting with the virus. We bought this from Transform, which is Sears.
The strategy was to drive our e commerce business. We're going to be the best in class in delivery and installation experience for our members, Faster delivery at a better price. We found that we can expand offerings to other categories, I. E, we're doing water heaters or Look at other possible items, riding lawnmowers, improve value to our members, which was really how we run our business. What we've created is a big and bulky in cart scheduler.
The member has the ability to schedule delivery when you buy it, 3 to 5 day scheduled delivery. We're currently in 50 states plus Puerto Rico. We think we can be more efficient and reduce contacts to order. And Again, we're going to expand the service level to White Glove. Just to show some of the success we've had, Our major appliances fiscal sales 44%.
You've got the scheduler self select delivery date at checkout. We have quick ship serve the need it now market. This has really helped our major appliance business and we see a big opportunity moving forward with this. Furniture year round with this delivery service, just some example, Thomasville dining set, dollars 9.99 And Tisdale modular sectional, dollars 10.99 all with white glove delivery and setup. Exercise year round, which has been a very big category for us this year with all the gyms and things being closed down, Treadmill $7.99 delivered indoor pro form a cycle patio year round, just an example, Pergolas delivered in 3 days, furniture sets delivered in 3 days, dollars 2,299 and the patio set delivered, 17.99 Pergola delivered in 2 days.
Our business centers, as I told you earlier, We see a big opportunity with business centers. We currently have 21 in the U. S. And 2 Canadian locations With 4 more to be opened in 2021. Just an example of our second business center that we opened up in Canada and Quebec.
Our pharmacies, 48,500,000 prescriptions filled last year globally. One of the things that we've added this year is a Costco app. You can go in, you can schedule flu shots, COVID vaccination appointments In other health clinics, view list of medications for your family and pets, request refills, check on status of your prescriptions. You have the ability with this to also transfer your prescription from another pharmacy to Costco. Optical, 5,900,000 pairs of glasses sold globally.
1 of the businesses that struggled a little bit this year It's a hearing aid business, 516,000 units sold globally still a big business, but with the pandemic people have been a little until there's a vaccination coming in and having their hearing tested. Our food court, although it was difficult During the year with no seating, 151,000,000 hotdog and soda combos sold globally. Our gasoline business Still did $14,000,000,000 in sales, which was slightly down from last year because of the stay at home orders, But it's starting to come back as we speak. Tire Center, 8,800,000 tires sold globally. Our financial position, cash and short term investments, dollars 14,000,000,000 property and equipment, dollars 22,000,000,000 Long term, short term debt $7,000,000,000 stockholders' equity $14,800,000,000 We initially made our first dividend in 2,004 At $0.40 per year, we're currently at $2.80 per year.
Our growth rate is 13% per year And we pay out annually of $1,200,000,000 and also as you know 4 specials in the last 8 years. Our last special dividend, as you know, we announced November 2020. We paid in 2020 December. It was $10 per share of $4,400,000,000 Stock repurchase since inception, which we started in 2,005, $9,200,000,000 total expenditure. We've retired 131,000,000 plus shares at an average cost of $70.11 We purchased $198,000,000 in fiscal 2020 on average of $308.45 a share.
I talked about we always wanted to get 20 plus buildings a year expansion. We had a hiccup last year and we're back with this year in 2021, We should open up 22 new Costcos. So our plan is just to continue to grow the business both internationally and in the U. S. Sustainability, very important to us.
You can also go on our website if you choose and look at all the updates that we're going to have moving forward. But we're committed to the environment as we should be. There's 4 pillars. 1, as we've always done, take care of our employees. If you look at our employees, 275,000 employees worldwide, Premium benefits paid, industry leading compensation, someone after 10 years is making almost $29 an hour.
Benefits for full time and part time employees, including leave, childcare for COVID, 91% of our employees are eligible in the U. S, 97% are enrolled and we have a stable workforce. 36% of our employees have 10 years less and our turnover is less than 7% After 1 year, we're very proud of that. Diversity, we certainly have a long way to go, but we strive to have a diverse workforce It represents the communities where we do business and we are committed to continue to improve on this. Our commitment to the communities where we do business, 1% of pre tax profit donated every year, over $48,000,000 in 20 20, United Way Red Cross Children's Hospital.
