New Costco stores opening in Australia

Costco is set to significantly expand its presence in Australia, with multiple new warehouses already in the works and several hotspots being eyed for future stores.

The membership-only retailer currently has 15 warehouses in Australia but upcoming stores and potential future sites could see that grow to 20 over the next five years.

Costco Warehouse Australia managing director Patrick Noone said the retailer has several hotspot locations where it is looking for good sites.

“So it’s lots of expansion,” Mr Noone told realcommercial.com.au in a July 2022 interview.

“It gives us up to 20 buildings in the next five years.”

Costco could have 20 stores in Australia in five years’ time. Picture: Supplied by Costco

Mr Noone reiterated this goal in a July 2023 interview with Sunrise, as well as highlighting some of the retail giant’s more popular products.

While justifying the required membership price tag of $65, he mentioned that members were able to purchase everything from home-brand Kirkland tissues to coffins, and even an $80 4.5kg block of Toblerone.

Here are the details of upcoming and new Costco stores in Australia.

Costco Ardeer, Melbourne – opening late 2024

Costco has acquired a site in Ardeer, in Melbourne’s western suburbs, and lodged a planning application to develop a new warehouse and service station.

Mr Noone said it is the perfect location for the retailer and offers convenience for Costco’s rapidly expanding membership in the area.

Speaking to Sunrise in July 2023 Mr Noone said he expected the Ardeer store to open within 18 months, putting the opening date around December 2024 or early 2025.

An artist rendering of the new Costco warehouse planned for the Ardeer site. Picture: Costco planning application

The planning application is before the Brimbank City Council.

Details

Address: 740 Ballarat Road, Ardeer

Opening date: TBC

Investment: $62.8 million estimated development cost

Costco Officer, Melbourne – opening date TBC

Costco Officer was originally slated to be the retailer’s 16th Australian store and fifth in Melbourne however the plans hit a road bump when the State Government rejected the Council’s request to amend plans to allow for the bulk buy giant.

The warehouse was originally reportedly be part of the 92ha Kaduna Business Park development in Officer South, in Melbourne’s outer south-east.

Details

Address: Officer

Opening date: TBC

Investment: TBC

Costco Casuarina, Perth – opened 7 December 2022

Costco Casuarina is the retailer’s 14th Australian store and second warehouse in Perth.

The warehouse is part of stage one of developer Aigle Royal’s overall 60ha Casuarina site, in south Perth.

The warehouse has about 14,000sqm of floor space and 827 parking spaces. It includes a tyre centre, food court, optical centre and hearing aid centre, as well as a fuel station.

Details

Address: Corner of Thomas Road and Kwinana Freeway, Casuarina

Opening date: 7 December 2022

Investment: $50 million

Costco Coomera, Gold Coast – opened 22 June 2023

Costco Coomera on the Gold Coast is the retailer’s 15th Australian store and its third in Queensland.

Construction started in late June 2022, on a site adjacent to the Westfield Coomera shopping centre and opened a year later on June 22 2023.

An artist rendering of the new Costco warehouse in Coomera on the Gold Coast that is expected to open in the first half of 2023. Picture: Supplied by Costco

The 14,000sqm warehouse includes a food court, hearing aid centre, tyre centre and optical centre plus specialty departments such as a bakery, fresh meat, fresh produce and a deli. There is be parking for 783 cars and a fuel station.

Costco hired 300 staff for the opening of its Gold Coast store.

Details

Address: Northern Link Road, Coomera, at the Westfield Coomera Town Centre

Opening date: First half of 2023, probably around May

Investment: $75 million

Future hotspots for new Costco stores

Mr Noone revealed Costco has several hotspot locations where it is keen to find sites for new warehouses.

Mr Noone said the aspirational locations include:

• Hobart, Tasmania
• North Sydney, New South Wales
• South Sydney, New South Wales
• North Perth, Western Australia,
• South Adelaide, South Australia
• Geelong, Victoria

“Those are kind of the hotspots that we’re trawling through all the time looking for good sites,” Mr Noone said.

Costco has several hotspot locations where it wants to find sites for future warehouses across Australia. Picture: Supplied by Costco

Mr Noone said finding additional sites in Sydney, where Costco currently has three stores, is a priority.

“When you look at the markets in Australia, the Sydney market definitely is a great market for Costco and we only have three Costcos here with about six million people. So there is a lot more opportunity here in this marketplace.”

What Costco looks for in a development site

Costco typically looks for sites that have good access to major roads, are located in growth areas or in areas with a population density of about 400,000 to 500,000 people.

The building profile is about 14,000sqm with about 800 car parks on one lot. The trade area for each warehouse generally represents a 45 minute drive time to each site.

Each store hires approximately 250-300 staff for opening, on top of jobs created during the construction and planning of the warehouses.

Current Costco stores in Australia

The US-based big-box retailer opened its first warehouse in Australia in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct in 2009.

Costco opened its first Australian store in 2009. Picture: Supplied by Costco

Its current 15 Australian stores are located in:

Victoria

• Costco Docklands in inner-city Melbourne
• Costco Moorabbin, at Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne’s south-east
• Costco Epping, in Melbourne’s north
• Costco Ringwood, in Melbourne’s east

New South Wales

• Costco Crossroads at Casula in Sydney’s south-west
• Costco Marsden Park in Sydney’s north-west
• Costco Auburn at Lidcombe in western Sydney
• Costco Lake Macquarie in Boolaroo in greater Newcastle

Queensland

• Costco Ipswich in Bundamba
• Costco North Lakes, in the Moreton Bay region
• Costco Gold Coast in Coomera

ACT

• Costco Canberra, at Canberra Airport

South Australia

• Costco Adelaide, at Kilburn in Adelaide’s inner north

Western Australia

• Costco Perth Airport
• Costco Casuarina in Perth’s south

Costco also opened its first New Zealand store in August 2022 in Auckland.

Originally written by Megan Neil, with updates from Marnie Bodin.