"We queued up around 6 o'clock in the morning, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to grab this one at all." At the exit of Costco's membership store in Shenzhen, two consumers pointed to two internet famous strawberry bear dolls that were over 1 meter tall next to them and exclaimed, "There are really too many people.".
On the morning of January 12th, Costco Kaishike Club (hereinafter referred to as Kaishike), located in Longhua District, Shenzhen, officially opened. This is the first store opened by Kaishi in South China and the sixth store opened in mainland China.
At 9am that day, due to the combination of rush hour traffic and shopping traffic, the New District Avenue next to the Shenzhen Open Market Shopping Mall had already experienced hundreds of meters of congestion.
The reporter saw on site that relevant guidance signs and signs were set up on the roads around Shenzhen Kaishi Bus. The queue area outside the entrance of the store is crowded with people, and the queue has circled dozens of times.
Market opening passenger flow restriction Yang Yi/Photo
The atmosphere inside the store is also very lively. Whether it's the personal care area, food area, or near the cash register, they are all surrounded by shopping carts.
Consumers are waiting to pay the bill, Li Lingxi/Photo
This shopping frenzy almost occurs on the first day of the opening of every mainland store for customers.
In August 2019, Kaishike's first store in mainland China opened in Shanghai. Due to the large number of citizens coming to consume, the surrounding transportation was paralyzed, and it was announced to be closed within 5 hours of opening.
As the first store in South China, Shenzhen's opening customers are also "pioneering". The reporter learned that as of the opening, Shenzhen has attracted over 100000 customers to apply for membership cards.
Wait in line a few hours in advance
The iconic beige American retro exterior, interior single-layer store design, and warehouse style shelf display... The total area of Shenzhen's opening on January 12th is about 44500 square meters, with nearly 1000 parking spaces and over 4000 types of goods displayed in the nearly 15000 square meters of shopping space.
Consumer shopping in store, Li Lingxi/photo taken
For this opening, the opening customer has prepared various limited edition products for sale in Shenzhen member stores, covering categories such as alcohol, clothing, jewelry, and also prepared ingredients such as cinnamon and gelatin chicken according to the needs of local residents, as well as cured meat combinations from Guangzhou restaurants.
Many consumers are attracted by limited edition products such as Maotai and Herm è s, and queue up at the entrance of the store hours in advance.
A large number of consumers are queuing up at the opening of the market. Yang Yi/Photo
Ms. Wang, a consumer in Shenzhen, told reporters that she had already obtained her membership card one month in advance, but this time she was unable to grab her desired limited edition product. "I arrived around 6 o'clock in the morning and there weren't many cars on the way."
It is reported that within half an hour of the opening of the Shenzhen market, limited edition products such as Herm è s and full box 6-bottle Moutai liquor were sold out.
"We arrived more than an hour earlier than the opening time and waited in line for more than 40 minutes at the door. We originally wanted to buy Maotai and gold jewelry, but when we came in, they had already been snatched away," Shenzhen resident Mr. Li told reporters.
The reporter saw on site that the areas where popular products such as Strawberry Bear Dolls, Super Big Barrel Nuts, Strawberry Cream Cakes and other popular products are located are quite popular.
In addition to buying, there are also many consumers who come to check in out of the idea of trying new things.
Ms. Zhang from Zhuhai told reporters that she departed from Zhuhai at 5:30 this morning and rushed to Shenzhen. "Because Sam is usually a stroller, he was the first customer in Guangdong to open a market, so he wanted to experience it. However, there were too many people, so he simply bought some fresh food."
Hong Kong consumers have a high enthusiasm for card issuance
There are still many consumers queuing up to apply for membership cards in the member center of the opening store.
Li Lingxi from within the opening store/Photo taken
Ms. Lai, a Hong Kong consumer, told reporters that she and her friends arrived in Shenzhen last night and came specifically to open a card today. "Previously, I would come to Shenzhen with friends to go shopping and eat every ten days. This time, after obtaining my membership card, it became even more convenient to buy things here."
Since 2023, the two regions of Hong Kong and Shenzhen have accelerated their two-way travel, and the trend of Hong Kong residents heading north for consumption has become a trend. Shenzhen Sam's Club and Hema Supermarket are both popular destinations for Hong Kong residents heading north for consumption.
The opening of Shenzhen Kaike has also attracted the attention of many Hong Kong consumers. According to data previously released by Kaike, 10% of the members who open cards in Shenzhen member stores are Hong Kong citizens.
SF Express has set up a mailing service point, Li Lingxi, next to its opening customer exit
The Hong Kong tour group couldn't resist it either.
The reporter saw on social media that many Hong Kong travel agencies have launched corresponding tourism products around mainland shopping.
For example, a travel agency called Linghua has launched a travel package called "Kaishi Ke+International Brand Hotel Seafood Buffet Lunch". The Japan Travel Agency has launched a product featuring "market opening customers+check-in hotspots in the" Flower Sea ".
The reporter learned from the opening customers that the opening of their Shenzhen membership store is a key part of their brand's business layout in the South China region.
As the engine city of the Greater Bay Area, the economies of Shenzhen and Hong Kong continue to integrate and develop, and the consumption enthusiasm of Hong Kong residents heading north is also constantly increasing. High quality products have also become the preferred choice for this group of consumers.
As the first step for opening customers to expand southward to the Greater Bay Area, the Shenzhen Membership Store will leverage the local economic development prospects of Shenzhen and the consumption trend of Hong Kong and Macao residents heading north to bring more stable and high-quality products and thoughtful services to consumers in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. At the same time, it will drive local consumption vitality and inject new momentum into consumption.
Market opening customers will continue to promote mainland layout
As the warehouse style member supermarket with the largest number of stores worldwide, Kaike is well-known in the industry for its "large scale" and "globalization" advantages, with over 870 stores worldwide and a membership of 120 million.
Market opening customers
Since opening its first store in mainland China in Minhang, Shanghai in 2019, in recent years, Kaike has opened numerous stores in East China, including Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and other places.
At the press conference before the opening of the Shenzhen Club, Zhang Shuyun, the general manager of Costco's Chinese Mainland district, said that the demand and trend of Chinese consumers are developing positively. Market opening customers will always adhere to the core concept of providing "value" to consumers, and provide high-quality products and services to members at reasonable prices.
It is understood that in 2024, Kaishike will continue to expand its commercial layout in the mainland market, opening Kaishike's Nanjing membership store and the first gas station in mainland China. At the same time, the online shopping experience will gradually open for trial operation within the year, fully catering to the current consumer trend.
Zhang Shuyun believes that as the penetration rate of membership based supermarkets in the mainland market continues to increase, consumers' recognition and demand for membership based supermarkets will also continue to increase. Under good competition, market opening customers also have confidence in providing better services and value to more and more consumers.
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