Plans from the city of North Port have confirmed that Costco is in the beginning stages of opening a second warehouse in Sarasota County near Wellen Park.
But why didCostco choose North Port, among so many suburban areas longing for its free samples and discounted prices?
The company doesn't comment on locations that are more than three months away from opening, so they won't be spelling out specific reasons anytime soon. But based on publicly available information from Costco itself and other sources, we can piece together parts of the puzzle.
WHAT IS COSTCO?
For the uninitiated, Costco is a membership-based retail warehouse club with headquarters in Issaquah, Washington.
WHAT DOES IT SELL?
According to the investor relations section of its website,Costco warehouses"present one of the largest and most exclusive product category selections to be found under a single roof." That includes groceries, housewares, health and beauty aids, alcohol, cameras, watches, sporting goods, televisions, office supplies and equipment, toys, automotive supplies and appliances.
The retailer has about 4,000 SKUs in its warehouses, compared to 30,000 found at most supermarkets, according to the company.
HOW BIG ARESTORES?
The average size for a Costco warehouse is 146,000 square feet, according to the company, although newer warehouses are being built larger. Its no-frills, warehouse-style shopping experience is part of how it keeps costs down.
The Sarasota Square mall Costco warehouse is about 145,000square feet, while the Bradenton location, which opened in 2019 at 805 Lighthouse Drive, is 155,000.
WHERE ARE THESE STORES?
As of Aug. 25, Costco had838 warehouse locations around the world, according to the company. That includes 578 in 46 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, 107 in Canada, 29 in the United Kingdom, 31 in Japan, 17 in South Korea, 40 in Mexico, 14 in Taiwan, 13 in Australia, four in Spain, two in France, two in China and one in Iceland.
In the "new locations" section of its website, Costco lists 15 upcoming warehouses, including a location in Stockholm, Sweden, scheduled to open in October.
HOW MANY ARE IN FLORIDA?
Costco currently has 30 locations across the Sunshine State.
HOW DOES COSTCO CHOOSE A SITE?
The company won't comment on this directly, but here are some educated guesses from your friendly neighborhood retail reporter.
Let's look at the two local examples to get some hints. First, there's the Costco at Sarasota Square mall that opened in 2012.The mall itself has had its fair share of problems over the last several decades, but there's no denying its prime location, which is so good that local mega-landlordBenderson Development Co. decided to get in on the actionby revamping Pelican Plaza across the street, also in 2012.
More on Sarasota Square:Glory years long gone as mall awaits new future
Read the North Port news:Costco in early stages of opening second warehouse store in Sarasota County
Even as the mall slowly dies, the population is still there and itsaverage yearly income within five miles is $100,000. That's how you get a Costco store that does $130 million in sales per year. (These numbers are from a story I wrote last year when JLL was marketing the mall for sale).
Now let's look at Bradenton. Costco was one of the first major tenants to open at the I-75/State Road 64 interchange. Since then, several new commercial plazas have been constructed or further developed -- including School House Plaza and the commercial center east of Heritage Green Way. It's also right next to the Heritage Harbour master-planned community and not too far from Lakewood Ranch, the second fastest-growing master-planned community in the country, according to RCLCO.A new Publix opened just down the road a few weeks ago.
When you start looking at it in that context, adding a store near Wellen Park — another one of RCLCO's fastest-growing master planned communities — makes a lot of sense.
WHAT ARE COSTCO'S PLANS FOR NORTH PORT?
Plans provided by the city of North Port show that Costco's Wellen Park warehouse will be 157,000 square feet. There will also be a 240-square-foot fuel kiosk.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE SARASOTA STORE?
Someone asked me this via email last week, and I'll tell you exactly what I told her — likely nothing.
I don't have any inside knowledge of the situation, but from a keen outsider's point of view, Costco seems to be very strategic with its store openings. The Sarasota Square store, as I said, did about $130 million in annual sales as of last year, and its lease runs through 2032. It is, without a doubt, the biggest generator of income at Sarasota Square for the mall'scurrent owner, Torburn Partners of Illinois (fight me on this. Who else could come close? The movie theater? In this economy? Please).
If you look at Costco's geographic sprawl even in Florida, you can see that it often operates stores in metro areas not too far from each other. The Sarasota and Bradenton locations are 22 miles apart, and the Sarasota location is just about as far from CoolToday Park, the Wellen Park spring training home of the Atlanta Braves.
North Port's Costco will be a pull for the area, but it won't take away from the dense population that lives close to the Sarasota Square warehouse.
Laura Finaldi, the Herald-Tribune’s retail and tourism reporter, can be reached at 941-361-4951 orlfinaldi@heraldtribune.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram@lauraefinaldi. Join her Sarasota-Manatee Retail News page on Facebook atfacebook.com/groups/sarasotamanateeretail/.
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