Date Auckland's Costco will open finally revealed
Wednesday, 14 September 2022
After months of speculation and delays, Costco’s first New Zealand store has an opening date.
The $100 million Westgate, Auckland, store will open on September 28, its website says.
Costco said it could only say that the opening was “imminent”.
The date had been circulating for months on Costco Facebook fan pages, following the delay of the August opening of the store due to bad weather and Covid-19 restrictions.
Last month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was given a tour of the store and Costco managing director Patrick Noone told her he hoped the global retailer’s Auckland store would be the “first of many”.
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The Costco store covers 1.4 hectares and will feature a fuel station, tyre centre, food court and optometrist as well as a wide range of food products.
Inside the store, effort had been made to make the American brand look at home in New Zealand, such as signs above meat counters that feature te reo Māori translations.
The store will have more than 320 aisles across its 14,000m² of floor area.
In May, the retailer opened a massive 27-pump fuel station in Auckland, with its prices some of the lowest in the country at the time.
About 350 workers were expected to be hired by the time the store opened and Costco would bring in 30 to 40 staff trainers from Australia.
Only members could shop at the store and membership fees are one of Costco's key sources of revenue, allowing it to run on thin profit margins and pass savings on to customers.
More than 700 people had already signed up for a membership in New Zealand in August.