Both Walmart’s Sam’s Club and Costco have done a lot to change consumer perception of private-label, or house, brands. Costco’s Kirkland Signature and Walmart’s Member’s Mark aren’t ’70s- and ’80s-style generic, white-label brands.

Instead, while the products’ manufacturers might not be known, both warehouse clubs have established that their house brands offer both value and quality. That’s why both Costco and Sam’s Club can sell higher-end items like liquor and furniture under the Kirland Signature and Member’s Mark names, respectively. 

Costco (Kirkland Signature)

• Costco itself (via its CFO) reported that “Kirkland Signature merchandise penetration…is about 28% for the year” (excluding gas and other businesses using the Kirkland name). Source: PLMA

Sam’s Club (Member’s Mark)

• Member’s Mark is estimated to account for roughly 30% of Sam’s Club’s sales by dollar value. Source: NBC Connecticut

The numbers vary year to year, but they’re huge for both chains. Costco and Sam’s Club have made their house labels mean something, and that allows both chains to lean into those lower-cost options during tougher economic periods.

Last year, however, Walmart built something that gives it an edge over Costco.

Walmart’s Sam’s Club built a Member’s Mark club

Sam’s Club has created a way for its customers to be part of the Member’s Mark development process, the Member’s Mark Community. It shared some info about the “club” on its website. 

“Member’s Mark Community is an online community for an exclusive set of Sam’s Club members to voice their opinions on all things Sam’s Club related. Members are asked to participate in activities (surveys, chats, discussions) on a variety of topics,” it shared. 

The community gives members a say in what items Sam’s Club will offer under the Member’s Mark brand.

“At Sam’s Club, we have a long history of listening to feedback from our members and putting their needs at the center of everything we do. It’s an integral part of how we develop our Member’s Mark products, and in today’s experience economy, our approach sets us apart from other retailers in ways that deliver real value to our members,” Sam’s Club Chief Merchant Megan Crozier shared in a blog post.  

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The community, she noted, goes beyond traditional focus groups and surveys. 

Member’s Mark Community, Crozier shared, offers “true engagement that will shape the future of retail by creating more personalized experiences for our members. And this collaboration is already happening at scale, with input flowing from 50,000 active members, and we see the opportunity to include all members in the future.”

How the Sam’s Club Member’s Mark community works

Retail TouchPoints shared an example of how Sam’s Club has leveraged the Member’s Mark community.

For example, this season’s Member’s Mark grill benefited from input and product testing by community members. The retailer’s product development team identified avid grillers through a questionnaire and then distributed 20 prototypes to members in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Members tested the grills, cooking, filming and reviewing their experiences, and their feedback led to the development of a grill that included adjusted features designed to resonate with members’ needs and preferences.

Costco does not have anything similar to the Member’s Mark Community for its members. 

“The future of customer engagement is participatory as retailers and customers collaborate in commerce to create win-win experiences,” R. “Ray” Wang, CEO at Constellation Research, a Silicon Valley-based research and advisory firm, told Retail Tech Innovation Hub.

He believes that the community gives Sam’s Club a real edge over Costco.

“Sam’s Club is pushing the boundaries of retail in today’s experience economy with customer engagement strategies designed to get to the promises of collaborative commerce,” he added.

Costco’s Kirkland Signature timeline:

• 1995: Costco introduces Kirkland Signature as its exclusive private label, consolidating various in-house brands into a single identity. 
• The name “Kirkland” is chosen to honor the company’s headquarters in Kirkland, Washington.
• 1995: The first Kirkland Signature products are launched, including items like batteries, coffee, and olive oil.
• 2000s: Kirkland Signature expands its product range to include a variety of categories such as clothing, electronics, and household goods.
• 2005: Costco begins co-branding certain Kirkland Signature products with well-known manufacturers to enhance credibility and quality perception.
• 2010s: The Kirkland Signature brand becomes a significant contributor to Costco’s revenue, with estimates suggesting it accounts for approximately one-third of the company’s total sales.
• 2025: Costco celebrates the 30th anniversary of Kirkland Signature, marking three decades of success and growth for the private label.

Costco is the leader for a reason

Sam’s Club only consolidated its private labels under the Member’s Mark name back in 2017. Costco has used the Kirkland brand for 30 years and it has the system down.

Bob Amster, a retail consultant with over 45 years of experience. shared how the private label works for the warehouse club leader in comments to RetailWire. 

Costco must do constant analysis on what sells, attractive price points, then applies undeniable quality to the products and, presto, you have a successful private label brand. The Kirkland brand quality is not by any means diluted just because it is private label. In fact, in many cases I have experienced, the Kirkland brand product is as good or better, than nationally advertised brands. Ironically, private labels are not advertised yet Kirkland is the largest private label brand anywhere at an estimated $86 billion.

