More international stores will come to New Zealand after Costco opens up, a retail expert believes.
First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson says the new super store, due to open in Auckland's northwest in 2021, is great news for retail and consumers.
"It's going to be 30 percent cheaper for retailers," he told The AM Show on Wednesday.
"People are going to see some familiar products, and some products they haven't seen before."
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It's not only shoppers who will benefit - the new megastore will create 350 full time jobs and its construction will create even more, according to Wilkinson.
But there are concerns over the effect the mammoth store will have on smaller shops.
"It will pose a real competitive challenge for many New Zealand retailers," Retail NZ's chief executive officer Greg Harford told Newshub on Tuesday.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says the competition is healthy.
"There will be those that might be affected adversely by it, there will be others that say 'this is more competition, we've got to do better,' and they will do better."
If it's a success Westgate Costco won't stand alone. Wilkinson says there are other locations that could benefit from their own store.
"We would think the next one would be somewhere like Hamilton then after that somewhere like Porirua," he told The AM Show.
Although Costco is highly anticipated, there are other stores that will never hit New Zealand.
"I don't think Walmart will ever set foot in New Zealand. But more Costcos, Ikea obviously," he said.
Then Wilkinson had an exciting tip-off .
"We've got a very big international sports retailer about to hit the shores but we can't say anything more about it," he told The AM Show.
Westgate Costco will span 14,000 square metres and cost an estimated $90 million to construct.
It's scheduled to open in 2021.
Newshub.
