The sign at Waterfront City in Melbourne heralds the imminent arrival of the giant US retailer Costco on Australian shores. Costco is bringing a style of retailing new to Australia in this 14,000 sq metre warehouse and other stores it says it will open. While not playing too much with newsagent core circulation products, their arrival will have other retailers respond, especially in the areas of stationery, ink, cards and gifts. This is another reason we each need to continue to evolve our model to be fresh and relevant.
Remember that you have to be a member of Costco to shop there. I would guess aust membership would be $50-100. I would guess they would have a deal when they first open. But their prices are certainly cheap.
more american crap… do we really need it?
I used to shop in Costco in the UK when I lived there. I liked it but didn’t buy everything there.
Apparently it will be $50 membership per year. In USA they have 87% renewal rate which is very high. They work on low margins and bulk buys. Yes it’s American but no Australian company has matched the concept so why wouldn’t they come here.
fair enough i guess. it might fare well considering the current economic situation..but that remains to be seen.
maybe just annoyed that nearly everything these days are either american or chinese.
We deal regularly with a local Campbell’s Cash & Carry for a range of convenience items we carry. It sounds as if Costco will be on par with Campbell’s, except that to join Campbell’s, all we neededwas an ABN.
Of course, they will likely become another giant of convenience, drawing customers away from small businesses like ours, but this is not a new fight. With the right focus, we can still grow our businesses despite the giants.
Wen,
I doubt Costco will draw many customers from small business. Their pitch is at the low end of the market and their focus on bulk buys. Their offer is more targeted at larger chains and even more directly at low cost offerings such as Aldi.
Costco won’t be a ‘convenience’ pitch to consumers. It is targeting bulk buys that are less in frequency.
Interesting concept….
http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?cat=20595&eCat=BC|20595&lang=en-US&whse=BC&topnav=
Might just grab one while they’re on special and whack it in the spare bedroom till needed.
This is the best thing to ever come to Melbourne. I am so excited to be able to shop there. We are going to live off Costco food as much as humanly possible. It will be great to get the fantastic prices compared to Coles/Woolworths. Yes you have to buy in bulk but who cares less trips to the shops. The only thing that could be better is if they had one in the Southeast then as my husbands says I would virtually live there. I hope they do it like the states with cheap hotdogs and pizza on the way out plus all the samples inside. Enough to cover your lunch if you work near by!!
I lived in the States for eight years and shopped there regulary. It is fantastic and it is not just bulk buy like Campbells they have quality brand name products for cheap in just about every type of product range you can think off. Toys, Electrical, Furniture, Auto, etc etc. The only reason it won’t work here is if there hands are tied by govt taxes and suppliers so they can’t pass on the best pricing and we will be stuck with the same old Monopolies and Oligopolies ripping us off. Once you have lived in the States it is shocking to see how many ideas have been ripped off here and systematically ruined by providing less product/service and charge twice as much. And the people that knock Costco are the same small minded people with little man syndrome that like to bag America and go on and on because they know how to watch a current affair and have never been there and have absolutely no idea how badly business’ in this country rip you off because there is virtually no competition. I say bring on Costco because if it close to what it is in America consumers here will finally see what a good deal is.