[This guest post is courtesy of BB, an American that has been living in Australia for the last 10 years. She wrote another guest post last week regarding how Australians might respond to the new Costco opening in Melbourne. This post is all about the excitement and impressions of her first trip to the new Costco.]
As has been mentioned on this blog before, the first Australian Costco opened in Melbourne on Monday. I grew up in California with two Costco loving parents, and Costco was like a member of our family. Having lived in Australia for the last 10 years, it is one of the things I’ve missed
most about the US. When I visit family back home, Costco is often the first place we go, and it’s usually the last place we check out just before heading back to the airport. So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out that Costco was coming to my hometown of Melbourne!
My husband, Rob, is Australian but has been to Costco during visits to the US, so he knew what he was in for. He’s a bit of a fan himself, so it wasn’t too hard to convince him to take a day off work to brave opening day with me.
First impressions
Driving up to the new Costco
My first impression upon arriving was how close this Costco is to the Central Business District (CBD) of Melbourne. A lot of people have been complaining about this, because it is “hard to get to” and “too far away” from the suburbs, where most Costco shoppers live. In my opinion, Costco has made a brilliant choice for its first location here. It is immediately adjacent to a freeway exit, and despite Docklands reputation, very easy to get to by car. It is also very close to the city, to which many Melburnians commute for work, which allows for many lunchtime reconnaissance missions by those who might not otherwise be inclined to check it out. But most importantly, it is central. Many large chains seem to locate themselves on the outskirts of the city. Eventually, I am sure Costco will have locations in the suburbs to the North, South, East and West of the CBD. But for now, there is one central Costco and it just makes sense to put it in the middle. In some cities this might not be possible, but Melbourne has recently reclaimed some under-utilized waterfront shipping yards and incorporated the land into the CBD. This is “Docklands”. Therefore, Costco was able to obtain a site large enough for its behemoth warehouse.
Entering Costco....there it is!
As I mentioned in my previous post, my husband and I had debated as to whether opening day would be busy, and whether parking would be a problem in the inner-city location. Costco Docklands has 550 free parking spaces underneath the warehouse itself (the Tyre Centre is also under the building). We arrived at 10 am, and were immediately directed to overflow parking in a nearby multilevel parking structure. So much for free parking! But it was only $5 flat rate and not far at all from the warehouse. But at this point we knew that my doubts about it being busy for opening day were completely unfounded.
Look at that membership queue
We made our way to the large forecourt leading to the entrance to Costco. Because the parking is underground, the entrance is surrounded by landscaped grounds (with long, low concrete planters that are staggered to capture runaway trolleys). We could see that the membership queue was very long, but we already had our cards so we went straight to the entrance.
We were greeted with samples of frozen yoghurt and berry smoothies from the food court, and the familiar sight of Costco. Despite the ultra-modern exterior, underground parking and landscaped forecourt, inside was ALL Costco. Orange shelves, big trolleys, price signs identical to the ones you might see anywhere else, and all the same department signs in red and white. Costco had arrived in Melbourne!
Products (Food)
Lots of chips
I was especially interested to see what products Costco would bring over from their current range, and what items would be sourced locally. Part of me secretly hoped that every item would be directly imported from the USA … ribs, chimichangas, Pop Tarts and all. But I knew, realistically, that this was not supposed to be an American import store. This was supposed to be Costco, for the Australian market. I suspected that there would be some products, especially Kirkland ones, that came straight from the shelves of American Costco locations, but that many many items would be the same brands I had come to know and love at my local supermarket. Overall, there was a good mix. My first exciting find was Kirkland Organic Salsa and real tortilla chips. I bought the salsa but left the chips behind. The bag was too big and unless I am having 10 people over for a Mexican feast, there is no way I could (or should) be getting through a bag of chips that size!
More food products...
For the most part, name brand products (ie, not Kirkland) were local brands. Some notable exceptions were a variety of snack foods (Lay’s, Ruffles), Best Foods mayo, Sunmaid raisins, Skippy peanut butter and Bounce dryer sheets. For the local products, it was loosely divided into two groups: basics and treats.
