The new Business Centre, in Gloucester, Ontario, is the third Canadian center for the company since the concept was launched in Scarborough, Ontario in March 2017 with a second location that opened fall 2020 in Saint-Hubert, Quebec.
“We are thrilled to open our doors and offer this new service, which will better respond to the needs of local business owners,” said Marc-André Bally, Vice President of Business Centres and Ancillary Businesses, Costco Wholesale Canada.
The Costco Business Centre concept is already a resounding success in the Toronto area, and we look forward to offering the same benefits to businesses in the Ottawa/Gatineau region, which we also hope will bring many new consumers to discover the benefits of a Costco membership.”
Bally said the Business Centre is a division that caters primarily to business owners. Although it is open to all Costco members, he said, the Business Centre concept is vastly different from the traditional Costco warehouse, with more than 70 percent of the product offerings unique to the Business Centre and targeted to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.
“Those products are unique to this Business Centre. You’re going to find that there’s some categories that we’re not selling like TV sets and apparel to name a few but we compensate with a much deeper offering in beverages, in candy, in kitchen appliances, commercial appliances and accessories as well as an 11,000-square-foot walk-in cooler where you can walk and shop at the same time with your cart,” said Bally.
The Business Centres are standalone buildings and separate locations from a traditional Costco store.
“We also have a website that business owners can choose to have their products delivered. We operate a fleet of trucks with our own trucks, our own Costco drivers. If you go on our website, we’ll deliver the goods to your place of business on the next business day,” said Bally.
“We are opening two more in April. We are opening in Edmonton and in St. Catharines, Ontario.”
The Gloucester center:1900 Cyrville Road, 123,000 sf.
The annual fee is $60 for a Business Membership or $60 for a Gold Star Membership. All Costco Wholesale memberships include a free Household card and are valid at all Costco locations around the world.
At an annual fee of $120 per year, Costco also offers an enhanced Executive Membership that includes a two percent reward (up to $1,000 annually) on all qualifying Costco purchases and a free Household Card. Those who choose the Executive Membership option receive exclusive merchandise offers, as well as special incentives on Payment Processing, Travel Insurance, Portable and Self-storage, and more.
Source: Retail insider
