I have a running joke with a friend; we agree that if things don't work out in this journalism racket, we see our futures at Costco.

After watching "The Costco Craze" (9 tonight, CNBC), I think we need to get serious. This interesting report, reported by Carl Quintanilla, reveals a company with the kind of culture employees crave and a commitment to the kind of excellence that makes $93 billion in annual sales an understandable number.

Quintanilla explains the psychology behind members commitment to the warehouse. The store is designed to make you roam the aisles, and pick up more than you came for. And while Walmart offers 100,000 items on its shelves, Costco offers a mere 4,000. It selects for you, which also makes you want more.

The retail giant Costco Wholesale Corporation is interested in replacing southwest Cary's MacGregor Village shopping center with one of its warehouse-style stores.

Town of Cary staff have confirmed that Costco submitted a "pre-application" to the town in September.

The early documents include a conceptual plan that calls for the demolition of all the 1980s-era mall's buildings except for its bank, according to Cary's staff and mayor.

If Costco followed through on its current plans, the membership-based store would build a 147,000-square-foot store and a gas station, Costco's second facility in Wake County, at the western corner of U.S. 64 and U.S. 1, near the MacGregor Downs subdivision.-

Staff writer Andrew Kenney
 

If you're a Costco member, it's going to cost you more to shop at the popular warehouse club.

Costco announced this week that it's raising its membership fees by 10 percent next month -- just as the holiday shopping season begins.

Starting Nov. 1, members will pay $55 for a Gold Star individual membership to shop at the warehouse club for one year. An individual membership previously cost $50. Business members will also pay $5 more annually.

Pretty much everybody loves a freebie. Including me.

Take a look at what I've found in my mailbox in the last week or two:

• a full-size box of General Mills Golden Grahams Treats.
• a full-size box of General Mills Lucky Charms Treats.
• 11 coupons for $1.10/2 General Mills cereal treats.
• two coupons for full-size bottles of Pantene shampoo or conditioner, up to a maximum value of $4.99. Through some sort of glitch, I ended up getting two of these coupons on the same day.
• a two-pack of Huggies Snug & Dry diapers and a $1.50/1 coupon.
• another two-pack diaper sample from Costco.
• a Kashi TLC granola bar and a coupon for $1.50 off any Kashi product.

I don't sign up for all the freebie offers I find. But if I think we'll use it - or know someone who will - I'll take the time to sign up.

It's too late to get these freebies but new freebies are posted pretty much every day.

Here are just a few of my favorite places to score freebies:

Here are two great freebies I came across this weekend via Twitter. Since these free samples typically go quickly, I didn't want to wait until next Friday to give you the scoop:

*Choose either a free sample of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal or a free sample of a TLC Peanutty Dark Chocolate layered granola bar. Both sound good but in the end I picked the chocolate granola bar. Click here to choose your sample.

*The second offer is for a free sample of Kirkland Signature Supreme diapers. This sample is from Costco but you don't have to be a member to get it. Click here to sign up.

Developers hoping to attract a major retailer have acquired a purchase option on a site in northern Chapel Hill.

The national brand retailer would be one of two “substantial businesses” in a mixed-use project off Eubanks Road, near the Interstate 40 interchange, says Dwight Bassett, the town’s economic development officer.

“I’ve heard Target. I’ve also heard Costco,” says Aaron Nelson, president and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. “BJ’s [Wholesale Club] is the one I’ve heard most.”

Broker John Morris confirms the project would have retail, office and residential components. He won't name possible tenants.

“All of that is rumor mill at this point,” he says. “It’s going to be a very complex project. It’s going to take a while to work through the paces.”

The developers hope to bring a concept plan to the Chapel Hill Town Council in May or June, before the council breaks for summer. A concept plan is a rough outline that lets town officials give developers feedback before a formal application.
 

Read more on this in Saturday's N&O and Sunday's Chapel Hill News. And tell us what you think at editor@nando.com

If you ever think one consumer can't force change, here's a good example of a squeaky wheel.

Late Thursday, Costco Wholesale announced it had pulled a line of stuffed dolls after receiving a complaint from a member in North Carolina.

The "Cuddle with Me, Doll with Plush Monkey" line came in Caucasian, African-American and Hispanic representations. The customer complaint concerned the African-American version of the doll wearing a headband that said "Lil' Monkey" and cuddling with a stuffed monkey.

The Issaquah, Wash.-based retailer said the doll was carried only in its Northeast and Southeast regions and the company's Web site and was only for sale for a matter of days in July before it was pulled.

A number of reports and Web sites have criticized the retailer for carrying the product. Costco apologized, saying it didn't mean to carry "an item that demonstrated racial or ethnic insensitivity."

"We are sensitive to any complaint that a product we carry would cause discomfort to any segment of our membership," said CEO Jim Sinegal, in a prepared statement. "As soon as it became clear to us that this toy item was offensive to some of our members, we decided to remove it from our warehouses. We don't believe there is room for argument in matters of this type."