TRAVELLING ON THE COURT
With the success that Costco has already had in
Taiwan, Richard sees the Asian continent as rife
with opportunity. As the markets become increasingly
wealthier, they become more inviting for Costco,
which is part of the reason the company is now
looking across the Taiwan Strait and into China.
“We’re looking to open our first warehouse
in Shanghai in the second quarter. This will be our
first bricks-and-mortar presence in mainland China;
we’ve been there since 2014 with Alibaba’s Tmall.
Now, though, we’re going to see if the original
model works in China.
“I’ve been working on this for a long time now,
and hopefully we’ll be able to open and duplicate
what we’ve done in the other Asian markets. If we
can provide a different business shopping environment
and the utmost value to our members, I think we’ll
be able to copy what we’ve done in the three other
Asian markets we’re operating in.
China is a big market for Costco, and Richard
thinks the retailer will easily be able to deliver on
its value proposition there. “In Asia, I think it’s
interesting that Costco is a large North American
retailer, and while we’ve not got the same impact“Being a Costco global vendor has been incredibly valuable. Costco
has raised our level in terms of sales growth, quality, pricing strategy
and market expansion. The recognition and trust earned from our
customers through this partnership is second to none.” – Maria Chen,
Vice President, Schweitzer Biotech Company
As well as serving as a
wholesaler, Costco also
manufactures and sells its own
products under the Kirkland
Signature brand name.
Founded in 1995, Kirkland
products are introduced
when Costco believes it can
beat other brands on pricing,
eliminating fluctuations in
price by insuring that a cheaper
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