Costco is about to reach an important milestone.
Thewarehouse giantalready far exceeds itsmain rival, Sam’s Club, in annual sales.
Now, it’s on pace to match its competitor’s slight edge in store count, too.
Shutterstock / Design: Joe Heroun
Nine of those new stores will be located in the United States, with another in Canada.
Costco also plans to relocate one existing store to a newer building.
That’s a total of 11 newly constructed warehouses across North America by year’s end.
The popular retailer aims to step up its expansion plans even more in 2024.
Costco added 23 new warehouses worldwide over the past year, plus three relocations.
Most of those new buildings will be in the U.S., he added.
“And we’ve got plenty going on over the years overseas.”
But, if everything proceeds as planned, Costco will match Sam’s footprint within the next three months.
Walmart-owned Sam’s Club hasn’t opened a new store since 2017.
Costco’s own long-range plans seem even more ambitious.
“It’s much higher than we would have expected three or four years ago.
So, we think that there’s still a lot of runway in that regard.”
Additionally, the retailer plans to open new business centers in Alaska, Michigan, and Missouri.
Costco’s next international opening is set for January in Shenzhen, China.
