US-based warehouse club operator Costco could enter more European markets within the next three years, CFO Richard Galanti said alongside the company’s second quarter results. Costco trades in the U.K. but has yet to expand into continental Europe. Galanti added: “It takes us a while to open a few units and make sure we like what we see and we understand all the issues with the distribution and labour hiring and everything else.” He noted that the company has “stepped up” expansion in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. “Between those three [markets], and probably over a five-year period we are adding on average one or two to the total of three countries a year.He also commented on Australia, where the company has been successful with its one-store operation, and Canada, where the retailer plans to add three new stores this year. “The fact that I think that we're opening three units in Canada this year implies that we still think that we're not saturated in a country that has 80-plus units. It wasn't that long ago that we felt that as we had 50 going to 60 at some point here we're going to fill the country, and we're happily finding that's not the case.”
Source: Planet Retail
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