Who Makes Costco Kirkland Batteries? – Car, Truck And Vehicle How To Guides – Vehicle Freak

The big auto parts supply chains have their private labels, but the same goes for grocery stores and general stores like Amazon, Walmart, and of course, Costco.
Kirkland Signature is the brand of Costco, named for the company’s original headquarters in Kirkland, Washington. the name is used on just about anything from frozen foods and shampoo to car batteries and accessories.
Reading: Kirkland signature car battery review
in this article, we will talk about the actual manufacturer of costco kirkland signature batteries and whether they are any good.
there’s a lot to go through, so stick around if you want to learn more about kirkland and potentially save some money the next time you need a car battery!
Clarios currently manufactures Costco Kirkland Signature car batteries. Prior to 2019, production was handled by Johnson Controls.
who makes kirkland signature batteries?
Kirkland signature batteries were manufactured by Johnson Controls most likely from the time they appeared on the market. In 2019, Johnson Controls sold its Battery Production Division – Power Solutions to Brookfield Business Partners.
bbp changed the name from energy solutions to clarios while retaining and expanding existing production facilities.
The name may not ring a bell, but Clarios is one of the leading manufacturers of automotive batteries, with more than 150 million units sold annually. this is equivalent to a third of the total production of the industry.
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so how can a company with such significant production go unnoticed?
The answer is simple. they do not sell batteries under their own name, but instead use existing and well-established brands to market their products. this also extends to original batteries used by car manufacturers and store brands.
varta, lth, heliar, optima batteries, delkor and mac batteries are the most prominent partners, but the actual number of brands supplied by clarios is significantly higher, the only problem is that we can’t say for sure which ones.
there is enough documentation online that we can say with some certainty that johnson controls, and now clarios is the sole supplier of costco’s kirkland signature batteries.
Before we talk about the quality of kirkland signature batteries, let’s talk about the store’s private label products.
how private label products work
Have you ever wondered how Walmart, Costco and other stores can make so many products? food, household items, appliances, even car batteries: the answer is that they make little or nothing.
massive chain stores have a lot of shelf space to fill, and they can create a mass order of a product, in our case car batteries, clarios, and get them at a really good price. now, because costco owns the product and supplier, there are no middlemen to pay.
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This allows them to price the battery more competitively and lower it even further to offer customers the best deal on the market.
now if everyone knew that optima and kirkland batteries are made by the same company, no one would buy the optima and ruin clarios business.
To prevent this from happening, Costco needs to brand its products differently and have a dose of ambiguity about the product. now we know they are clarios batteries, but can we know for sure if they are at optimal or varta level? this is how store brand products generally work.
kirkland signature batteries: are they any good?
we know clarios makes great batteries through the premium brands they supply, but the question is whether the same level of quality is achieved with store products like kirkland.
The short answer is yes. costco would not accept inferior products just to make the final product cheaper.
By selling their own product, in their own stores, and without any marketing budget, Costco reduces the total cost of production, allowing them to sell their batteries for less than the competition.
The number of batteries costco needs is significant, but nowhere near the level required by some of the other brands of clarios.
This is actually a good thing, as clarios will not be setting up a separate production facility for kirkland batteries and will likely make them on an existing production line and just relabel them differently.
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