The city of Brisbane will gets its first mega Costco store as part of a major new development.
The budget shopping and bulk grocery retailer is set to build a 15,600 square metre warehouse store and petrol station on a 6.7-hectare site at Brisbane Airport to open in late 2029.
There are already three Costco stores in Queensland, but it will be the first in the city of Brisbane, with the site located 12 kilometres from city’s CBD.
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“It is great news for our members across Brisbane. This is a dynamic and fast-growing region, and we look forward to bringing even greater value to members through our wide range of products and services,” Costco’s ANZ manager Chris Tingman said.
The US chain has more than 900 sites around the world and has been expanding its Australian network since opening its first local store in 2009.
Since then, the membership-based supermarket retailer has grown to 15 stores, with more being built, and raked in an estimated $5 billion in annual sales.
The Brisbane Airport site will include 870 car parking spaces and a 34 bowser petrol station, with the retailer offering fuel at a typically cheaper rate than regular petrol stations.
“Costco provides its members with exclusive access to quality brand-name merchandise at lower prices than typically found at conventional wholesale or retail stores. Our quality products range across groceries, electronics and apparel, along with our exciting fresh foods business,” Tingman said.
Given its warehouse-style format, Costco tends to buy larger lots of land further out of the city. The airport store in Brisbane will join Costco’s other Queensland sites in Moreton Bay, Ipswich and the Gold Coast.
Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said the anchor retail tenant of Costco is just the beginning as it develops a new 51-hectare parcel of land opposite the International Terminal for a new mixed-use precinct.
“Even a retailer of this scale will occupy only 12 per cent of this huge development site, leaving significant opportunities for other businesses to establish themselves alongside one of the world’s most recognised retail brands,” he said.
The Brisbane Airport precinct expects the Costco store to open in late 2029. ยท Supplied
Costco last year announced it was working on opening a fifth Victorian store in Pakenham to open its doors in 2027, as well as a third store in Western Australia to also open in 2027.
A Costco membership costs $65 a year, giving shoppers access to warehouse stores and petrol stations, with the retailer reportedly hitting as many as 1.5 million Aussie members recently.
Consumer expert Nitika Garg from the University of New South Wales previously told Yahoo Finance she believes Costco’s success in Australia is partly due to it targeting a different segment of the market.
That segment is generally larger families who are keen to bulk buy and often do more infrequent trips compared to a typical grocery shop.
“I think that’s one reason why they have been so successful in Australia as well, because their model is not in direct competition with Woolies and Coles,” Garg said.
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