When it comes to retailers, very few can top Costco. The company has attracted over 120 million members with its wide variety of products and benefits, and even earned third place on a 2022 list of Top 100 Retailers. But Costco’s popularity and success hasn’t deterred several rival warehouse clubs from making big plans to grow their own reach and customer base.
Costco is expected to see increased competition starting this year as two of its biggest rivals consider expansions in 2023.
Smaller rival BJ’s Wholesale Club announced plans last week to continue opening new clubs in the coming months, including its first-ever Tennessee warehouse, which is expected to open in the first half of the year. . The new club will be located in The Verge, about 20 miles southeast of downtown Nashville.
Bill Werner, executive vice president of strategy and development for the company, said the La Verge store will be the first of multiple locations BJ plans to open in the greater Nashville market. In addition to that, BJ’s plans to open two new clubs in Davenport, Florida and McDonough, Georgia later this month.
“We look forward to welcoming our newest BJ Members this year and helping provide these local communities with unbeatable value and incredible savings,” he said in a statement.
BJ’s announcement of its first foray into Tennessee came after the retail company experienced rapid expansion in 2022, including opening its first store in Indiana. The chain currently operates 246 warehouses across the country, according to data company ScrapeHero, and will have locations in 19 states once the Tennessee club is up and running.
Competitor Sam’s Club also plans to open more than 30 clubs across the United States in the coming years, adding to the nearly 600 locations it already operates. The retailer announced the major expansion last month after seeing “historic comparable sales growth and record membership growth over the past two years.”
The first of these 30+ clubs will debut in Florida in 2024, but Sam’s Club expansion will begin in 2023 with the planned opening of five new supply chain fulfillment and distribution centers. The first of these centers is is expected to open in Georgia in the third quarter of the year.
But good news for Costco fans, the warehouse club won’t let 2023 pass without increasing its own footprint. Costco announced in December that it would open 15 new locations in the current fiscal year, with 11 planned for 2023.
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Zoe Strozewski
Zoe Strozewski is a staff writer for Eat This, Not That! A Chicago native who now lives in New Jersey, she graduated from Kean University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Learn more about Zoe
