The Big Box Capital Of Canada!

[Electric Lady]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

Costco seems fairly disproportionate in their distribution in America, California has quarter of all USA Costco warehouse stores. States like Mississippi, Wyoming and the home of Walmart, Arkansas etc don't have a Costco location.

In Canada Costco seems fairly evenly dispersed.

The U.S has more wholesale type stores and they are highly regional. Costco dominates the West, while the South is dominated by Sam’s Club. In the North East, they have BJ’s.

[urbandreamer]

I'd like to think of Costco as the IBI Group of retail: bland mainstream shopping for those who don't appreciate the finer things in life. I prefer to patronize the Studio JCI and Saucier + Perrotte shops (Vincenzos, Goodness Me, Sweet Potato or the aA of shops: Whole Foods.)

[Doug]

I think I’ve maxed my Costco Executive membership rebate for at least 10 years running - ouch, that means spending $50K plus in a year.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Sam's Club (owned by Walmart) has about 10% more stores in the US than Costco does, and has a much larger presence in middle America (the Walmart heartland). They have a smaller presence on the east coast and a much smaller presence out west.

It's interesting that Costco's main competitors in the US, Sam's Club and BJ's, never established themselves in Canada and let Costco have the entire market to themselves.

I remember back in the 2000s there were rumours about Sam's Club's impending arrival in Canada but it never happened. Maybe I should be grateful since it probably prevented a new wave of power centres across the country anchored by Sam's Club locations...

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by Doug

I think I’ve maxed my Costco Executive membership rebate for at least 10 years running - ouch, that means spending $50K plus in a year.

Holy crap man. What are you even buying from Costco every year that gets you to that spend? Are you booking big vacations with them that gets you there?

I got an executive membership last year as I booked my honeymoon with them. The cashback from that alone paid for the membership. Otherwise we don't normally spend enough at Costco for it to be worth it.

[Acajack]

In Canada at least the maximum executive member rebate is 750 dollars.

In order to attain that you need to spend 720 dollars a week, or 37,500 CAD a year.

That's about 25,000 USD or 40,000 AUD.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

Costco seems fairly disproportionate in their distribution in America, California has quarter of all USA Costco warehouse stores. States like Mississippi, Wyoming and the home of Walmart, Arkansas etc don't have a Costco location.

https://www.rd.com/advice/saving-mon...os-in-country/




In Canada Costco seems fairly evenly dispersed.



I would never shop at Costco myself but since family, for as long as I can remember, would routinely shop at the Med Hat Costco. I only have a card because of family, I'd never buy the membership by choice.

Costco has been in the UK not as long as in Canada but my husband has always liked some things at Costco and it's no further than to Walmart, Superstore, Save-on-Foods etc in Saskatoon.
Costco has good deals on some things/Kirkland items but more expensive on others, just got to price check elsewhere while shopping.

https://www.rd.com/culture/ways-cost...spending-more/

I was always surprised at how Costco was absent from Upstate New York (outside the NYC metro area). They've only fairly recently added single stores to the Buffalo and Rochester markets.

Areas like Syracuse (close to 700k) and Albany (close to 1 million) still don't have a Costco whereas much smaller places in Canada like Kingston and Sudbury do.

That always seemed bizarre because usually even smaller cities in the U.S. get "stuff" before larger Canadian places - especially when we're talking about American chains like Costco.

Though I think Costco Canada might be somewhat autonomous and more aggressive in its expansion policies.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Holy crap man. What are you even buying from Costco every year that gets you to that spend? Are you booking big vacations with them that gets you there?

I got an executive membership last year as I booked my honeymoon with them. The cashback from that alone paid for the membership. Otherwise we don't normally spend enough at Costco for it to be worth it.

I suspect a lot of big Costco spenders are also buying things for their businesses, which is something we know Doug has.

The various rebates/points available to business customers can be a nice little perk.

[ReeceZ]

Originally Posted by esquire

It's interesting that Costco's main competitors in the US, Sam's Club and BJ's, never established themselves in Canada and let Costco have the entire market to themselves.

I remember back in the 2000s there were rumours about Sam's Club's impending arrival in Canada but it never happened. Maybe I should be grateful since it probably prevented a new wave of power centres across the country anchored by Sam's Club locations...

I say that is a good thing. Why do we need more big box American garbage in this country anyways?

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by esquire

It's interesting that Costco's main competitors in the US, Sam's Club and BJ's, never established themselves in Canada and let Costco have the entire market to themselves.

I remember back in the 2000s there were rumours about Sam's Club's impending arrival in Canada but it never happened. Maybe I should be grateful since it probably prevented a new wave of power centres across the country anchored by Sam's Club locations...

