The estimated losses for the company were revealed in a statement from Costco’s chief financial officer (CEO), Richard Galanti, in 2015, when he said Costco was willing to sacrifice “$30 million, $40 million a year on gross margin by keeping it at $4.99.” But by 2019, Jeff Lyons, senior vice president of fresh foods, declined to tell CNN whether Costco still loses money selling the rotisserie chicken at that price.
The chicken isn’t the only item that allows customers to get a good deal and is zealously kept cheap. The co-founder of the company once threatened to kill the CEO when he wanted to raise the price of the $1.50 hotdog and soda combo. The CEO described the story of the hotdog here: