Costco sets up shop in Minhang
Costco’s first China store will open next Tuesday in Minhang District.
Costco’s first China store opens in Minhang District next Tuesday, with the US membership-based retailer hoping to grab a share of the nation's booming consumer market.
China will be a key focus of the US company and the Shanghai store's performance will serve as a gauge for it to assess whether to push deeper into the China market, said Richard Zhang, the company’s senior vice president for Costco Asia.
Prices at the Minhang store will be lower than its online store on Tmall, the company said.
It already has “tens of thousands” of members from all districts in the city, and it is aiming to have 100,000, said to be a critical point to sustain the future development of a physical outlet, with the majority of frequent buyers living within 30 to 45 minutes driving distance.
A Costco membership fee will be an annual 199 yuan (US$28) until Monday, compared to the normal price of 299 yuan.
Zhang said the company will be seeking to assess the impact for import goods from the US had tax been imposed on these items and will be looking for replacements from other parts of its operation.
The 14,000-square-meter store has 1,200 parking spaces also comes with a tire service as well as fresh food.
