It's finally official.
Fredericton's long-awaited Costco store will be built in 2011 with a tentative opening date of August.
Ron Damiani, spokesman for Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd., confirmed the company's construction plans for the capital city in a telephone interview.
It will be the third location in New Brunswick for the members-only wholesale grocery and household goods chain. Moncton had the first Costco store in the province. Saint John's opened last year as the largest in the province and Fredericton's store will rival the Saint John location.
The store will be between 12,600 square metres and 13,500 square metres (140,000-150,000 square feet).
"It's very similar to Saint John's (store)," Damiani said.
"We'll have the full gamut of services there is no doubt. There's going to be a bakery, meats, a photo and optical area and a pharmacy," Damiani said.
The store has approval to construct a gasoline bar as part of the project. A final decision has yet to be made on that part of the project, he said.
Final design of the building is to be determined, although the store will follow Costco's typical model of having an angled main entryway.
Some Frederictonians are big fans of the wholesale grocery outlet, with many travelling to Moncton and Saint John to shop. There's even a Facebook page, supported by fans of the outlets called Are They Ever Gonna Open a Costco in Fredericton?
Damiani said typically eight to 12 weeks ahead of a Costco store opening, there will be a membership drive both to sign up business customers and individual members.
"We start canvassing for memberships. We visit small businesses because they're a really important part of our base. We have a lot of small business members that shop at Costco and leverage our buying power to enhance their profitability," he said.
There will likely be a portable on-site office set up to sell memberships. Shoppers can also buy a membership from the Moncton or Saint John stores just prior to the Fredericton store's opening.
Costco members can shop anywhere in the world with their membership, Damiani said.
Memberships costs $55 per individual, $50 for a business and $100 for an executive membership.
"It's 100 per cent guaranteed. If after 364 days you're not happy, we're going to give you the entire money back. We have an absolutely great return policy and member satisfaction policy," he said.
Costco has 582 warehouses, including 425 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 80 in Canada, 22 in the United Kingdom, seven in Korea, six in Taiwan, nine in Japan, one in Australia and 32 in Mexico.
http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast....rticle/1365357