Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was given a tour of New Zealand's first Costco today as the members-only megastore prepares to announce an opening date. Video / Carson Bluck
Global discount retailer Costco Wholesale needs two lots of regulatory approvals from two separate statutory authorities before it can open its new $100 million-plus Auckland store later this month.
One approval was yet to be finalised this week but inspections for another just happened today at the business which saysit will open on Wednesday, September 28.
A spokesperson for Auckland Transport said the traffic management plan "isn't ready to be shared yet as the plan isn't finalised".
But Auckland Council said today the huge new warehouse underwent its certificate of public use inspection today. An outcome of that might be able to be provided tomorrow, a council spokesperson said.
That means inspectors visited the site to examine the 14,500sq m completed building and ensure it is safe for the public to enter. Costco and its head contractor Hayden & Rollett would have needed to provide council staff with all the documentation for the building, drawings, building consent and evidence of land ownership via a certificate of title.
"If you are working to a deadline and you think you may not receive your code compliance certificate in time, contact us to discuss a CPU application. The more notice you can give us, the more chance that we can assess your application in time for your deadline. We will issue a certificate only if we are satisfied that the public can use the site safely. This is likely to involve an inspection. You still have to apply for a code compliance certificate after all the building work has been carried out," Auckland Council advises parties applying for certificates of public use.
Premises with free and open access are classified as those intended for public use and include shopping centres.
Interest in the store is running high, with social media speculating amusingly that members will be allowed in by alphabetic listings, so those with first names starting with A will go first.
Australasian boss Patrick Noone forecast it might open last August or early September when he was here in April.
All completed, but when will Costco Wholesale open in Auckland? Photo / Supplied
The labour crisis and ongoing construction delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic stymied the plan. Noone told RNZ Costco had faced "numerous delays", including wet weather, Covid and materials coming in late offshore.
Auckland Transport says a traffic management plan is a site-specific programme that covers the design, implementation, maintenance and removal of temporary traffic management measures.
Those will need to be in place to cope with the many people expected to want to visit the store when it opens.
The plan details how road users, including cyclists and pedestrians, will be directed and how large volumes of traffic can be handled safely and smoothly to cause the least disruption.
Costco's public use certificate application will need to show that all or part of the building can be used safely by members of the public.
Late last month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern got a tour of New Zealand's first Costco as the members-only megastore prepared to announce an opening date. She was flanked by Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs David Clark for the tour, where she met with Costco vendors and employees.
Customers must buy a $60 membership card to shop at the store.
The warehouse at 2 Gunton Drive is a $100 million-plus membership store, costing $60/person or $55/business annually, out to challenge our supermarket duopoly.
When the Herald toured the store in April, it reported that getting a traffic management plan approved was top-of-mind for executives.
One said the date "all depends on the council", indicating it wasn't under the American-headquartered business's control. The need for compliance sign-off of the completed building is a major factor influencing the opening date.
Costco's last annual report cited net sales for the 52-week fiscal year ending August 2021 totalling US$192 billion, up 18 per cent. Net income was US$5b, up 25 per cent. Revenue from membership fees rose 9 per cent to US$3.9b.
The chain had stores in 828 locations at the end of last year of which 572 are in the US, 105 in Canada, only two in China but 13 in Australia. It employs 288,000 people.
It buys most of its merchandise directly from manufacturers and its strategy is to provide members with a broad range of quality goods at prices consistently lower than elsewhere.
