Costco gets at a core American value, but it's not communism. It's the DIY, bootstraps attitude that Americans love. You get a deal but you basically shop from a warehouse that was built for forklifts, not customers. The displays are just pallets with a price board set on top.

Costco does an amazing job of delivering a product (quality food and merchandise) without any of the additional frills that would lead to markups, like nice ambiance or displays. That is a huge deal for millions of Americans who are happy to shop on bare concrete floors if it means saving money.