Yesterday, we drove to Costco like we usually do once a month on Sundays after church. But it was no ordinary visit to Costco yesterday.
When we rounded the corner driving up to Costco, cars were lined along the street waiting to get into either Costco or Carefour parking lot. The cars were lined up the entire block. Luckily, I had driven some side streets to avoid the traffic lights…my shortcut. But from the looks of things, it looked like I was going to have to get into the back of the line to park at Costco. But then I realized another way. So we went around everyone, down around another corner to the stoplight the majority of the drivers were doing U-turns at, and we went straight across through the light from the left of everyone down to the side Costco entrance to the upper parking area. Before making that move, I thought I’d go around the corner and see tons of others waiting to do the same thing. But there was not one car in front of us.
After arriving in the upper parking area, we quickly found a parking spot, got a shopping cart and went down the elevator to the first floor. Little did we know we had just made all the right moves in order to get into Costco and shop. When we arrived downstairs there were hundreds of people in lines waiting to get memberships or temporary membership cards to shop. It looked like lines for Universal Studios attractions!
There were no shopping carts downstairs and people were even lined up waiting for shopping carts to come down from the upper parking lot. But we didn’t have to wait. We just shoved our way through the crowd of people, showed our membership card and went on our merry way shopping…or so we thought.
Once we got inside, we realized that many of those who were waiting in line had actually already received their membership cards and were now inside along with us shopping too. It was wall-to-wall people and shoppers were blocking isles left and right!
Before we entered Costco, I had asked the lady at the entrance why there were so many people. But she was too busy to answer. It must have been from some advertisement they had done earlier that week. There is no way people would have been lined up like they were just because they had heard from a friend that Costco was a good place to shop. It was the most crowded I’ve ever seen Costco, any Costco, American or Japanese.
Costco is doing good business. Most of the times we go there, there are many people. But never like it was yesterday. Many of the people I saw pushing carts had them filled to the top with items they were planning to purchase, as if they had nothing in their pantries or homes. It was like people had been turned on to some newly opened American goods shop with prices they couldn’t find anywhere else in Japan and they had to buy as much of what they saw or else they would never get the chance again.
Of course, most people who’ve been shopping at Costco Amagasaki know that many of the prices are cheaper than local shops because they are in bulk. But those prices are not like they used to be. Prices are getting higher and higher.
For instance, a case of 12 - 1 liter boxed Ceres fruit juices was a little over 1100 yen when Costco first opened several years ago. But now, the same case of 12 - 1 liter boxed Ceres fruit juices is a few yen under 2000 yen. The price has almost doubled!
Of course, that is good for Costco. But it isn’t so good for those of us who realize we can buy similar items at other shops closer to our homes and save money. But with the number of people becoming members, Costco can afford to raise prices and lose foreigner or smart shoppers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Costco hike up their prices even further with the number of new members joining up like they were yesterday. Those people were shopping like little children in a candy store, all bug-eyed and smiling.
For now, I still love going to Costco. But if Costco prices continue to rise and shopping there becomes the rat race it was yesterday, packed to the hilt and difficult to find parking - I know people will eventually find out about the upper parking and other ways to get there - I wonder if the gas to get there, the yearly membership fees and the time spent going there and back will be worth it.
Is Costco opening a store in Kyoto anytime soon?
kbyte on February 11th 2008 in Foods, Living
