By Aimee Chanthadavong
Costco is believed to have committed another $140 million towards expanding its operations in Australia.
Speaking to RetailBiz, Costco managing director in Australia Patrick Noone said the company is currently looking at sites in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
A typical site size for the giant warehouse retailer ranges from 50,000 to 60,000 square metres to fit a store size of approximately 13,600 square metres and up to 800 car parking spaces.
Noone also said they look for sites that are located on or within access to main roads, motorways and highways to ensure good visibility and exposure.
“We aim to achieve a catchment of, or as close to, one million people in all directions. We require a retail zoning for our sites. We cannot operate under bulky goods or industrial zoning despite the nature of our business,” he said.
So far, the company has three stores in Australia.
“Both sales and membership have exceeded our expectations,” Noone said.
When asked whether a retailer as large as Costco has been affected by the growth of online shopping, Noone said: “Costco is primarily a bricks and mortar retailer. In North American we do offer online shopping but we have not seen that significantly impact shopping trends at our warehouses. While we may introduce online shopping in the future in Australia, we will continue to expand our traditional retail format throughout Australia.”