Australian brand food items too
The basics tended to be the “big” brands, the household names like Vegemite, Weet-Bix, Arnott’s biscuits, and locally produced Coke and Pepsi. But, as Costco tends to do, there was also a wide range of treats and gourmet items. These I think are Costco’s best items. The higher-than-average-quality products at similar-to-average-prices, which mean you can get Twinings tea for the price of Lipton somewhere else, or fancy yoghurt for the price of your standard Yoplait somewhere else. Some “upscale” brand names I noticed: Carman’s, Emmaline’s, and Kez’s baked goods, alligatorbrand pastas, and Margaret River dairy items.
Products (Non Food)
Osh Kosh clothing for kids
Notably absent from the clothing section was my beloved Carter’s brand. In kid’s clothing, Costco seems to have opted instead for Osh Kosh, which is a well known and highly valued brand name here.
Tommy Hilfiger clothing
In adult clothing, notable brands were Champion (and a lot of it!), Hathaway, Lucky Brand, Tommy Hilfiger, Ed Hardy, DKNY, and Polo. There were also all the standard Kirkland items: men’s shirts, jeans, cashmere cardigans, and undies.
Wall o' Crocs. They had a LOT of these!
There were also WAY TOO MANY Crocs shoes. They seemed to be filling in space because there wasn’t much else in the way of shoes. One pair of men’s Kirkland walking shoes and some New Balance runners. One pair of girls’ shoes that were sparkly and cute but not really practical and not a brand I recognised. But there were plenty of Crocs.
At this stage in our shopping experience, we started to become really aware of how busy this place really was. It was getting difficult to move around, and the checkout lines were well and truly halfway to the meat department in the rear of the warehouse. It was hard to criss cross the store or really, to move anywhere! We realised we would be at Costco for several more hours (and that the checkout line would take at least an hour in itself), so decided to take turns going to the food court while the other person watched the trolley.
Food Court
Note the 'Aussie Meat Pie'. I totally called it!
The food court was pretty disappointing. It was fun to see that “Meat Pies” had been added to the menu for the local market (meat pies are standard junk fare here … basically stewed meat in gravy encased in a pastry shell). But the hot dogs were “all pork” so obviously NOT of the usual Costco quality. The pizza was ok but doughy, and they didn’t seem to be cooking them long enough to cook the toppings sufficiently. The cheese pizza was suitably gooey and cheesey and definitely Costco “style”. Just not quite up to par, I’m afraid. I’m ok with that. Next time I’ll get a Very Berry Sundae and a Caesar salad instead.
Check out that view!
The best thing about the food court was the view. I’ve never been to a Costco with windows at all, so this was pretty cool. And you can see why they did it, the view is just fantastic.
After waiting on a very long line at the food court, we decided we’d better get on the checkout queue, even though we weren’t really finished shopping. Rob stayed on the line for awhile while I tried to dodge around the crowds in order to get a cursory look at the deli, bakery, and produce sections. I picked up a few things here and there to add to our purchases but will really need a few more trips to get a real feel for the variety of products. Rob mentioned to me later than they had veggie trays and things that I had totally missed, so I don’t have too much to report on this. I did see a fantastic variety of artisan breads in the bakery, and picked up some bagels which are pretty hard to come by in Australia!
At one stage, the checkout snaked all the way around the store perimeter.
Meanwhile, back in the checkout queue, patient shoppers were handed free cans of Coke and fresh baked cookies. Costco management is so smart sometimes. Be good to the people waiting in line … if they give up, its a lost sale AND your staff are going to have to put back all those perishables! Which leads me to mention that a lot of people seemed to be “abandoning ship”. There were buffalo wings in the book aisle, oranges in the canned goods, and muffins in the garden section. Some people are so feral! I was glad to see that they had staff picking stuff up and putting it away as quickly as they could. I had to hold on to my trolley a few times, lest it be ferried away by an overzealous employee!
Check Out
By the time we could actually see the checkout area, we’d been waiting for about an hour. There have been reports in the news that some people waited for over 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the staff didn’t seem to have a handle on the logistics here. While one or two lines snaked right around the perimeter of the store, smaller lines kept forming closer to the registers, unbeknownst to those waiting patiently at the rear. What surprised me most was the patience of the shoppers. Australians can be feisty at times, but it seemed like people were generally content to wait their turn and I heard very little complaining. I suppose people were realistic about this being opening day and a bit of an “event”.
