Envy of its peers: Costco: retailer of the year.(WHAT MAKES Costco WHOLESALE TICK: PART I)

For years, Costco has clung closely to its warehouse roots--at times shunning any comparison to its "retailer" cousins. Even as the mass consumer has embraced the club channel, the company has reluctantly warmed to the retailer label. These days, however, as the company routinely earns praise from Wall Street to Main Street as a great place to do work, shop and invest, the Costco name has become almost as ubiquitous as Target or Home Depot, which has earned it a place among the retail legends.

As hard as Costco has tried to maintain a modicum of humility--it still has no dedicated public relations team, for instance-there's no escaping its newfound fame. When Sears …