Costco coming?
 

Hey, don't shoot the messenger! We were at Costco this morning and had to talk to the manager about a return (2 bottles of single malt scotch blew their corks and emptied in our car). We told him we were from The Villages, and, we, along with a bunch of other people, wanted a Costco here. He said that they had looked at land here, and it's in the plans. He can't say when, but it's coming. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've also read on Facebook that someone else had heard the same thing. By the way, he replaced the 2 bottles for free. That's customer service!

I would think a store manager would not be privy to corporate plans of such a nature.


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It would be a very welcome addition. Every winter when we drive to our Villages home, 3/4 of the stuff packed into our truck are supplies from Costco.

I have friends that work for Costco Corporate here in Kirkland, WA. I’ve asked and they have no idea if one is coming to TV but they did say Costco does not invest in seasonal populations. They also said, if Costco believes it can make a profit in a city, they will build one. Lets hope we’ll see a Costco TV in the near future.

This makes sense. Need to copy and paste on the numerous threads devoted to this topic.


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By all means, cross your fingers. Just don't hold your breath.

Fingers AND toes crossed! :thumbup:


I LOVE Costco! :pepper2:

As big as TV is going to get with all the new land acquisitions down south, it could only be a matter of time before they build.

We were renewing our membership this morning up north and the assistant manager said she has a home in Virginia Trace. Husband is retired and she still working full time.

Would love to transfer but she said Wesley Chapel is too far to drive. I mentioned we had hopes of a Costco closer as she did.

Response was only extreme upper management has a clue when and where the next Costco will open. Anyone at store level usually only knows once building is going up, and transfer list is posted. And then the public knows about same time.

My wife and I just got back from an Alaskan cruise and land tour and were surprised that both Juneau (1 location) and Anchorage (2 locations) have Costcos when both of them have populations smaller than The Villages, even in the summer months. I'm also sure that the average household income in both cities is well below that of The Villages. That said, I've heard that Sam's Club here has an issue with The Villages in that Villages tend not to buy much in the way of their larger ticket items. Maybe it really isn't that profitable for warehouse clubs to operate here. Given Costcos record of success, I imagine they have good enough reasons for not coming here, at least not yet.

Costco
 

iT SOUNDS AS IF THEY CONSIDER US A SEASONAL POPULATION. I LIE HERE YEAR ROUND AS DO MANY, MANY PEOPLE. IF SAMS IS SHOPPED ENOUGH TO KEEP THEM OPEN I WOULD THINK COSTCO WOULD BE ALSO. NOW IF WE CAN JUST GET A TRADER JOES! :pray:

You Never Know
 

You never know who knows what's going on. It may be the clerk in the office etc. I remember that one time the rumor was flying around that we were going to get stock options. It ended up true. The source was the shoe shine guy in Corporate as he overheard it from one of the VP's who got his shoes shined every morning. The shoe shine guy passed it on to us. The message is it may be a clerk in Costco. WHO KNOWS?:shrug:

There's a Costco in Orlando, that's seasonal.

I can't wait for a Costco, at my age I don't buy green bananas.

Yes, Juneau is smaller than The Villages. In 2016 it had only 32,000 residents. But Anchorage is more than twice the size of The Villages. 2016 population 298,192.

Hard to believe when the local Sams opened a new meat area that serves $35 a pound meats, much better sea food and Definitely improved their fine wine selections. They would not be in business if someone was buying this stuff...good for them!!

Considering SAM's club is closing 63 stores this year (Is your Sam's Club closing? Here's the list) and Costco none that might explain why Costco is so successful and so very selective on where they open stores and better at doing it. I'd love to see a Costco here (or even in OCALA) but not keeping my hopes up high. Same for Trader Joe's.

The Orlando metro area has a population of 2.4 mill. I believe that’s a bit more than TV. Sam’s has a different matrix when selecting locations, hence the reason so many are closing. I’m sure we’ll eventually see a Costco in TV vicinity. Sooner rather than later would be ok with me, but they didn’t ask my opinion :)

Sams
 

Sams club is Walmart with better meat.

What is Sam’s lacking that Costco would provide?

Very little.


Consumer Reporters Costco vs. Sam's Club review - Business Insider

Costco vs. Sam's Club Review and Price Comparison | Cheapism

This rumor has gone around for the last XX years and always comes from "someone who works at Costco or knows someone who knows someone, said"......unless we see it announced formally, I'd say keep on hoping. Maybe they'll come, maybe they won't.

Sam’s Club
 

Wholesale Clubs tend to cater to small businesses that buy in the bulk. When there are only two (one sometimes) in a household they pass on a number of items because they can’t use the items in bulk. Because of the area growth there are a number of small businesses in and near The Villages. That said, Costco if they come to the Villages area, will likely do well.

