Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Oh look someone who wishes to attack the source and not the facts.....

Nobody is disputing that Costco is a successful outlet today. The question is whether they will be relevant to a generation that drives less, uses public transit more, shops online more and tends to live in smaller spaces (even after having families).

Driverless cars...
Rideshare....
Taxi.....

All of these modes will be around in one form or another for the next 20-50 years.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by ac888yow

That question is only being asked by people who really have no idea what Costco has done and is doing to evolve its business.

So yeah, I guarantee you have no idea what I know on this topic.

We've gone from attacking the source to vague claims of authority.

Any more fallacies you want to throw on the pile while stroking your own ego?

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Acajack

How difficult would it be for Costco to beef up their operations on the online and delivery side in order to address these changing preferences, while still retaining the advantages of their traditional business proposition?

I know Amazon is a beast that is hard to compete with but Costco has very good buyer's leverage with product suppliers and a network of warehouses and facilities that, for the moment at least, is probably a lot more extensive than Amazon's.

And in any event, just because there is a dominant player in the market doesn't mean there isn't room for others. Not all smart phones out there are made by Apple. Not all coffee places out there are Tim Hortons or Starbucks.

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that Amazon is better or will beat out Costco. I'm not even suggesting that Costco will disappear. I'm suggesting the Costco of 2040 might not look like the Costco of 2020 if current demographic trends and preferences hold.

The inability of people to engage in the least bit of nuance and the close mindedness is frustrating.

[YOWflier]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

We've gone from attacking the source to vague claims of authority.

Any more fallacies you want to throw on the pile while stroking your own ego?

Nope. I'm comfortable in my boots. You do you and I'll do the same.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Hybrid247

A future station can be added next to the future Costco location in Gloucester. Current plans account for that possibility.

Edit: That's if they're still setting up a location there. Seems to be up in the air now.

Well, the future 'never to be built' station won't exactly be next door.

[YOWflier]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I'm suggesting the Costco of 2040 might not look like the Costco of 2020 if current demographic trends and preferences hold.

Forget about 20 years from now. The Costco of 2019 was different than the Costco of 2018. Repeat for every year before that. If you knew the details behind those statements you wouldn't be speculating that it could be different 20 years from now. It goes without saying and is hardly a hot take.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Driverless cars...
Rideshare....
Taxi.....

All of these modes will be around in one form or another for the next 20-50 years.

Which mean nothing if shopping preferences change. Shall we go over all the things millennials are killing? Some on this list will surprise you. I'll bet the makers of cereal, toys, beer and mayonnaise never thought they'd struggle. Yet, here we are:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style...otorcycles-fabric-softener-a8574281.html

Could that demographic change and adopt the same suburban cereal eating, beer and wing night lifestyle as their forbearers? Sure. Anything is possible. Likely? Probably not.

Does that mean Costco will fail? Probably not. Smart businesses adapt to changing business environment.

Let's get back to the topic at hand. Is Costco incompatible with transit friendly retail? Probably. My question was why more grocers haven't tried to get on the train network. They've had years to know the Confederation Line was coming. Costco isn't the only grocer out there.

[MalcolmTucker]

Costco is a great place to buy organic quinoa. They adapt fast. They make almost all their profit from membership fees and care little about what they sell. They will sell whatever sells that makes people feel value in buying a membership.

Is Costco incompatible with urban living? Here is one in downtown Vancouver:


Condos on top. Adjacent to a sky train station.

Now Vancouver has high land costs and not great car infrastructure so it is worth it for them to go to where their customers are not the other way around, since there is no great place that is an acceptable distance with low enough land costs for a normal format store.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Which mean nothing if shopping preferences change. Shall we go over all the things millennials are killing? Some on this list will surprise you. I'll bet the makers of cereal, toys, beer and mayonnaise never thought they'd struggle. Yet, here we are:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style...otorcycles-fabric-softener-a8574281.html

Could that demographic change and adopt the same suburban cereal eating, beer and wing night lifestyle as their forbearers? Sure. Anything is possible. Likely? Probably not.

Does that mean Costco will fail? Probably not. Smart businesses adapt to changing business environment.

Let's get back to the topic at hand. Is Costco incompatible with transit friendly retail? Probably. My question was why more grocers haven't tried to get on the train network. They've had years to know the Confederation Line was coming. Costco isn't the only grocer out there.

With the many "millennial are killing" media stories it is difficult to tell what is related to their generally slower arrival at an adulting phase and what is a legitimate paradigm shift in consumption habits. On costco, I tend to think that when millennials have kids and move to the burbs that they will find costco just as appealing as their parents did.

[bikegypsy]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

Costco is a great place to buy organic quinoa. They adapt fast. They make almost all their profit from membership fees and care little about what they sell. They will sell whatever sells that makes people feel value in buying a membership.

Is Costco incompatible with urban living? Here is one in downtown Vancouver:


Condos on top. Adjacent to a sky train station.

Now Vancouver has high land costs and not great car infrastructure so it is worth it for them to go to where their customers are not the other way around, since there is no great place that is an acceptable distance with low enough land costs for a normal format store.

I've never owned a car and do all my shopping on foot, public transit or bike...Or online. People like me tend to shop 3-4 times per week but buy less each time.

