New Zealand’s first Costco opened last week in Westgate, offering bulk goods at competitive prices.
The opening of the store has many hoping it will provide an alternative to the Foodstuffs and Woolworths grocery duopoly.
Costco Wholesale Australia and New Zealand managing director Patrick Noone said it was on the lookout for new warehouse locations in New Zealand.
It was important to find the right location to meet its specifications — a typical warehouse would cover an area of about 14,000sqm.
Last week Mr Noone told media the focus would be on Christchurch, Wellington and potentially a second Auckland store.
It was "very possible" smaller cities like Dunedin and Hamilton would get Costcos — in the United States, Costcos had opened in cities as small as Dunedin.
Night ’n Day general manager Matthew Lane, whose business is based in Dunedin, said the market needed more competition and the introduction of Costco was a great thing.
Costco could compete more heavily with supermarkets than convenience stores and dairies, which made it a great introduction to New Zealand’s supermarket industry.
He believed the Costco business model relied on high urban density, meaning a Dunedin store would not be a priority.
However, even without a local outlet, a national Costco presence would drive prices down.
Having a business willing to sell bulk goods for reasonable prices kept "the rest of the country honest," Mr Lane said.
"I would like to see as many of them as possible."
Night ’n Day would be open to relationships with Costco if it was interested, he said.
