Head of Costco (Company-Wide, Global)

Location: New York (preferred) • Hybrid

Reports to: Chief Commercial Officer (dotted lines to Divisional Presidents)

Scope: U.S. Costco + CA/UK/JP/KR/MX

Core systems: Circana (Costco sales portal), EDI/ASN, PLM/ERP, BI

Role Summary

Lead the enterprise Costco strategy and operating model across divisions while

divisions retain product ownership. This role improves outcomes over time by

building strong account leadership, disciplined execution, clear commercial guardrails,

and superior visibility into sell-through—recognizing that Costco is item-driven,

merchant-led, and inherently volatile.

Responsibilities

• Own the global Costco relationship and ensure a one-voice approach across

divisions for U.S. and CA/UK/JP/KR/MX.

• Build and drive an annual Global Joint Business Plan (JBP) by category and

region, including rotations vs. flow, price points, Costco.com extensions, and exit

approaches.

• Negotiate global commercial terms and discounts with Costco management,

aligning funding and guardrails to shared goals (fast sell-through, clean exits,

fewer markdowns).

• Establish and run a company-wide Costco operating cadence (weekly Costco

Council, monthly performance reviews, seasonal line-review calendars) and

ensure clear follow-up and accountability.

• Implement a practical stage-gate process for Costco programs (concept →

costing/pack → commitment → production → launch/exit), with clear milestones

and owners across divisions.

• Continuously improve profitability using controllable levers: IMU engineering,

cost/pack optimization, logistics and TI/HI improvements, promo ROI discipline,

returns reduction, packaging savings, chargeback prevention, and exit-cost

management.

• Serve as the internal owner of Circana, ensuring consistent reporting, adoption,

and integration into decision-making; monitor sell-through and inventory by

item/region/.com and convert insights into actions with divisional teams.

• Set and enforce packaging, compliance, and pallet standards appropriate for

Costco globally (ticketing/labeling, testing requirements, pallet cards, pack

architecture), improving first-pass yield and reducing rework.

• Partner with Customer Supply Chain to deliver strong service levels: OTIF, fill

rate, ASN/EDI accuracy, DC flow, and shortage/chargeback prevention and

recovery.

• Treat warehouse and Costco.com as distinct businesses; ensure content

readiness and fit/returns guardrails for eComm extensions.

• Support international growth by localizing sizing, compliance, seasonality,

packaging, and operating rhythms across CA/UK/JP/KR/MX.

• Maintain alignment with division leaders: divisions own design and product

development; this role provides guardrails, visibility, and coordination—escalating

only when compliance, margin integrity, or service risk requires it.

Measures of Success (volatility-aware)

• Improved global Costco sales and repeatable rebuys/lineage on winning items,

with transparent variance management versus plan.

• Gross margin/IMU improvement versus baseline over time, with disciplined

promo funding and controlled exit costs.

• Strong service performance (OTIF high-90s, fill rate near 99%) and sustained

reduction in shortages/chargebacks.

• High adoption of Circana insights (weekly actions tied to sell through/availability), enabling faster course-correction.

• Packaging/compliance execution with high first-pass yield and minimal rework or

in-market issues.

• International expansion (CA/UK/JP/KR/MX) growing as a meaningful share of the

Costco business with on-time launches.

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years in wholesale/apparel or consumer with club or big-box scale;

experience spanning account leadership plus operations (packaging, supply

chain, and retailer compliance).

• Proven ability to negotiate commercial frameworks and improve profitability in a

retailer-led model.

• Strong working knowledge of Costco processes, service expectations, and data-driven selling; fluency with Circana(or comparable retailer portal/scan-data

tools).

• Analytical, process-oriented leader who can influence across dotted lines and

align multiple divisions without taking over product creation.

Travel

~25–40% including periodic travel to CA/UK/JP/KR/MX, key Costco meetings, and

DC/vendor visits.