Shopping for sites
Wholesale chain hints it may choose to build in less populated areas
Costco may build stores for communities with as few as 200,000 people but a Capital Region store anytime soon looks unlikely./
Wegmans, the supermarket chain with a cult-like following that leapfrogged the Capital Region to grow elsewhere, isn’t the only retailer snubbing us.
Last week ’s earnings call by Costco Wholesale Club Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti suggested the company might have to slow its U.S. store expansion as opportunities become harder to find.
Galanti even suggested that Costco could end up building stores for communities with as few as 200,000 people. Hello?
The Capital Region’s population is closing in on one million people, but a Costco store here anytime soon looks unlikely. Although, one Times Union employee did report getting a Costco membership offer from Groupon recently.
But if they explore further, they ’ll learn they have to drive more than 70 miles from Albany to reach the closest Costco. That’s a long way to travel for groceries and household items.
It was more than six years ago, in March 2013, that developers said Costco had indeed been looking for a store site in the Capital Region. One developer, who was building Costco’s first upstate store in Syracuse, said he was told it also was scouting for sites in Rochester and Albany.
Rochester eventually got its Costco. Albany, as we know, is still waiting.
The Capital Region isn’t suffering a retail shortage. It has a Sam’s Club and three BJ’S Wholesale Clubs. A second Sam’s, at Crossgates Commons, was combined with an adjacent Walmart to form the nation’s largest Walmart.
It echoes the Wegman’s situation. With plenty of supermarket competition, from Price Chopper/market 32, Hannaford and Shoprite to Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s and The Fresh Market, there are plenty of choices.
Now all we need is an Ikea.