At the registers, it seemed there had been a few hiccups with the computer system. Member details were retrieved very slowly after swiping and quite a few items were not scanning and had to be entered manually. Our checker, VJ, an American who’d been an employee since 1989 (according to his name tag) was clearly frustrated. He refused a bottle of water from a supervisor because he knew he would then need a bathroom break. This was a man who was taking one for the team on opening day. What a champion – you’ve gotta love the commitment of Costco employees (although I can’t say the same about the young lady who served my pizza, but you can’t win them all).
The intense drama of the checkouts behind us, Rob and I headed to the overflow carpark, where we had to wait for an elevator because they weren’t designed for Costco-sized trolleys. Two trolleys and 4 people was about the maximum capacity. Remember, this was a normal city parking garage. We walked past the lifts down to the Costco carpark, and they were HUGE! So this shouldn’t be a problem in the future. As we were leaving, we saw some Costco employees struggling to collect trolleys by the dozen from this carpark that was clearly not designed for the task. It looked like hard work, and those men definitely went home with sore arms from pushing trolleys up the hills between levels.
Conclusion
Our cart full of Costco purchases
With our purchases tucked safely in the boot (trunk) of our car, we were off again home. My conclusion? It was definitely Costco. In a way, it was anti-climatic, because it was just Costco. But, on the other hand, WE HAVE COSTCO NOW! And this makes me smile.
Prices
But wait! You might ask, “what about the prices? Isn’t it all about the prices?” For me, not really. For me it’s about the experience, the products, the samples, and the sheer variety of items. But of course, the prices are important too.
I really only paid attention to food prices, because (a) that is the area where it is easiest to make comparisons and (b) it is also the area that all the hype has been about here in Melbourne. We only have 2 major supermarket chains, and some people are under the impression that there is not enough competition here and that Costco’s arrival would mean a price war in the grocery sector. My general impression is this: for brand name products that are available at other Australian supermarkets, Costco’s prices are just about in line with the price for the equivalent item at the majors, when those items are on special. And I mean the GOOD specials. The one where, when you get the ad in your letterbox, you know you better stock up on that item at that price. This impression is based on some initial analysis I’ve done using a few weeks worth of sale ads and a spreadsheet.
For example, Costco sells Weet Bix cereal in 1 kg boxes for $3.29. This same size box is occasionally available at Coles or Woolworths for $2.99. There were a lot of examples of this, especially in the area of “basics” that I talked about before. My gut feel is that Costco felt it MUST have these products on their shelves. And these brands that are household names were not likely to supply Costco – a newcomer to the market that may or may not succeed – at prices lower than what they offer the major supermarkets – who are the bread and butter of their business. I think that better value is possibly to be had in the area of “treats” and “upscale” brands that I discussed earlier. As another Costco blogger has been known to say, Costco’s model is more about improving your lifestyle at an equivalent cost, than it is about providing dirt cheap basics.
But I don’t want to report too much yet. Due to the crowds and time limitations I didn’t get to write down many prices. Also, I only have price data about “advertised specials” at the majors on hand at the moment, not their regular prices. So the jury is still out on price, and I will save that for a later Costco visit and a later post (that is, of course, if Kimberly invites me back!).
I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about my Australian Costco experience.
Regards, BB
1
Kurt //
2009.08.18 at 10:44 am
Awesome report. Glad to know Costco is loved Down Under so far!
2
Pat P. //
2009.08.18 at 2:33 pm
Very interesting. I’m used to the cookie-cutter Costco’s where they’re all just about the same, big parking lots out in the open. I imagine it would be hard to buy perishables to take come unless you have a cooler in your car. It looks awfully crowded there but I’m sure it’ll settle down. I shouldn’t be complaining about the weekend crowds at my local Costco, but I do, and I usually buy stuff there on a weeknight. Weekends are good for walking around and browsing.
3
Dave //
2009.08.18 at 5:23 pm
BB, thanks alot for that very well written and engaging report! I feel almost like I was there with you! It definitely sounds like there was a bit of excitement over the store’s opening day as I just couldn’t imagine waiting in lines that long. People must have been very excited to deal with that.
