Retail chain Costco appears to have decided to stop selling Bud Light at its stores as the company has given the beer the dreaded “star of death,” suggesting an end to product sales.
Images shared online show notices at Costco announcing the sale of Bud Light together with an asterisk sign, popularly known as the “star of death.” An item depicted with such a sign at Costco is an indication that the retail chain won’t restock the product or that the item has been discontinued. It’s unclear whether the “star of death” mark is applicable to all Costco stores or only select ones.
“Costco has decided NOT to restock Bud Light. Still no apology, and they still haven’t learned their lesson,” Blaze TV host Chad Prather wrote in a July 13 tweet.
Author Kira Davis wrote in a tweet, “They’re not even selling Bud Light at my local Costco anymore. Don’t know when it stopped, but I’ve noticed it’s not in stock anymore.”
A Reddit user suggested that the “star of death” could only be for 16 oz. cans of Bud Light and that the beer may continue being sold in a 24-pack of 12 oz cans. Another Reddit user claimed that Bud Light is being sold at a store in his location.
Costco’s business model focuses on giving the lowest possible price for products to its members. However, this is only possible if products sell in good enough numbers so that the company can place large orders with suppliers for the cheapest price. If an item registers low sales numbers, it’ll get dropped by the retail chain.
Ditching a specific size or variety of an item also doesn’t mean that Costco has decided to stop selling it entirely. The company may focus on selling the same item in another size or variety if the variant attracts sales.
Bud Light’s “star of death” mark comes as the beer brand’s sales numbers continue to fall. For the week that ended on July 1, Bud Light’s sales fell by 28.5 percent, worse than the 27.5 percent decline seen in the previous week, according to Bump Williams Consulting citing NielsenIQ data.
