Costco Expands Business-Oriented Stores in Canada

Costco Wholesale (Issaquah, Wash.) has opened three Business Centres in Canada in recent weeks, bringing its fleet of such stores there to a total of 10. Many of those business-oriented outlets are conversions of Costco stores originally targeting consumers.

At the Business Centres, more than 70% of the product offerings are for such businesses as restaurants, convenience/grocery stores and offices. Goods offered range from bulk-food items to commercial kitchen wares and cleaning supplies to office furniture.

The latest such outlets are in East Gwillimbury, Ont., Quebec and New Westminster, B.C.

“The Costco Business Centre concept is already a resounding success in other parts of the country, and we look forward to offering the same benefits to businesses in East Gwillimbury and surrounding areas, which we also hope will bring many new consumers to discover the benefits of a Costco membership,” said Marc-André Bally, Senior Vice President Western Canada and Business Centres in the news release on the opening of that store.

Costco also operates 27 such business centers in the U.S., the company’s website shows. And according to published reports, more such outlets are in the offing, both north and south of the U.S./Canada border.

In a call with analysts in early November related to the company’s most recent quarterly earnings, The U.S. Sun quoted CEO Ron Vachris as saying that in addition to opening more such outlets in Canada, “In the U.S, we see great opportunities both in new markets as well as when we relocate a building to a larger facility.”

Vachris also said Costco plans at 35 new consumer-oriented outlets in the coming year, along with the brand’s first stand-alone gas station near Los Angeles.