Costco will open its third West Australian store in Alkimos, with shoppers seen at the first store opening at Perth airport. (Source: Getty) <\/p>\n
American bulk buy giant Costco<\/a> has confirmed it will open its next store in Perth as it continues to expand its footprint<\/a> across Australia. Since entering our shores in 2009, the membership-based supermarket retailer<\/a> has grown to 15 stores and raked in an estimated $5 billion in annual sales.<\/p>\n Costco<\/a> will open its third Western Australian store at the new Alkimos Central Home X Trade Hub in Perth\u2019s northern suburbs. Construction on the first stage of the $33 million retail and services precinct is expected to start in late 2025 and be open by 2027.<\/p>\n Costco Australia country manager Chris Tingman told Yahoo Finance the retailer was pleased with its \u201csteady growth\u201d within Australia and planned to continue reviewing new opportunities to open more warehouses<\/a> in the future.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n “Costco sees Alkimos as dynamic and fast-growing and we believe we can bring great value to the community,” he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen deciding on new warehouse locations, the focus is to find lots that are close to our members, and are large enough to house our comprehensive range of goods, specialty services, fuel stations and carparks.”<\/p>\n The new store will include the full range of goods and services, including discount fuel<\/a> and specialty services.<\/p>\n The WA government said the new development was set to generate hundreds of jobs for Western Australians, boost local business and deliver everyday convenience for local residents.<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com<\/a><\/p>\n “With Costco coming soon to the Home X Trade Hub, this is a unique chance for businesses to establish themselves alongside a global retail leader, further enhancing the precinct’s profile and drawing significant customer traffic to the area,\u201d WA Planning and Lands Minister John Carey said.<\/p>\n “The City of Wanneroo’s population has the potential to almost double by 2036 and our government is committed to creating the amenity to support this growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Costco is also due to open its 16th store in Melbourne’s Pakenham in 2027<\/a>.<\/p>\n Costco\u2019s Australian arm, which includes Taiwan operations, reported sales of $11.366 billion in revenue and a $279 million profit in the year to September 2024, according to financial records.<\/p>\n According to The Australian<\/a>, Costco had sales of $5.15 billion in the fiscal 2024. That\u2019s compared to Aldi, which operates 602 stores, and had sales of $12.5 billion in fiscal year 2024.<\/p>\n Costco is the only subscription warehouse chain in Australia, selling annual memberships for its stores for between $65 and $130.<\/p>\n Consumer expert Nitika Garg from the University of New South Wales told Yahoo Finance she believes Costco\u2019s success in Australia<\/a> is partly due to it targeting a different segment of the market.<\/p>\n That\u2019s generally larger families who were looking to bulk buy and often did more infrequent trips. Given its warehouse-style format, Costco tends to buy larger lots of land further out of the city.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s one reason why they have been so successful in Australia as well, because their model is not in direct competition with Woolies and Coles,\u201d Garg said.<\/p>\n At the ACCC\u2019s supermarket inquiry<\/a> last year, Metcash described Costco\u2019s warehouse model as targeting the \u201cmonthly pantry load\u201d, which means shoppers are going there for a large, infrequent main shop on primarily non-perishable goods.<\/p>\n The steady rise of Costco comes amid calls for more competition in the Australian supermarket sector, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this month encouraging UAE chain LuLu Hypermarket to set up shop in Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Garg said increasing competition would ultimately lead to better prices for consumers.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the opening of the market, one of the things that will happen, or should happen automatically, is price competition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In March, the ACCC\u2019s inquiry into the supermarket sector found there was \u201climited incentive\u201d for Coles and Woolworths to compete on price because of their market dominance.<\/p>\n The watchdog estimates Woolworths has 38 per cent of supermarket grocery sales nationally, while Coles has 29 per cent. Aldi has 9 per cent while Metcash has 7 per cent.<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n The new development where Costco will be. (Source: WA Planning) <\/p>\n
Costco attracted huge lines of people when it opened its Ardeer warehouse in Melbourne earlier this year. (Source: TikTok\/@lifeofemily94, Facebook\/Costco Ardeer Community) <\/p>\n