I always hate it when shoppers abandon perishables on the shelves of my local Costco – that spoilage is raising costs for everyone! If I see them doing it, I’ve been known to sneak it back in their cart and if I’m caught doing that, I’ll say something like “I think you dropped this back there.”
4
Sara //
2009.08.18 at 6:15 pm
Can you go to the Australia Costco if you have a U.S. membership card?? I’m going to Australia soon and was wondering
5
Kimberly //
2009.08.18 at 6:20 pm
Sara, it is my belief that your Costco membership will work at any of the stores around the world.
6
Anthony //
2009.08.18 at 11:06 pm
That was a great read – I’ve been to the Melbourne Costco twice already and love it
7
BB //
2009.08.19 at 6:17 am
Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I felt a little silly writing it so it’s good to know that people share my excitement somewhat!
Sara – yes your card works worldwide.
Anthony – I’m going back tomorrow!
Pat P. – I am sure it will definitely calm down. As far as I’ve heard, it was much quieter on Tuesday (still busy but normal busy!). I’m sure they’re expecting big crowds again on the weekend.
8
Gerardo //
2009.08.19 at 6:49 am
Sara, you can use your Costco card anywhere in the world.
BB, that was an awesome blog! You are right about VJ, he is a real team player, and has been since I have known him!
When members dump trolleys, it means that 2 -3 staff have to dedicate themselves to putting stock back, and it is very hard to do when you have other tasks to fulfil. But I agree, that the lines were excessively long ( but it was opening day after all!)
9
Chris //
2009.08.19 at 7:23 am
We went this afternoon, not expecting much. We dodged the cues by applying for membership online a few weeks back, otherwise we would have been up for 30 min wait at the front door.
We walked in with Coles & Safeway catalogs and found the same as BB with specials being slightly cheaper than Costco, however in some items there was a significant saving. eg. Napisan. You’ve got to know your prices otherwise you’ll be paying more than your local supermarket.
The electronics/DVDs/etc was definitely a take-it-or-leave-it type of thing. Not cheap and not a good range either. Clothes were average/bad. Branded batteries were okay value, albeit in monster packs.
Forget the alcohol. Very poor wine selection and expensive beer. Skip it.
All up $600 or so in one shop and we’ve made back the $60 membership fee in one go and have enough toilet paper to stave off a small town’s worth bout of dysentery…. excellent.
Cheers.
C
10
Kimberly //
2009.08.19 at 8:17 am
I want to say a big ‘thanks’ to BB for such a great report on the first day excitement of this first Costco opening in Australia. Much like Dave, I felt like I was right there….of course, if I were I would have totally been bitching about the lines I’m sure. What a great view from the food court, I’m completely jealous. All we can see at ours is either cement block wall or people leaving (while interesting to see what people buy, not nearly as scenic).
And of course, you are invited back to guest post whenever you want!!
11
BB //
2009.08.19 at 4:52 pm
I’ll just point out that I noticed yesterday that the 1 kg box of Weetbix I mentioned was $3.99 *on special* on Tuesday at Woolies. So the $2.99 special I mentioned was probably exceptional (and probably a “loss leader”. That’s why it’s really not fair to compare Costco prices to sale prices, especially when the “sale” price is the best one out of several months worth of sales. As the primary food shopper for my family, I have quite a few prices committed to memory, and for the most part, they are the loss-leading, door-busting prices that I know are the best I am going to get.
When I was looking at the Weetbix, a man walked by and said “$3.29 for Weetbix? Coles will beat that any day of the week!” He probably had that $2.99 price in his head, too. But the regular price is over $5 and it is on special at Coles this week for $4.
I look forward to doing a more detailed comparison.
12
BB //
2009.08.19 at 4:54 pm
Sorry about the above post, I haven’t got HTML skills and there’s no way to preview. I was trying to provide a link to the definition of “Loss Leader” on wikipedia. Check it out, very enlightening!
13
BB //
2009.08.19 at 5:06 pm
Sorry, last post … in response to Chris on the alcohol. I didn’t go in the liquor section but my husband did.
