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Signature savings
Costco’s hearing and optical centers and gas stations offer Kirkland Signature value
The Kirkland Signature™ brand covers items throughout Costco, including the company’s ancillary businesses, such as optical and hearing-aid centers, as well as its gas stations. Although it’s a seemingly diverse group of services, the products associated with each of these businesses follow the Kirkland Signature model of quality, value and continued evolution and improvement. Here’s a quick look.
Seeing is believing
Costco Optical departments offer members the ability to purchase Kirkland Signature contact lenses and shop for the latest Kirkland Signature frames. With a wide assortment that is refreshed several times per year, Costco members can pick Kirkland Signature frames with the right material, shape, size and color that best suits them.
As for lenses, Kirkland Signature covers members in that area as well. Along with prescription lenses for everything from astigmatism to nearsightedness or farsightedness, Costco now offers premium Kirkland Signature 1.60 high-index lenses. What makes these high-index lenses special is that they are crafted from a more refined, lighter and thinner plastic than lenses made of polycarbonate.
“With Costco’s state-of-the-art optical labs, which craft lenses through high-definition technology, we’re now able to provide members with glasses that offer sharper, crisper and more clear vision than our previous lenses in all lighting conditions,” says Tina Hale, Costco Optical assistant general merchandising manager.—Katie Coleman
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Hearing aids, Costco-style
Costco members who experience hearing loss can find value and savings at their Hearing Aid Center .
Kirkland Signature 10.0 Digital Rechargeable Hearing Aids (Item 1541000) offer the latest in technology at an unmatched price, says Soris Parajon-Pena, buyer for Costco Hearing Aid Centers, adding, “The Kirkland Signature 10.0 is the most successful hearing aid we’ve ever launched, helping hundreds of thousands of members experience a better quality of life.”
The 10.0, which can be adjusted remotely via a smartphone app, remains one of the few hearing aids that streams to almost all Bluetooth devices without an intermediary device. The hearing aid’s improvements from the 9.0 include added noise reduction, resulting in even better speech understanding, and a new chip with more memory that allows for more Bluetooth connectivity options and greater output with less battery drain.
The 10.0 can connect to eight different Bluetooth devices—including two simultaneously—and features a tap-control option so users can answer phone calls or pause streaming.
The package includes a three-year warranty, cleaning cloth and brush, travel pouch and hardcover charger case. The hearing aids are available in five colors.—Dan Jones
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Fueled for value
Getting you moving requires fuel, and Kirkland Signature gasoline contains Costco’s proprietary additive package that can help play a key role in keeping your vehicle performing at its best.
The additives in Kirkland Signature gasoline prevent buildup of harmful deposits on valves and injectors, which can reduce fuel economy and cause performance problems, such as rough idling or hesitation when accelerating.
“Kirkland Signature gasoline has been certified to meet Top Tier performance standards, meaning that because of the additive package in the fuel, it surpasses the minimum standards for additives required by the government,” says Tammy Ewing, who oversees Costco’s fuel supply chain. She also says that Costco gas stations mix the additives on-site to ensure a consistently high standard across the country.
Gas at Costco rivals top brands in terms of quality. As for the value, Costco’s buyers review pricing daily to ensure that Kirkland Signature gasoline is as competitive as possible.—Will Fifield