[eltodesukane]

In US, Costco is slowly being eclipsed by Boxed.
No need to drive a car to the warehouse, all online delivered to your door.
https://www.boxed.com/

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

In US, Costco is slowly being eclipsed by Boxed.
No need to drive a car to the warehouse, all online delivered to your door.
https://www.boxed.com/

Boxed has an estimated $100M in annual revenue. Costco has $152B in annual revenue. It seems a little premature to say they are being slowly eclipsed.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Which mean nothing if shopping preferences change. Shall we go over all the things millennials are killing? Some on this list will surprise you. I'll bet the makers of cereal, toys, beer and mayonnaise never thought they'd struggle. Yet, here we are:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style...otorcycles-fabric-softener-a8574281.html

Could that demographic change and adopt the same suburban cereal eating, beer and wing night lifestyle as their forbearers? Sure. Anything is possible. Likely? Probably not.

Does that mean Costco will fail? Probably not. Smart businesses adapt to changing business environment.

Let's get back to the topic at hand. Is Costco incompatible with transit friendly retail? Probably. My question was why more grocers haven't tried to get on the train network. They've had years to know the Confederation Line was coming. Costco isn't the only grocer out there.

... Ok Boomer.

[Radster]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Which mean nothing if shopping preferences change. Shall we go over all the things millennials are killing? Some on this list will surprise you. I'll bet the makers of cereal, toys, beer and mayonnaise never thought they'd struggle. Yet, here we are:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style...otorcycles-fabric-softener-a8574281.html

Could that demographic change and adopt the same suburban cereal eating, beer and wing night lifestyle as their forbearers? Sure. Anything is possible. Likely? Probably not.

Does that mean Costco will fail? Probably not. Smart businesses adapt to changing business environment.

Let's get back to the topic at hand. Is Costco incompatible with transit friendly retail? Probably. My question was why more grocers haven't tried to get on the train network. They've had years to know the Confederation Line was coming. Costco isn't the only grocer out there.

Why? That's easy, because in Ottawa, car is king. The C Line is built for those living in the burbs, and so once they get home, they can drive to their Costcos and grocery stores, why would they bother lugging all those bags of groceries on a crowded C Line? Those living inside the Greenbelt, well they have their grocery stores either within walking distance or along a bus route or they too, drive.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Radster

Why? That's easy, because in Ottawa, car is king. The C Line is built for those living in the burbs, and so once they get home, they can drive to their Costcos and grocery stores, why would they bother lugging all those bags of groceries on a crowded C Line? Those living inside the Greenbelt, well they have their grocery stores either within walking distance or along a bus route or they too, drive.

Yep. We are far from creating a transit culture in Ottawa, otherwise we would be developing a much better frequent bus network instead of cutting service as we did on October 6th. Absolutely nothing is being done to improve off-peak frequency on even key bus routes. The C-Line may help a few non-commuters, but it is mainly commuter oriented especially for suburban commuters and mostly for peak riders only. It is amazing that the C-Line doesn't run every 30 minutes during off-peak hours given the lousy bus service on connecting routes.

[PHrenetic]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

.........
It is amazing that the C-Line doesn't run every 30 minutes during off-peak hours given the lousy bus service on connecting routes.

Good Day.

Wait for it..... "Service Optimization 2021"

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

Is Costco incompatible with urban living? Here is one in downtown Vancouver:


Condos on top. Adjacent to a sky train station.

That's awesome. Hope they build on this model!

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

Now Vancouver has high land costs and not great car infrastructure so it is worth it for them to go to where their customers are not the other way around, since there is no great place that is an acceptable distance with low enough land costs for a normal format store.

I've noticed that in a lot more expensive cities, delivery services have really taken off and are somewhat competitively priced. I presume this is because it's cheaper to operate delivery services from a large and unattractive suburban warehouse than to operate multiple high cost walk-in/drive up locations. Doesn't seem to have caught on nearly as much in Canada though.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Radster

Why? That's easy, because in Ottawa, car is king. The C Line is built for those living in the burbs, and so once they get home, they can drive to their Costcos and grocery stores, why would they bother lugging all those bags of groceries on a crowded C Line? Those living inside the Greenbelt, well they have their grocery stores either within walking distance or along a bus route or they too, drive.

Except there's plenty of retail along the Confederation Line. If anything it's turning into a mall connector line. What's lacking is a specific type of retail: grocery stores. That's what I find unusual. Especially when I think about my travels elsewhere and how common it is to have some form of grocer co-located with a train/subway/bus station.

[Radster]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Except there's plenty of retail along the Confederation Line. If anything it's turning into a mall connector line. What's lacking is a specific type of retail: grocery stores. That's what I find unusual. Especially when I think about my travels elsewhere and how common it is to have some form of grocer co-located with a train/subway/bus station.

I guess you did not read my comment in full. Car is king here, so why would commuters go through the hassle of carrying bags of groceries on a crowded light rail line on the way home from work when they can shop for groceries with the comfort of their cars once they get home? That and big malls have been moving away from having big grocery stores over the last couple decades. None of the big three Ottawa malls have big grocery stores (Bayshore, Rideau, St-Laurent). Coincidence, I think not. I agree with you that we need more grocery stores on the C-Line, but smaller in size like Farm Boy at Rideau.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Boxed has an estimated $100M in annual revenue. Costco has $152B in annual revenue. It seems a little premature to say they are being slowly eclipsed.

That sounds like the eclipsing is happening quite slowly.