It was interesting: similar to the Weetbix, Rob’s initial impression was that the beer was not cheap (he drinks Carlton Draft). But last night, when I told him I was going back to Costco today, he asked me to get him some beer. I was puzzled, because he had told me the prices were too high. When I asked him, he said, “not too high, just not any better than the supermarket on special. But I don’t feel like waiting until its on special.”
I think once Costco has a few locations and it’s a bit more convenient to get there on a regular basis, our expectation that Costco’s prices be lower than even the lowest supermarket special might be relaxed.
14
Kimberly //
2009.08.19 at 5:13 pm
I cleaned up the run-on HTML link.
You were half way there….the ‘< a href >‘ tag part goes before the text you want to link and then you need to close it up after the text with the ‘< / a > ‘tag. Without all the spaces (that was the only way I could get it to show without it actually becoming a link).
I don’t know that I can get my blog software to allow comment previews…but I’ll look into it.
15
Cisco //
2009.08.20 at 3:49 am
Hi all! I am making the trek down from Sydney for the costco opener tomorrow! I am excited and plan on buying a whole heap load of stuff! Being a native San diegan my family has been costco members since 1983 since the days of Sol Price and price club! I can totally relate to feeling like costco is part if the
family! Honestly, not having a costco in Australia was a huge factor keeping me from considering staying here permently! I’ve been living in Sydney for the past 3 years and I am now one step closer to finding Australia as a new home!
16
Sarah B //
2009.08.21 at 9:57 am
As soon as I read that the Australian Costco carries Arnott’s biscuits my mind immediately drifted to the heavenly thoughts of a Costo-sized box of Tim Tams. Please tell me this exists… I can only imagine! Of course, since I’m in California right now it wouldn’t do me a bit of good, but just knowing it’s out there…
17
Gail //
2009.08.22 at 12:36 am
The tim tams are there!!!!! We went last night and didn’t have to queue and were given our membership cards as we entered. We had first been told to go to a membership desk but then another staff member told us just to go to the front of the queue at the front and the staff member who served us, Nathanial, did tell us they would be at the other desk but when I said we were told to come here he said no problems, I feel your pain and will do them here! We found all the staff really nice and helpful. I wouldn’t have minded going to find the right desk but we only had 50 mins before closing (parking issues) and I just wanted to shop lol! I loved it *sigh* and can’t wait to go back to look around properly. My husband nearly had a coronary at the check out and has threatened to cut up my membership card *g* but once home and wearing his Kirkland jeans, eating his giant blueberry muffin, drinking his coke and eating a pastrami sandwich all was forgotten! We bought too many lollies (for the kids of course!) so that is one thing to watch as that did bump up our bill and they really don’t need them. We got a 400 pack of the Herron kids Vita-minis for $30. I normally pay $18/$19 for a 100 pack so that’s a great saving and will counteract the lollies LOL! I got some Bounce dryer sheets and they smell divine. I bought the Gain laundry liquid, we’ve got a front loader. Not sure how that will go and I thought that was the great fragrance I could smell but it is the bounce sheets – think I might put them in piles around the house to scent the rooms lol! The Gain liquid was in a 5 litre bottle on special for about $30 – it is normally $38. I normally pay $7 for a box of Radiant powder which lasts about two 1/2 weeks. I think the Gain will last for a year so hope it’s good! Maybe I should have bought Tide? I bought Olay moisturiser, again on special for $10 off so $55 for a 3 pack or $15 each which is excellent. I bought the Twinings “Everyday” tea bags in a huge bag of 320 for only $9 – a 50 pack is around $6 in the supermarkets. They also had English Breakfast but not that much cheaper or packaged the same way and I love the Everyday ones anyway. I bought a 16″ pizza which won’t fit in our fridge lol! I also got bagels and a 1kg tub of philly (I am planning to freeze this in smaller portions). Also bought Nutella and peanut butter, again items I buy weekly, in bigger jars/quantities for the same price or less. I think if you know your prices and buy items you regularly buy you will notice a difference in your shopping bill and time. I have to get our freezer and cupboards cleared out a bit first but plan to cut down what I buy at the supermarket each week on items I can get at Costco, put that money aside and then go to Costco once a month for these items and that should keep DH happy *VBG*. Oh and BB ,the reason for the huge amount of Crocs I think was the price. They are so cheap, when I heard about this I thought they must be copies. I am sure the adults are usually around $80 a pair and Costco had them for $25.