In Alaska 50% of items bought there is by the pallet, or case. Dog food, booties for dogs, items for hunting and fishing. Many only come to town couple times a year. Our oldest lived in anchorage for 8 years. Then to UK for 8 years. He found it interesting when they moved back to St Paul that items were bought individually in Sams and Costco.

Very informative links, thanks.

I will go back at my first opportunity and tell that manager that I found out he was lying, and will never believe anything anybody from Costco ever tells me again.

That's interesting and makes sense. One of the guides we had also said that the Juneau Costco was the smallest in their chain. So less selection and true bulk buying-only. I'm less jealous now!

As far as Costco not investing in seasonal population areas, I'm not sure that is true. Fort Myers, a sprawling seasonal area, has had a Costco for 20 years and it does so much business that they built a
second store there (only 6 or 7 miles away) about 6 years ago. Both are jammed with customers in season and do a decent business the rest of the year. I say regarding Costco the classic movie line applies,
"if you build it, they will come."

I live in currently live in Anchorage. While the city population is ~250,000, this Costco also serves the outlying areas (add another 250,000) and some from the bush ship stuff out by plane. They do a lot of durables (furniture, TVs, appliances, etc.) and non-durable sales (food and clothes) - I guess some people think you can never have enough blue tarps!!. In fact, my beautiful bride only allows me to shop there on Fridays because I don't do well in crowded stores :cus: (LOL)... but they also sell beer, wine and other distilled spirits :coolsmiley:.

You look so pale in your avatar.:a20::a20::beer3:

Ain’t that the truth! ... actually I have a bit more of a tan (even from Alaska) than the avatar. We are getting more than 19 hours of sunlight right now - just about maxed out! That means... for the next 6 months we will be loosing dailight. .... I like to think of my glass being half full - So... we are just starting Summer! Yea!

I'll bet it gets pretty crowded when that Permanent Fund check thing gets sent out.

Someone told me that the people in the Bush and Native Villages make some pretty big orders at that time...and Costco gets pretty nuts.

I'm guessing that with your allergy to crowds...you don't go there during that period? :D

Don’t be anytime you have to buy 500 booties at a time for your dogs and store them it’s a fun buying adventure. Stupid me asked why so many, he laughed and said how long can you keep a boot on a running dog. :pepper2:

Amazon delivery and Walmart Pick-up is a game changer. sorry, old news

You're lucky you have a Costco. They closed 3 SAM's in AK.



Anchorage, 8801 Old Seward Hwy., 99515
Anchorage, 1074 N Muldoon Road, 99504
Fairbanks, 48 College Road, 99701

Costco coming ? Trader Joe’s ?Who cares if it does or not. I can’t imagine my depression era parents giving a crap either. Corporations laugh at all of us. We’re all chumps that’ll buy into anything and they know it.


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Whether you like Sam's or not, somewhere in the Corporation there was a person with vision who could see that TV was going to grow and they got here first, and I have never been in Sam's when it was not busy. They got here in time to get a piece of land just outside TV, but close enough to serve not only us, but anyone using 411.

In my opinion, Cosco made the big mistake by not taking a chance and jumping in early. We must be a gold mine for Publix and Lowes. They took a chance on TV and won. There is still land available on the outskirts of TV if one of the other big box stores want to chance it.

Is it possible Costco has a requirement for higher revenues in their stores, than Sam’s? I was in Maui a few days ago and I was told their Costco is one of the better producing at $1M/day. I know TV will not produce $1million each day but a store in TV should not end up at the bottom of their chain. Here in the Seattle area there is a Costco about every 3 or 4 miles, no way they can all be winners, can they?

Doubt they would come here. The homes are too small to stock up on supplies.

I lived 10 minutes from a Costco in Atlanta until moving here in 12'. I was told the same thing there by a store manager six years ago. We do not fit the marketing strategy of Costco. We are 99.9% two member family households and would not purchase anywhere near enough to meet Costco's revenue plans or marketing dynamics. People living on fixed incomes with two member households is not how they operate. I could possibly see a store between TV and South Ocala but I even seriously doubt that.

Strange then that I do over 600 inspections here in The Villages yearly, and I see SO MANY homes full of Kirkland stuff. Orlando has 3 Costco's there....

Add to that fact, I've never seen Sam's Club empty here...and BJ's in Clermont also does quite well....I would LOVE a closer Costco. I guess only time will tell.

Until then, going to Costco near Millenia Mall is something we enjoy doing....I like going to that one more than the one in Altamonte Springs....

Frank