Costco in Taichung!

Words and pictures by Taichung City Goverment
Translated by Sho Huang

The opening of Costco in November has set numerous records--before the store even opened, the number of members exceeded 100,000 and the opening day brought in NT$30 million! The reason for such high numbers is Costco's reputation--this American company is well-known for providing inexpensive, quality merchandise in bulk. Now, people in Taichung can enjoy saving money at the biggest Costco on the island.

Costco, located on WenXin South Road, had its grand opening at the beginning of November. Taichung Mayor Jason Hu paid a special visit to officially welcome the super store. To date, Costco's NT$1 billion investment has created more than 1,000 jobs in Taichung, which is generating interest among other American companies for setting up shop here in the city.

Record-setting store benefits Taichung
Costco's Taichung Branch is the result of Taichung's No. 113 BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) Development, which also won the 5th BOT Development Award. In addition to new jobs, Costco has already earned the city government NT$320 million, in addition to its annual rent of NT$7.5 million.

According to Costco, the branch in Taichung has set many records. First of all, the number of members exceeded 100,000 before its grand opening, a figure greater than any in the company's history. Second, on the opening day alone, they did more than NT$30 million in business, while around 30,000 shoppers milled around inside. This huge opening day is one indication of growing local consumer power.
Mr. Ma Kai, a researcher from the Chung Hua Institute for Economic Research, recently explained that Taichung is known for its big department stores and restaurants, which illustrates its love of shopping. This factor, Kai says, accounts for a large part of the Costco membership sales--people in Taichung just like to buy things. An assistant professor from National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development, Mr. Xin Bin-long, added that the huge success has a lot to do with economic stimulation brought on by the Central Science Park.

Fun, easy shopping
Costco CEO Jim Sinegal was impressed to see people lining up at 6 a.m. just to get in. He says that, if this branch brings in more than the projected US$130 million annually, then they'll consider opening a second branch in Taichung. The people here have been looking forward to Costco's arrival and are pleased to stroll around in the 5,600 pings of space and have some fun in the huge walk-in fridge.

Costco, founded in 1976, has developed a great reputation within the wholesale industry. Up until November, it has established 523 shops globally with more than 53 million members, boasting a stunning annual revenue of US$64 billion. The first Costco branch in Taiwan was set up in Kaohsiung in 1997. After that, branches in Taipei's NeiHu, XiZhi and ZhongHe slowly opened up. The growth rate has stayed above 10% with NT$15 billion annual revenue and more than 550,000 members island-wide.