Opening day at Costco in Nanjing: Two-hour queues, Hermès sold out in seconds, 120 emergency services on standby

On May 28th, the seventh store of the famous warehouse membership supermarket, COSTCO, officially opened in Nanjing. According to COSTCO, the number of membership card registrations for the Nanjing store had surpassed 100,000 before the opening. Calculated at the lowest membership price of ¥199 ($28), offered during the opening promotion, COSTCO had already accrued over ¥20 million before opening their doors. Interestingly, just three days prior, COSTCO's competitor Sam's Club opened a new store in the Jiangbei district of Nanjing.

In terms of hardware, the Nanjing Costco is equipped with a three-story large parking lot, totalling over 1,000 parking spaces. Additionally, to recreate the authentic American COSTCO "fuel + shopping" model, they have also opened the first membership gas station in China. Images are from RED

On opening day, the scene at the store was undoubtedly bustling, with crowds of people causing traffic congestion. Although the store is known for good value, large format food, it was the ¥170,000 ($24,000) Hermès bags seeing consumers arriving early to get one. However, even getting there at 8am was too late with the store selling out of the bags. Many other customers complained about having to wait for an hour just to enter the store and another hour to make a purchase, resulting in a very poor shopping experience. Additionally, as a precaution, government authorities stationed 120 ambulances at the entrance of the store to prevent any accidents.

The crowded scene at Costco, the frenzy over the Hermès bag and ambulance in front of the store. Images are from RED

It is evident that Costco and Sam's Club have a fierce competition ahead in Nanjing, like in the other cities both retailers operate. They each have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of customer selection, localized marketing, and hero products. As the initial curiosity from consumers fades, the real focus for these two membership-based supermarkets is how to maintain a stable renewal rate among members to achieve long-term growth.