A row of shopping carts outside a Costco Wholesale store
Getty/Martin Rickett – PA Images
Some Christmas trees sold at Costco this year are trees from last year that came in after Christmas.
The trees were delivered late because of supply chain issues, and Costco has kept them all year.
Costco’s chief financial officer said last year’s trees are cheaper than trees it ordered this year.
If you buy a Christmas tree from Costco this year, there’s a chance it’s a tree from last season.
In the company’s latest earnings call, Costco CFO Richard Galanti said Christmas trees are part of the company’s “deep freeze” inventory from last year. Due to supply chain issues, the trees in stock are ones that came in after Christmas.
The Christmas trees at Costco range in cost from $150 to $400, according to Galanti.
“If you add in the cost of holding them and a little cost of interest, I think they’re still a little cheaper than the ones we added to the inventory this year,” Galanti said.
Galanti said keeping the Christmas trees to sell this year didn’t “hurt” the company in any way except that it doesn’t “like to have extra inventory.”
Previously, Costco executive Bob Nelson has said that despite “historically high inflation,” the company isn’t raising its membership fee for now. He has also reassured people that Costco is not raising the price of its $1.50 hot dog and soda combo.
Costco, like most retailers this year, hasn’t been immune to raising costs amidst inflation. Unlike its popular hot dog and soda combo, it raised the prices of two of its food court items — the chicken bake and the 20-ounce soda — this summer.