Page 5 - IAV Digital Magazine #481

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Inside China's First Costco, Where Crowds Forced The Store To Shut Down Shortly After Its Grand Opening
By Áine
Cain and Kate Taylor
Costco's first ever Chinese ware- house opened its doors for the first time on Tuesday. A few hours later, the Shanghai warehouse had to shut those same doors early, due to the mas- sive turnout that the warehouse's grand opening attracted.
The company's entry into the Chinese market has been long- awaited. The international retail
er operated 762 warehouses located across 11 countries as of 2018. That same year, PwC descri bed China as a "must play, must win" retail market, with brick-and- mortar and e- commerce sales that exceeded US retail sales.
But Costco has avoided jumping straight into China's retail scene until rela- tively recently. Costco began offering online delivery options to China around five years ago,
according to local media.
Costco's senior vice president for Asia, Richard Zhang, previously told the AFP that positive online sales convinced the company to bet on opening an actual ware- house. The com- pany's newest warehouse began signing Shanghai locals up for memberships in April.
And, as it turns out, anticipation for the new ware- house really built up.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine