The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
China’s first Costco mobbed on opening day
By afternoon, Shanghai store was in such chaos it had to close early.
BEIJING — The United States and China may be involved in a trade war, but the Chinese shoppers at an American wholesaler were at war with each other this week, in a pitched battle complete with pushing, brawling and meat cleavers.
The opening of the first Costco store in China, in the commercial capital of Shanghai, was a scene of chaos. Shoppers queued for hours to get into the store upon opening, ducking under the roller door as it inched up from the ground.
They fought over Birkin bags and Moutai liquor. They wrestled for detergent and grabbed at a piece of pork with their bare hands, even as the butcher was trying to cut it up. There was a three-hour wait for a space in the parking lot, and sometimes longer in the line for checkout.
By the afternoon, the store was in such chaos that it had to close early. “Please don’t come,” Costco said in an alert sent to members, who paid $28 to join for a year.
Even for veterans of Black Friday in the U.S., the scenes would have been extraordinary.
A long-game approach
Retail analysts pointed to Costco as a retail darling that has bested the competition, when it comes to international expansion, due to the company’s measured and thoughtful approach to every country it enters — and the long game it plays before officially opening a new store.
Five years ago, Costco partnered with Alibaba — China’s dominant e-commerce platform — which helped the big-box store gain legitimacy among Chinese shoppers, said Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia Business School. And even after Alibaba gave Costco a platform, Costco took its time, Cohen said, waiting years to prepare for its “grand opening day where thousands of people showed up.”
“They’ve built a link — a very powerful link — between who they are and what they do, and Chinese consumers who gleefully signed up as subscribers and showed up,” Cohen said.