18
Melbourne Chat //
2009.08.23 at 12:02 am
Awesome report. I cannot wait to go along. When you talk about samples, do you mean free samples? It is always nice to get something for nothing.
Cheers, Glen
19
Monique //
2009.08.24 at 4:03 am
What a fantastic report..I am going on friday and I can’t wait, I wonder if the crowds will die down a bit by then! I have just bought my membership online as to avoid queuing.
I was just wondering if anyone know about Costco coupons and where you get them??( If at all in Australia). I have noticed a few blogs about them, and you can get extra savings on top of the regular price!
I think I might head down to safeway and jot down some prices, so I know whats a great saving and whats not.
I am also looking forward to the cafe, I want to try a hotdog and coke for $2.50… is that even possible for that price.
20
Kimberly //
2009.08.24 at 8:28 am
The free samples are one of the things that everyone seems to love at Costco. Every weekend they have several little free sample stands for various products, new and not so new. Several times these samples have turned into purchases for me. It’s nice to be able to try something before you buy it!
21
Kimberly //
2009.08.24 at 8:31 am
I’d love to be able to answer the questions about the Costco Coupon Book in Australia but I just don’t have that information. In the US they have been having coupon books quite frequently, with just about 2 or 3 weeks in between valid coupons. Perhaps they are doing them in Australia too but just haven’t started the coupon program yet? It does take them a while to get new members on the mailing list, here in the US, so maybe that has had something to do with people not getting coupon books yet.
22
Gail //
2009.08.24 at 7:17 pm
One of my friends said they were handing out coupon books in the store but we didn’t get/see them. Anything that is reduced due to a coupon is advertised on it’s price tag, and a few of the things I bought were, so I asked at the checkout and was told that they will scan at the lower price automatically (which they did) so you don’t need the coupons but I wouldn’t have minded the book so I could see what other products they had due to my limited time there.
23
BB //
2009.08.25 at 12:16 am
The coupons they were handing out at Costco Melbourne were also (I have heard) e-mailed and posted to pre-registered members, but I didn’t get any that way. I was finally handed some on my 3rd visit. These were not like the coupon books they mail out in the US, they were just a few introductory offers (maybe 15-20 coupons?). As Gail mentioned, they were automatically applying the coupons at the registers, because of the crowds etc. When the woman handed me the sheet, she said they were “this month’s coupons” so possibly they are considering making it a monthly thing? Items I can remember: Take n Bake pizza, a few different laundry products, bakery cookies, chicken breast fillets from the deli, tyres, Cascade dishwasher tabs.
24
Carrie //
2009.08.26 at 4:20 am
I’m not American, but have family there and have been over a few times. I became quite fond of Bounce dryer sheets and have brought them back home with me to Australia… pretty excited (how lame is that) to see they have them at Costco (I live in Melbourne and I’m going to check it out in a few weeks). Do you know how many were in a box and how much they cost??
25
Miriam //
2009.09.03 at 9:06 pm
I went last Saturday and I was so excited! I was like BB and realistic about what would be offered as Costco is trying to cater to the Australian market. There would be a large expat community (myself included) who would be over the moon about familiar items, previously un-purchasable here, but Australians wouldn’t necessarily be familiar with those items. My favourite things were the Cinnamon Raisin bagels (which I went into raptures over!); the huge bags of Craisins & the good-quality kid’s books for low prices. I was also overjoyed about the excellent quality of the photos for only 12 cents a print. I was told that I didn’t need to correct the prints at the monitors myself, because the staff would quality-control them for me. The amazing skin-tones and matte finish of the prints for such a low price made me very happy. I will definitely be going back for their prints! It is an hour’s drive for me, but we’re feeding a family of 8 at the moment and we’re planning on monthly trips into town.
26
ray //
2009.11.13 at 2:18 am
carnt wait to visit melbourne costco we shop in scotland edinburgh store and looks like we will be home from home see you jan 2010 our yearly family visit and our summer holiday down under