Costco Australia to open new store locations

Costco Australia has indicated setting up more store locations in 2016 in addition to eight stores already running across the nation.

Three new buildings will be constructed in Marsden Park Sydney’s NSW, Brisbane, Queensland and Victoria’s Epping suburb. After starting the new stores in the specified locations, Costco Australia will think about “second-tier cities” including Newcastle, Wollongong and Darwin, Costco Australia’s Managing Director Patrick Noone told A Current Affair.

Noone added that those are the areas selected for future growth. He attributed the credit for profit worth $1.3 billion in sales to the “efficient business model” of the company. “We have an extremely efficient business model. If you look at everything it’s on a palate, we have an open framed ceiling, we have concrete floors, we have very low costs and overheads and we continue to drive prices down rather than drive prices up,” Noone stated.

Noone also said that he expected every Costco establishment to have a petrol station on site to offer cheaper options to consumers as it does now. The first petrol station the company opened was in 2014. Shoppers prefer Costco Australia, which charge an annual membership fee of $60 and provides fresh food, hardware, liquor, electronics, furniture and many more.

The retailer’s nature of operation has been evolving gradually with special attention to petrol stations. This signifies its aim of capturing more market, posing pressure on Coles and Woolworths.

Costco’s CEO & Founder Retail Doctor Group Brian Walker said Costco’s emerging progress is in the eyes of the rivals. “I think by about 2020 I’d be surprised if we weren’t looking at 30 to 40 units across the country,” he told ACA. “Coles and Woolies are going to be watching them, but let’s see them get at 20 or 30 sites then I think it’s game on.”