Costco to open first NZ store at Westgate in Auckland

Costco to open first NZ store at Westgate in Auckland

By Jenny Ruth

June 11 (BusinessDesk) - American multi-national discount store operator Costco Wholesale is planning to open its first New Zealand store at the Westgate shopping centre in Auckland’s north-west.

The store will be about 14,000 square-metres, have more than 800 carparks and will cost about $90 million. But the company can’t say when it will open.

“They still have a process to go through. It’s in the hands of the process and obtaining all the necessary consents,” a spokesman says.

The size of the new Costco store compares with The Warehouse’s average store size of a bit over 5,000sqm.

The new Westfield Newmarket shopping centre due to open this year will be the nation’s largest at 88,150sqm.

Costco says it has already begun the process of obtaining the required consents and that building will begin as soon as those are obtained.

Costco, the world’s second-largest retailer after Walmart, says its Auckland store will provide about 350 full-time jobs and will offer its full format including a fuel station, tyre centre, food court, optometrist, hearing aid services as well as groceries and homewares.

Costco has been in Australia for about 10 years and has 10 stores there.

Australian managing director Patrick Noone says Westgate is “an ideal site” for the new store and marks another significant milestone for the company.

“Our members choose to shop with us because they know that they are going to get the highest quality products at the best possible price,” Noone says in a statement announcing the new store.

“Members are also able to buy everything from fresh food and electronics to clothing and cleaning supplies, all in one warehouse. There is also the added value of our specialty departments such as our optical centre, hearing aid centre, tyre centre and fuel station.”

Noone says there was nothing like Costco in Australia when the company opened there.

“By simply offering a no-frills warehouse experience with the highest quality products at the best possible prices, we have quickly and firmly been able to establish ourselves in the market,” he says.

“We add a layer of competition to the market and extend the choice of the consumer.”

(BusinessDesk)

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