We made an investment this year of $25,000,000 to the Black Economic Development Fund. We're also feeding America 56,000,000 families fed. At World Vision, we donated $80,000,000 in merchandise. Our operations remain efficient, low cost operators. We're going to reduce energy, water, waste and emissions, which is really just good business adopted climate action plan to reduce carbon footprint, we have a 4 year plan Sustainable construction refrigeration efficiencies and efficiencies in distributing goods.
And also not only is this the right thing to do, But again, there's a payback in trying to do all these things in terms of controlling your expenses. Commitment to merchandise Ensure supply of high quality merchandise at competitive prices. That's where we'll continue to sustain our business. We respect human rights around the world, Animal welfare and fisheries, Kirkland Signature products and programs to make sure they're all sustainably sourced, adopt forest Conservation commitment and manage environmental impact in packaging. Our commitment is to reduce packaging, Additional £2,600,000 of plastic we reduced in 2020.
We converted £6,000,000 of single use food service packaging To compostable items, we increased recycled content in our packaging, and we're going to increase recyclability and compostability. And we need to educate our employees, our suppliers and our members. Our company annual growth, we're always very proud of this, Since 1985, net sales 12%, net income 13%, our stock price has appreciated at 17% a year Compared to the S and P of 8.8%. We'll start answering your questions. Well, once we get the different approvals from the different governments to Be able to get the vaccine, we will start distribution and set up our Scheduling where you can go online and schedule your appointment.
We're currently doing this in Alaska, In New York, parts of California, in certain states, we have not gotten much any vaccine yet To start on the vaccinations based on certain tiers that the government has established in each state and county.
Craig, can you comment on how our Shanghai location is doing and our plan for future expansion in China?
We're very pleased with Shanghai. As you know, that was our first building that we opened up in the China market, we currently have 2 more, Shuzhou in China and Pudong, which is also in the Shanghai market, we will open Suzhou this December And, Pudong, December of 'twenty two, it's a long construction process over in China based on the complexity Building the Buildings, but we continue to look for sites in China and feel very positive about expansion in China.
Can you talk about supply chain challenges that the company faced in 2020 and how those are expected to continue in 2021?
Well, as you know, with COVID, that certainly put a damper on Everything in terms of being able to shop, being able to purchase goods, in terms of distribution of goods, A lot of factories could not work at full scale because of the COVID and they didn't have people and also social distancing. So getting goods was a big problem in 2020 and also with things like certain paper products like toilet paper, towels, That was very difficult just from the demand and all these manufacturers, not only were they short of people, but they're also working at full capacity. And we continue to think we're going to see this particularly in some of the transportation issues in non food for part of this year. But we'd hope by the end of calendar 2022 that excuse me, the calendar of 2021 that things would be back to some type of
How are Costco employees faring during the pandemic?
Well, it's been we've certainly had our share of positives. We don't believe that that's necessarily Happened in the workplace. We have given plenty of we've Paid a higher premium for people during COVID. We've allowed people 65 and over for a period of time To stay at home and be compensated, we're doing work from home for a lot of our employees in the main office. So it's been a difficult year and it's been a difficult year for our employees who also have Children in school and have to work at the same time.
So we've tried to also help navigate with our Working employees that have to deal also with self education at home. But I think for the most part, We've certainly our employees have risen to the occasion and navigated through this thing and we hope with the vaccination we see light at the end of the tunnel. As you might have read, we've had 2 buildings where we had quite a few positives. One was in Sunnyvale, California. We don't necessarily know that that happened in the workplace, but that building came in and the health Department came through and tested all of our employees.
They're back to normal. And we also had one in Union Gap, Which is Yakima, Washington, where we had a very high rise of positive COVID. We've also completely worked through that. The health department did give us a cleaner bill of health the way we are running our business, And we currently now have everybody back to work and everybody is tested negative.
What's happening with curbside delivery at Costco?
We are currently testing that in just one market. We're Testing out in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And we've been doing it now for 2 weeks. And one of the reasons that we decided to try it Because we got ourselves in a situation where the local government chose to cut down capacity To something like, I believe, 75 people coming in, including your employees. So we're testing it there, mixed results.
