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© 2019 AFPCostco bets on international appetite for first Chinese store
By Lianchao LAN SHANGHAI©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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© 2019 AFP
11 Comments
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mmwkdw
Well.. the Chinese instinct of looking for deals forced the store to close early on it's first day... I wonder whether this enthusiasm will continue... and if my first comment will come true...
Sha
I can just imagine how long the lines for samples will be and families taking nap on the display beds and furnitures. I'm not saying these are wrong because samples and display furniture are meant to be tried but they have a tendency to be opportunistic and "abusive" towards freebies.
Peter Neil
This first location was in the works before Trump started a trade war, so I think the chance of success has gone from "maybe" to "unlikely."
I don't know how much Chinese people will support an American company, since the American president called the Chinese president an "enemy."
commanteer
Chinese generally have more living space than Japanese. And Costco has already succeeded in Japan.
quercetum
$4.99 for a whole rotisserie chicken. Best product.
mmwkdw
I think it's going to fail... not simply because it's associated with America, but here in the Far Eastern Asian areas of relative "Wealth", we don't store items for long term - due to space constraints, and environment issues - heat, etc.
So watch the balance sheet carefully.
CostCo is a bulk seller, so great if you have Storage space for things... but not so great if you don't.
commanteer
Understanding how they operate is easy. But a copycat store would not be able to get the deals Costco offers on quality merchandise, so I don't that as much of a threat, outside of damage to the Costco brand in China.
Still, now is probably not the best time to launch a chain in China.
Arrrgh-Type
If Costco could make it work it Japan, it's not hard to imagine that they could make it work in China. They've got the magic touch.
bearandrodent
Not the best timing given the trade wars.
WA4TKG
The store I went to in Kanagawa was comparable to one in the U.S., however, I’ve never been a fan of Membership Shopping myself.
Silvafan
Costco needs to be careful about the scams with the return policy and theft, and I also forsee a counterfeit store run by a government backed company sprouting up once they understand how the store operates.
Companies never learn when doing business in China or with the Chinese!