To the casual observer, Costco and Sam’s Club’s appeared to be very similar. Both charged small membership fees, and both were “warehouse” stores that sold goods from pallets. The goods were often packed or bundled into larger quantities than typical retailer offered. Beneath these similarities, however, were important differences and Costco focused on more upscale small business owners and consumer while Sam’s following Walmart’s pattern, had positioned itself more to the mass middle market. Relative to Costco, Sam’s was also concentrated more in smaller cities.