Sam’s Club is a members-only division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. that caters
to suburban grocery shoppers and small businesses. Membership to the club
entitles you to shop at any one of 500-plus Sam’s Club warehouse-style
stores across the U.S. for discounted brand-name items ranging from fresh
food and clothes to electronics, auto supplies and home furniture.
The
merchandise is often sold in bulk and economy sizes to ensure the
high-volume sales needed to sustain a business with low profit margins. In addition, members are eligible to purchase services at discounted or
group rates, including:
AOL internet service
auto repair insurance
a personal credit account
yellow pages advertising
printed checks
dental and health insurance
long distance phone service
mail-order pharmaceuticals
software training
package travel deals
access to boat and auto buying programs.
Joining the Club can be done at two levels: basic memberships are sold to valid city/state businesses, licensed professionals
and the public; these regular memberships can be upgraded to a Plus
Membership for additional benefits like roadside assistance and lower
premiums on dental and health insurance. Standard memberships are about $35 per year, while Plus memberships cost $100 a year.
Sam’s Club, its parent company, Wal-Mart, and its main competitor, Costco,
Inc., belong to a group of nationwide chain stores commonly referred to as
“big-box” retailers; these big-box stores offer a wide range of products and have
immense dimensions. A typical Sam’s Club warehouse
encompasses between 110,000 and 130,000 square feet (10,300 – 12,000 square meters) of concrete floors and floor-to-ceiling steel racks stacked with merchandise.