Costco Soulmate Trading Outlet Sponsors Burning Man

Repeat Costco Sponsorship Helps Burning Man Shed Weirdstock Image

BLACK ROCK CITY, NEV. - May 1, 2001 - Costco Soulmate Trading Outlet, Inc. (Burndaq: CSTO) the leading provider of low cost quality soulmates, announced today that Costco will again be the official sponsor of the Burning Man Festival.

"We are proud to continue this historic relationship," said Costco CEO, Rico. "Last year was the first time the Burning Man organization has accepted sponsorship. It is a great honor to be Burning Man's sole sponsor."

The relationship between Costco and Burning Man stretches back a dozen years. "We were there from the beginning," states Sean Lazar, a Costco founding member. "You could almost say that as Costco grew, Burning Man grew with it."

And now Costco has the chance to help the Burning Man organization further expand its financial base. "While it's a great opportunity to attach our name to the great brand image that Burning Man has built up in a very do-it-yourself, wholesaler-friendly demographic," remarks Cricket Farr, Vice-President of Corporate Communications, "I think that Burning Man will benefit equally through its affiliation with us."

Burning Man stands to benefit from Costco's sponsorship on a number of levels. The trusted Costco brand will bring the kind of dependability that middle America desires. The discipline and organization of Costco's corporate structure will bring order to the chaos of conflicting artistic and creative needs of Burning Man-related organizations.

As with previous year's Burning Man Festivals, Costco plans publicity with its retail partner, Costco Wholesale (Nasdaq: COST), the familiar global wholesale chain. This would provide Burning Man an unprecedented level of consumer awareness in the mainstream media. At selected stores, Costco will have Burning Man displays, drawings to win a trip to Black Rock City, fire performers at the top of every hour, free samples of playa dust, and will be selling 'Build-Your-Own-Man' kits, along with other merchandise. "It's a chance to take what has been, up until now, a fringe event and really push it into the public consciousness," said Farr.

"The great thing about this relationship," said Rico, "is that since Black Rock City is our warehouse, from which we draw our inventory, the more people at Burning Man, the bigger our supply of soulmates. At the end of the day, it's a win-win situation."

About Costco Soulmate Trading Outlet

Costco Soulmate Trading Outlet (Burndaq: CSTO) is the leading provider of low-cost, quality soulmates in Black Rock City. For more information on the company and its products, visit the Costco Soulmate Trading Outlet Web site at www.thespoon.com/costco.