COSTCO is preparing for an online assault on Aussie retailers.
Aerial footage filmed by Nine News shows the sheer scale of Costco’s new $78 million distribution centre under construction in western Sydney’s Kemps Creek.
The size of 17 football fields with 33,000sq m of internal space, it will be big enough to service up to 30 stores nationally plus online when completed in March next year.
Costco currently has 10 stores with three more set to open in the next 12 months. The existing distribution centre in Wetherill Park will be closed once the new one opens.
Famous for its bulk goods and eclectic mix of products that includes everything from tinned tomatoes and roast chickens to electronics, wedding rings and coffins, Costco is roughly 25-30 per cent cheaper than its supermarket competitors.
The only catch is customers must pay a $60 annual membership fee. The same will apply to the online store, which is set to go live when the new warehouse opens.
Costco Australia general manager Patrick Noone told Nine News it was too early to say what the pricing model for home delivery would be. “We’ll look at either rolling it into the price or adding it on top,” he said.
It comes after Chinese retail giant JD.com set up shop in Melbourne, following the much-hyped but underwhelming launch of Amazon’s Australian arm late last year.
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