US retailer, Costco, will open three new warehouses in Australia this year, taking its total number of stores to 11 since first launching in the local market in 2009.
Costco will open its third Sydney store in Marsden Park, a second site in Brisbane, and will also open a warehouse in Epping, Melbourne – its third for the state. Costco Australia’s revenue soared in 2015, topping more than $1 billion, with it now holding around 1.2 per cent of the Australian grocery market, according to IbisWorld.
Patrick Noone, Costco Australia MD, told A Current Affair store numbers will likely reach between four and five in both Melbourne and Sydney, with the retailer then planning to turn its attention to “second tier” cities such as Newcastle, Wollongong, and Darwin.
“They’re the places for the next growth for sure,” Noone said.
Stores with petrol stations will also be a focus globally in 2016. Costco opened its first building with a fuel station in Australia in Liverpool in Sydney’s west in 2013. Its latest, and fourth for the company, opened at Moorabbin in Victoria in November 2015.
“Every Costco in the future will likely have a petrol station on site. The growth has been spectacular. I fully expect that to be part of our offer going forward for almost every market that we are in.”