Southern Finance and Economics reporter Wu Zhicong reports from Shenzhen
On January 4th, Costco's Shenzhen member store held a press conference and showcased its upcoming products, including the Gold Bar, Walt Disney Camera Salute Edition, and Zodiac Dragon cutlery set. Southern Finance's full media reporter learned that Costco, which will open on January 12th, has attracted 90000 customers to apply for membership cards, of which about 10% are Hong Kong members.
The first Costco store in South China is located on the northwest side of the intersection of Xinqu Avenue and Renmin Road in Minzhi Street, Longhua District, with a total area of 44500 meters; Sup2;, 15000 m of shopping area; Sup2;, There are over 4000 products, and nearly 1000 parking spaces have been set up in the 3-story parking lot. At the same time, charging stations are equipped for new energy vehicles. Currently, the temporary card application point in the Shenzhen store has been opened.
It is reported that Costco is the largest chain membership warehouse in the United States, with stores distributed in 14 regions worldwide and over 120 million members worldwide. Its membership card can be used in more than 870 stores worldwide. Costco entered the mainland Chinese market in 2019 and has currently opened six stores, including Shanghai Minhang, Shanghai Pudong, Suzhou, Ningbo, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen.
(Shenzhen Longhua Store Media Open Day, photographed by Wu Zhicong, a journalist from Southern Finance Media)
The product claims to accelerate global centralized procurement and expansion in China
Although Costco is not widely recognized domestically, it can be considered a household name in the United States. Costco is the largest chain membership warehouse and storage store in the United States, the second largest retailer in the world, founded in 1983, with most of it located within the United States and Canada being the largest foreign market.
Kaishi Ke, with its advantage as a global procurement platform, generally sells over 4000 types of products, including fresh meat products, beauty and health care, home decor, and seasonal products, including its own brand Kirkland Signature.
It is reported that members of the Shenzhen member store, which opened this time, can enjoy on-site hearing tests, optometry, and tire maintenance services.
As the core economic hub of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen has a very dynamic business outlook and an open and inclusive market environment, and has gathered a number of stores and mass merchandisers, including the retail giant Wal Mart. About 4 kilometers around the opening of Costco, there is a Sam's Longhua store, and within 5 kilometers, there are chain supermarkets such as Hema, Renrenle, and Tianhong.
For opening customers, Shenzhen is full of opportunities and challenges. "Shenzhen is everyone's Shenzhen. There is a huge consumer group and market space here. We hope to seize more opportunities to carry out more industrial layout here," said Zhang Shuyun, president of Chinese Mainland District, a market opener.
Since the first store in Chinese Mainland was opened in Minhang, Shanghai in 2019. In recent years, Kaishike has opened numerous stores in East China, including Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and other places.
As the engine city of the Greater Bay Area, the economies of Shenzhen and Hong Kong continue to integrate and develop, and the consumption enthusiasm of Hong Kong people heading north is also constantly increasing. High quality products have also become their preferred choice for consumption. Regarding this, Southern Finance's full media reporter learned from Shenzhen Bus Group that the two "Longhua Cultural and Tourism Dedicated Lines" established in Longhua District, originating from Futian Port, provide free shuttle buses that can directly reach Costco Supermarket. In addition, subway lines 4 or 6 to Hongshan Station can be reached by walking a distance from Exit B.
"Opening customers have always regarded China as an important strategic market," Zhang Shuyun said. This year, he will open a membership store in Nanjing and try gas station business. At the same time, the online shopping experience of Kaishi customers will gradually open for trial operation within the year.
The first flagship store in South China is preparing for opening
On January 12th, Costco's first store in South China, which has been preparing for many years, is about to open, and the news of its opening has spread throughout the internet. As of now, although the "hot selling products" launched during its opening have not been publicly disclosed, some consumers have started showing off their membership cards on major social media platforms, preparing to enter the store on the day of opening for a "shopping spree".
The phenomenon of being "hot" upon opening has occurred more than once in Costco's mainland stores. In August 2019, Costco's first store in Chinese Mainland opened in Shanghai. Due to too many customers, the surrounding traffic was paralyzed, and the supermarket's merchandise was wiped out. The store was closed within 5 hours of opening. In March 2023, on the opening day of OSTCO's Shanghai Pudong store, vehicles had to queue for up to 2 hours to enter.
In order to prepare for the opening, Costco's Shenzhen store has coordinated with relevant departments in Longhua District to provide vehicle guidance on the day of opening. At the same time, Southern Finance and Economics all media reporters also saw on site that in order to cope with the flow of people, a queue entry passage from the parking lot to the store has been set up on site.
After waiting for nearly 3 years, Costco's first store in South China has finally entered Shenzhen.
According to public information, on February 26, 2021, the Shenzhen Municipal Government, Longhua District Government, the world's second largest retailer Costco, and Xinghe Holdings Group officially signed the "Land Transaction Confirmation Letter" and "Industrial Development Supervision Agreement". Xinghe Industry and Costco jointly acquired a commercial land and second-class residential land in Longhua for a base price of 2.232 billion yuan.
According to Xinghe Holdings, the Longhua Costco Xinghe project is expected to have a total investment of approximately 9 billion yuan (including 200 million US dollars in foreign investment), and the construction content includes warehousing and sales venues, offices, hotels, and sales oriented talent housing. Especially, the project will also introduce Costco's South China regional headquarters in the United States and open Costco's first flagship store in South China.
The Measures for Accelerating the Construction of an International Consumer Center City in Shenzhen propose to "strengthen the first store economy", and a series of supporting, encouraging, and rewarding measures are also proposed. According to incomplete statistics, as of now, Shenzhen has introduced 947 new first stores, flagship stores, and new concept stores of various types this year. International brands from countries and regions such as the United States, France, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have also opened stores in Shenzhen.
