If the invitation is accepted, the new location would be the first operating Costco in the region.
Author’s Note
This article is based on corporate postings and accredited media reports. Linked information within this article is attributed to the following outlets: Investor.Costco.com, ScrapeHero.com, and TimesofIsrael.com.
Introduction
Though U.S.-based, Costco has long been considered an “international company” due to its presence in several countries outside of its American interests.
Those international entities maintain the same general operations as they do nationally. As examples, per Investor.Costco.com: Members also can shop for private label Kirkland Signature™ products, designed to be of equal or better quality than national brands, including juice, cookies, coffee, housewares, luggage, clothing and detergent. The Company also operates self-service gasoline stations at a number of its U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, Spain, Mexico, Taiwan, and Iceland locations.
Now Costco has been invited to Israel, which would represent a first for the region if accepted.
Let us explore.
Costco, 2023
According to a February 6th report from TimesofIsrael.com, Israel Invites US Retail Giant Costco to Make Foray Into Local Food Market, Israel’s Finance Minister is spearheading the effort.
As excerpted from the report: Bezalel Smotrich is trying to lure Costco Wholesale Corp. to make a foray into the Israeli market, as the finance minister seeks to fuel competition in Israel’s highly concentrated retail food market in an effort to bring down the cost of living. In a letter last week addressed to the US retail giant’s chairman Hamilton James and CEO Craig Jelinek, Smotrich laid out the government’s desire to bring down prices by “inviting leading, large global players with an international presence similar to your company to enter our consumer market.”
For further perspective, the report goes on to state: The top three local supermarket chains account for over half of the food retail market, limiting competition and putting upward pressure on prices.
As far as Costco’s U.S. footprint, the company continues to grow and has recently announced a major expansion. See my recent NewsBreak article on that matter here.
In terms of said U.S. footprint, ScrapeHero.com features a current location count: There are 585 Costco retail stores in the United States as of January 30, 2023. The state with the most number of Costco locations in the U.S. is California, with 133 retail stores, which is about 23% of all Costco retail stores in the U.S.
Conclusion
This is a developing story. In the event of pertinent updates to this matter, I will share them here on NewsBreak.
Thank you for reading.
Comments / 0