Work has started on the Costco site in Bundamba.Rob Williams
THIS time next year Ipswich families could be dressing their Christmas tables at Costco.
Work has started to prepare the site for the new store at Bundamba but the first customers won’t be able to fill their oversize trollies until late 2018.
It is expected Ipswich families will be able to shop at the new Costco store by next Christmas which means there might be some foreign festive surprises on tables.
The good folks at Costco are responsible for importing fun and quirky stock into the country to dress festive tables like they do in America.
A six-foot high Santa or nutracker, 160 tins of cookies, bulk gingerbread and a five-pack of whole turkeys are available to buy overseas.
Costco Managing Director Patrick Noone said the warehouse would stock all the latest products from the US, including seasonal items such as Halloween and Christmas decorations.
Costco’s North Lakes store opened in 2014, bringing more competition to market and driving down prices, most notably in the fuel sector.
This is commonly referred to as “the Costco effect” which has been clearly displayed at the North Lakes store.
“We will have the lowest prices and it’s up to others to compete with that,” Mr Noone said.
Costco will offer two types of membership: Business, worth $55 and Gold Star, worth $60.
Business members qualify by owning or operating a business while Gold Star membership is available to individuals.
The store will be open seven days a week.
The massive site, opposite the Puma travel centre, will cover 13,750 sq m – the equivalent of two football fields – and create 280 permanent jobs.
The on-site petrol station will include 24 bowers with 825 car parking spaces for the main warehouse.
Construction will take about eight months and create another 80 jobs.
What’s in the Costco Christmas aisle
- Popcorn and fruit themed gift baskets
- Seven-and-a-half, nine, and 12-foot high Christmas trees
- Toys and puzzles
- Fresh-cut holly wreaths
- Nativity scenes
- Light-up teddy bears
- D’Artagnans Duck Magret Breast and Duck Leg Confit
Grocery and food giants descending on Ipswich
IPSWICH consumers in the mood to buy and to eat are in luck.
New shopping centres and stores are popping up all over the city while international brands take their pick of sites in what is shaping up to be a battle of the retail giants.
A Coles supermarket and 12 speciality shops will be added to Woolworths in Karalee Shopping Centre in the new year.
When complete, the new-look centre will double the size of the suburban hotspot.
On the other side of town, American burger chain Carl’s Jr Burger are setting up their grills on Brisbane St at West Ipswich while on the next block, a private developer is building a seafood takeaway shop.
West Ipswich isn’t the only Carl’s Jr Burger coming to town with another being set up beside Krispy Kreme Donuts at Redbank Plains in the coming months.
Originally Published: www.qt.com.au