Sam's did come to Canada. They didn't last very long. I recall they were building their store in north London at the same time Costco was building their new store in north London, and the contractors I knew said there was money it for them if Sam's managed to beat Costco to the opening date. They did open within days of each other, but the Costco I think was in a better location. If I recall, Sam's had 6 locations before Walmart pulled the plug on it, not sure why they gave up so easily. The other location I know of personally was on Queensway in Toronto just east of the 427, which is now Lowe's. Lowe's also is in the former London Sam's. It might be that Lowe's took over all 6, I can't recall.

Edited to add; they lasted longer than I thought. They first started opening in 2003 and they all closed in 2009. 4 of them were in the Toronto area, as well as London and Cambridge. Another 2 under construction became Walmart Supercentres. 5 of the 6 closed became Lowe's.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by esquire

It's interesting that Costco's main competitors in the US, Sam's Club and BJ's, never established themselves in Canada and let Costco have the entire market to themselves.

Doesn't Loblaws have Wholesale Club or something of the like?

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by wave46

Doesn't Loblaws have Wholesale Club or something of the like?

Yes we have one of those in town as well. It's in an industrial park and is quite small, looks almost about the same size as a larger format Shoppers Drug Mart. I've never looked into what membership is for there.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@42.92998...7i13312!8i6656

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Yes we have one of those in town as well. It's in an industrial park and is quite small, looks almost about the same size as a larger format Shoppers Drug Mart. I've never looked into what membership is for there.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@42.92998...7i13312!8i6656

I don't recall needing a membership. But prices are not that much cheaper. Mind you when buying a mas amount it is cheaper.

We have found a liquidation Wholesaler that has good product and very inexpensive. I think some of this stuff is from trucks that overturned and train derailments. Good quality but cannot be sold as new. They even had Costco products one day.

Also the Coop Warehouse sales are good. I usually find most everything there at low prices.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by wave46

Doesn't Loblaws have Wholesale Club or something of the like?

Wholesale Club is a thing but from what I recall from my visits there years ago, it is oriented way more to the foodservice industry than it is to households the way Costco is, i.e. it's a place to go to buy big bags of potatoes and sleeves of paper cups... you don't go there to buy a TV or a set of tires. Unless things have changed in recent years, it doesn't require a membership either.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by esquire

Wholesale Club is a thing but from what I recall from my visits there years ago, it is oriented way more to the foodservice industry than it is to households the way Costco is, i.e. it's a place to go to buy big bags of potatoes and sleeves of paper cups... you don't go there to buy a TV or a set of tires. Unless things have changed in recent years, it doesn't require a membership either.

When I was kid, my best friend's mom worked at a Loeb cash and carry warehouse. It was similar to what Wholesale Club looks like to me. It wasn't open to the public, you needed a sales tax number and it was basically independent variety stores and restaurants that shopped there. We have another similar type of store here now called Skor cash and carry, that I see people buying what looks like store stock. Of course, Costco also serves this market so I don't think the cash and carry business is the same as it was back then.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Sam's did come to Canada. They didn't last very long. I recall they were building their store in north London at the same time Costco was building their new store in north London, and the contractors I knew said there was money it for them if Sam's managed to beat Costco to the opening date. They did open within days of each other, but the Costco I think was in a better location. If I recall, Sam's had 6 locations before Walmart pulled the plug on it, not sure why they gave up so easily. The other location I know of personally was on Queensway in Toronto just east of the 427, which is now Lowe's. Lowe's also is in the former London Sam's. It might be that Lowe's took over all 6, I can't recall.

Edited to add; they lasted longer than I thought. They first started opening in 2003 and they all closed in 2009. 4 of them were in the Toronto area, as well as London and Cambridge. Another 2 under construction became Walmart Supercentres. 5 of the 6 closed became Lowe's.

i visited the London Sam's club once. It seemed like a poor-man's Costco. Instead of Kirkland signature, it was the awful walmart house brands. Otherwise the two stores bore a passing resemblance.

[MolsonExport]

Any other contenders?

From the highway, Milton appears to be the worst, but maybe that is only because I drive through Milton on the 401 a couple of dozen times per year. London is pretty horrible for the ubiquity of banal big box barf.

In Quebec, Laval, Brossard, Vaudreuil, and Levis are contenders.

Big Box Barf is the most severe form of Miltonization.

[WhipperSnapper]

Ajax. It's a small GTA suburb so the big box won't be the largest but, I've yet to see anything but big box. There's no historic town centre.

[esquire]

All prairie cities have a ton of this stuff, but Brandon's only real shopping is big box power centres. In the heavyweight category, Edmonton has an immense number of them.

[ssiguy]

Langley, Surrey, and Abbotsford are nothing but big box.