The Must-Have Grocery Items On Costco’s CFO’s Shopping List
In February, we learned of some major changes on the horizon for Costco, which included the impending step down of longtime CFO, Richard Galanti. Starting at Costco Wholesale nearly four decades ago, Galanti came on board just as co-founders Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman opened the first warehouse location in Seattle. After a long and successful tenure in which Galanti served as the voice of the company (as well as the numbers guru) on the retailer's annual earnings calls, he's now opening up about what all that has meant to him.
Following the announcement of his upcoming departure and passing of the torch to former Kroger SVP and CFO, Gary Millerchip, Galanti sat with Progressive Grocer to talk about his esteemed career and what’s next. Amidst the questions of where he thought he would eventually be 40 years ago and what it was like being the voice of the company on earnings calls, one detail about Galanti’s life instantly stood out to us.
When asked what’s in his cart while shopping at Costco, Galanti had an answer loaded up quicker than you can say “self checkout.”
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“Well, when my wife is out of town and I’m feeding myself at home, I will buy a rotisserie chicken, shrimp cocktail and the Kirkland Signature vanilla ice cream, which is the best,” Galanti answered confidently. “I’d also get some King Crab legs if they are available, and some grapes,” he continued, “I may buy reading glasses, because I’m always losing them, but it’s okay because they are only $14 or $15 for a three pack.”
On the topic of lunch, Galanti answered just as a true Costco aficionado would, referencing the iconic $1.50 hot dog combo and the fan-favorite $4.99 rotisserie chicken. Galanti refers to the cult-following menu options as “the two quintessential items we’re known for,” concluding that “they are likely to stay the same for a while.”
As we reported in February, Galanti will be staying on as CFO until January 2025 to help usher Jeff Brotman into his new position. We will all have to wait and see what the popular bulk retailer has in store for the next four decades, however, for now, it seems as though it will be business as usual for Costco Wholesale. As for Galanti, in order to avoid boredom and having nothing to do, he’ll be sticking around as a board member and hopes to be able to continue teaching some business classes for his peers.
