Costco has 15 warehouses in Australia, after entering the supermarket space in 2019. (Source: Costco\/Getty) <\/p>\n
American bulk-buy giant Costco<\/a> has become more profitable than Aldi in Australia, financial reports have revealed. That\u2019s despite the membership-only discount chain<\/a> operating just 15 warehouses across Australia, compared to Aldi\u2019s more than 600 stores.<\/p>\n Costco had sales of $12.6 billion in the 12 months to August, up from $11.4 billion a year earlier. German retailer Aldi<\/a>, meanwhile, had sales of $13.3 billion in the 12 months to December, up from $12.1 billion a year earlier.<\/p>\n But Costco\u2019s profits edged above Aldi, according to The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a>, with the American giant bringing in nearly half a billion dollars ($499.2 million) in profits after tax. Aldi notched profits of $403.7 million in 2024.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n The US giant entered the Australian market in 2009 and now employs nearly 13,000 staff across Australia and Taiwan. Memberships cost between $65 and $130, depending on the level.<\/p>\n It\u2019s slated to open two new stores in 2027, one in Melbourne\u2019s Pakenham and the other in Perth\u2019s Alkimos<\/a>.<\/p>\n Costco Australia country manager Chris Tingman previously told Yahoo Finance the supermarket\u2019s success<\/a> was down to its \u201cunique offering within the market\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are pleased with Costco’s steady growth within Australia and plan to continue reviewing new opportunities to open more warehouses in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When choosing new warehouse locations<\/a>, Tingman said the focus was on finding lots close to members that were big enough to house its range of products, services, fuel stations and car parks.<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com<\/a><\/p>\n Despite being a relatively new player in the Australian supermarket scene, Costco has been successful at diverting customers away from major supermarkets Coles<\/a> and Woolworths<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the ACCC\u2019s supermarket inquiry in 2024, Coles CEO Leah Weckert pointed out Costco stores were typically much bigger and could pull about six to eight times the sales of a typical Coles store on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are getting customers that are travelling a long distance to go to that store, and customers are willing to do that because they see the value in going, let’s say, once a month or every couple of weeks to do a stock up on bulk items,\u201d Weckert said.<\/p>\n Weckert said customers were willing to travel a long distance to stock up on bulk items<\/a> like toilet paper, paper towels, or cereal that would last a long time.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a Costco opens, we do see a significant impact, millions of dollars of impact to our network through their openings, because customers are now basically buying a whole heap of products that they would have otherwise been buying from us in smaller quantities each week,\u201d the supermarket boss said.<\/p>\n Coles and Woolworths are currently in the spotlight from the federal government as it cracks down on price gouging.<\/p>\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the new ban on excessive pricing of groceries<\/a> was now law and would come into effect on July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n Supermarkets could face fines of $10 million per breach, three times the value of the benefit derived, or 10 per cent of the company\u2019s turnover during the preceding 12 months.<\/p>\n The laws only cover very large retailers with revenue of more than $30 billion per year, with Coles and Woolworths the only two supermarkets currently meeting this definition, and not other competitors like Aldi and Aldi.<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n