By Claire Reilly
Warehouse retail giant Costco plans to expand its current operations in Australia, with the company set to open two or three large-footprint stores in 2013.
Costco Australia’s managing director, Patrick Noone, said the company had plans to expand its Australian store network, which currently stands at three stores, the Sydney Morning Herald reported today.
“We would like to do two [stores] in calendar 2013 ideally. We could do three but are likely to do two for sure,” said Noone. “'We have a couple of sites we are working on, one in Sydney [and] we do like the market in Queensland and would like to have a site up there in Brisbane next year.”
“We are also now looking at a second store in Melbourne, and Adelaide is also an interesting area for us.”
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Costco has long had plans to branch out in Australia, following on from its successful first launch in Melbourne’s Docklands, followed by store openings in the western-Sydney suburb of Auburn and next to the Canberra airport.
Speaking at the opening of the Canberra Costco warehouse, Noone told Current.com.au that the company had its eye on expansion opportunities around Australia.
“We’re looking at other markets in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. So we’re actively searching out opportunities in those areas,” he said. “I think we’ll have another store in Sydney sooner or later, and we’ve been really looking at those Adelaide and Brisbane markets to branch out.”