Brian Numainville, another member of RetailWire’s Brain Trust, has similar feelings about Costco’s success.

“I think they absolutely nailed it with consolidating everything under one brand name known for solid quality (sometimes even better than the big brands in my own experience!) I also think it is a smart move to keep the selection tight. It makes things simple and gives them more clout when negotiating with suppliers,” he shared.

Sam’s Club Member’s Mark timeline:

• 1998: Sam’s Club introduces Member’s Mark as its private label, aiming to offer members high-quality alternatives to national brands.
• 2017: Sam’s Club consolidates its 20 proprietary brands under the Member’s Mark label, streamlining its private label offerings.
• 2020-2022: The company launches, renovates, and reformulates over 1,200 Member’s Mark items, aligning with Walmart’s sustainability goals.
• 2022: Sam’s Club rebrands Member’s Mark with a new logo and the tagline “Made with Our Members and Planet in Mind,” emphasizing sustainability and quality.
• 2025 (June): Sam’s Club announces plans to eliminate over 40 artificial ingredients, including synthetic dyes and aspartame, from Member’s Mark products by the end of the year.

Source: Supermarket News

Related: Costco quietly pulls the plug on major product line members love

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“I may need to stop by my local Costco this afternoon.”

Lindsey Weedston

Posted on June 30 2025 2:52 pm CDT

Lululemon has filed a lawsuit against Costco, alleging that its Kirkland Signature brand is selling knockoff versions of the athleisure giant’s signature products at a fraction of the price. The suit references viral TikToks with the hashtag #lululemondupes as proof of brand confusion and financial harm. But the backlash online is already painting this legal move as a PR disaster, with dozens of shoppers newly discovering Costco’s cheaper alternatives…thanks to Lululemon.

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Lululemon v. Costco

Lululemon filed the lawsuit against Costco in California on June 27. Specifically, the company accused its competitor of ripping off its Scuba hoodies and sweatshirts, Define jackets, and ABC pants.

The accuser included side-by-side images of the products in question in their 49-page filing. Lululemon compared the ABC pants for men, priced at $128, to Kirkland Signature brand pants priced at just $19.90.

“There is even a hashtag ‘LululemonDupes’ on social media platforms such as TikTok that social media influencers use when promoting these copycat products,” the company pointed out.

That point is indeed true. The TikTok hashtag holds 5,211 posts under its belt as of June 30. However, the strong majority of the most popular videos feature “dupes” (short for duplicates) from Amazon rather than Costco.

Still, there are Costco videos out there. User @shopclubcostco posted a video on June 7 showing Danskin bike shorts at Costco and comparing them to Lululemon items but “without the $100 price tag.”

@shopclubcostco @Costco Wholesale has Lululemon align biker short dupes in a 2 pack!!! Only 13.99 online right now for 2 pairs!! By @Danskin #costcofinds #lululemondupe #aligndupe #bikershorts #thebestbikershorts ♬ Typing sound (keyboard) 1 minute(1006555) – LEOPARD

Lululemon has benefited from similar lawsuits in the past. Two years after suing Peloton in 2021, the two companies entered a partnership to sell branded athletic wear. Costco is well known for partnering with other companies and allowing them to sell under the Kirkland Signature brand as long as they meet certain standards.

The athleisure company could clearly use the boost. Its stock price is down 37 percent this year.

“This makes me want to go to Costco”

Lululemon might want to jump on such a partnership opportunity. Otherwise, news of this lawsuit might hurt their profits even more.

On X, where the story spread over the weekend, there were quite a few users who apparently didn’t know about the alleged Costco dupes. Now that they know, they’re eager to make a trip to the closest warehouse.

This makes me want to go to Costco and buy some clothes

Lu Lu should have stayed quiet cus I was saving up to go there https://t.co/9AKRspmFiv

— catblack (@CeyonceLooms) June 30, 2025

“This makes me want to go to Costco and buy some clothes,” said user @CeyonceLooms. “Lu Lu should have stayed quiet cus I was saving up to go there.”

“I may need to stop by my local Costco this afternoon,” wrote @phenom876 in response to a headline.

Even those who aren’t already hopping into their cars largely seem to be on Costco’s side. The big-box store has been a reliably affordable option for millions of Americans for decades and gained strong loyalty as a result. Lululemon, on the other hand, gets accused of letting their quality slip while increasing prices.

“Let me get this right,” said @soultrekkin. “Lululemon is mad at Costco because they’re making similar items at affordable prices for people? GTFOH Lululemon $128 for a pair of leggings and they’re increasing prices on items here soon.”

“Companies are allowed to sell their own brand of clothing (like Kirkland Signature),” @OhHey_ItsRay argued. “Costco isn’t marketing them as Lululemon products, because they aren’t. This is a frivolous suit. I hope $LULU fails spectacularly and that there is a big shake up in leadership after they lose millions of dollars from this epic mistake.”

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