The jury is out to see What will if we will really do anything with that business going further?
What is Costco doing to address climate change?
Well, That's very important to us. If you look, probably the best way To talk about that, I guess if you went and looked at our recently sustainability commitment, if you go on our website, It's a goal of ours to reduce emissions and we've got a 10 point plan to get there, focusing on emissions as well as Bender, I understand the emissions of our suppliers. So I encourage you to we are reporting it and you'll see it online. And if you go on to our website, you'll see everything that we're trying to accomplish.
How have your sales of pet items fared during the pandemic and what do you see for the future there?
Well, Pet has continued to be a growing business for us, not only with the pet Category in terms of toys, in terms of pet beds, but also even the pet meds. That's become a big category for us, particularly in the, I guess, for better choice of words, I'm going to say as furnishings. The pet food has always been strong, but with all the other toys and things like that, beds, we see a big opportunity to continue to grow that business.
What's happening with the photo departments at Costco?
Well, over the last Probably 5 years, we've gradually closed down our photo labs. And with technology and people storing things On their phones, it's become a non profitable business for us. So we've made the decision to better utilize our space And these buildings for other categories. That being said, you'll still have availability to do things online And pickup at the warehouse.
Do part time workers at Costco receive health benefits? And if so, how do they qualify?
Yes, they do allow get benefits. Anybody working over 27 hours a week are entitled to Benefits at Costco. I think on we have roughly 97% Our employees eligible for benefits and I think 91% of them choose to take those benefits.
Does COSCO plan to source more products from the U. S. And Canada rather than other countries such as China?
We would love to continue to look for we're always trying to find local products in every place that we do business now. That being said, it's much easier with the food and sundries type business than it is for non food. To the That we can find non food suppliers that can create a quality item with value, we would continue to move in that direction. Keep in mind, a lot of products that are put together in the United States are usually coming with come out of China. So it's a difficult situation.
What's the plan for allowing members To see online the inventory levels at their local warehouses?
That's probably one of The biggest questions or frequent questions that I get asked, we need to get there. I think we're Probably about a year out from being able to get that done, but that is a goal of ours to accomplish that.
Are you concerned that member usage of 3rd party delivery services such as Instacart And their ability to do so without a Costco membership will hurt Costco membership in the future?
Well, keep in mind, Instacart is a business, it's a 3rd party business. Instacart is actually A has a membership, so they have the ability to shop for their business. That being said, if you choose to use Instacart through them you'll pay at least a 10% to 12% higher premium to get your goods delivered. It makes more sense for the person buying through Instacart to do it through Costco and have a Costco membership.
What is Costco doing to make available more meat alternative items in its warehouses?
Well, we continue to look at grass fed products, although that is beef. And we continue to look for impossible before selling in some of our locations. It has mixed results depending on the market, but we are continuing to look at alternatives.
What is Costco doing to address the issue of forced labor in supply chains from China and other countries?
We take our code of conduct very seriously and We do many audits, not only our suppliers make sure that they're doing audits, but we also as a company do audits And obviously pre COVID, we also had individuals from Costco going through these And we also have the ability for a whistleblower line for anybody to bring this To our attention and we address these, we take these very seriously and we will deal with it accordingly, including if necessary, If known to happen, we will discontinue the supplier.
What is the status of Self checkout at Costco Warehouses.
Well, we're currently doing self checkout and I want to say in about, I'm going to guess it's 250 locations and we continue to move it forward. So It's something that's going to be here for a period of time until we find better technology to get people in and out of our Cascos.
Has Costco considered opening a location in Israel?
That's not something that we have thought about. We have enough on our plate right now with Europe And Asia and the United States, Australia, we are venturing out to New Zealand and but I wouldn't say never, but I don't see it in the near future.
What are the big challenges you see for the company in the coming year?
Well, I think we certainly still have to navigate COVID and supply chain and you know about your business, it's all about people. It's important that we keep not only our members healthy and our employees safe and healthy, our members healthy and Continue to work with our suppliers to make sure that we have supply of goods. I guess, I'll check with our host. Is that in on questions?
That's all the questions we're going to address today. And questions that were posed but not answered will be
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.