This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
US discount retailer Costco will open a 14,000 sqm outlet at Perth Airport, with the $55 million project marking its first site in Western Australia.
The site is positioned in the Airport West Retail Park, just off the Tonkin Highway, adjacent to the new DFO and close to the new Redcliffe rail station.
It will include an optical centre, hearing aid centre, tyre centre and petrol station.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2019 and opening in 2020.
Perth Airport chief corporate services officer Debra Blaskett said Costco would revolutionise shopping in Perth.
“Costco needed somewhere that could provide space for their warehouse with connectivity to freight routes, and still be close and accessible to the shopping public from across Perth.
“Costco’s decision to invest at the Airport West Retail Park is a huge vote of confidence in Perth Airport and the WA economy,” she added.
Costco Australia managing director Patrick Noone said the retail giant had been wanting to come to Western Australia for some time, but needed to find the right home.
“We are going to change Perth’s retail habits: it’s not a shopping trip to Costco, it’s a shopping experience,” he said. “Perth Airport is the obvious place for us to invest given its proximity to the CBD, the great transport links, and the way it is growing into a consumer-focussed retail hub.”
It is expected to generate up to 200 jobs during construction, and up to 275 retail jobs when operational.
The outlet is a similar size to its site in the Pacific Epping shopping centre in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, which is expected to open later this year and become the fourth Costco in Victoria.
Costco announced its second Queensland store in October, which at $50 million will have a price tag close to that of the Perth project, and in sizing also at 13,750 sqm.
Germany’s Kaufland discount supermarket acquired a former Bunnings site in Dandenong for $16.4 million and the Le Cornu site in Forestville, on Adelaide’s city fringe, for $25 million, as it looks to make an impact on Australia’s retail sector with its own warehouse-style outlets.
Australian Property Journal
