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Members-only retailers are a status symbol in China

Sep 18, 2023
While regular supermarkets are struggling in China, aspirational consumers keep Sam’s Club, Costco and its Chinese competitor Freshippo X expanding.
A shopper walks out with a full shopping cart from a Sam's Club in Shanghai. Membership retailers are expanding in China despite traditional supermarkets struggling.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Labor unions face increasing challenges in 2020

Jan 3, 2020
The Trump administration wants to make organizing more difficult.
Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

How to grow a union in an anti-union state

Feb 26, 2018
In the South, where people are “ashamed to tell their neighbors that they are in a union,” one labor organization is turning things around.
Demonstrators rally in front of city hall in solidarity with union workers across the country on February 26, 2011 in New York City.
Michael Nagle/Getty Images

Restoration Hardware — a classier way to discount?

Mar 29, 2016
Is the chain's new "Grey Card" a pitch to exclusivity or just more discounting?
Restoration Hardware is offering discounts on customers' purchases through a new membership program.
Todd Williamson/Getty Images For Restoration Hardware

Communities, money and membership

How did a community affect your life? Have you paid to be a member of a club?

Your Wallet: Can you buy exclusivity?

What does exclusivity mean for your personal finances?