By Lena Daskalakis
Westies who love to buy in bulk are excited by the announcement that multinational shopping behemoth Costco is moving to Ardeer.
In a strategic move to enhance accessibility and convenience for its growing membership base, Costco is set to open a new store on Ballarat Road. The site, formerly occupied by Powercor, will feature a variety of specialty departments including a fresh bakery, fresh meat, fresh produce, deli, an optical department, hearing aid centre, fuel station, a tyre centre and food court.
Chris Tingman, Costco Country Manager, expressed the company’s enthusiasm for finding the right location to meet their specifications in Melbourne. While the opening date remains shrouded in secrecy, Tingman did confirm the closure of the Docklands warehouse by the end of 2024, signalling a total shift of operations to the suburb of Ardeer.
“Costco is very excited to be a part of the wider Melbourne West community; we feel it is the perfect location for offering more convenience for our rapidly expanding membership base,” Tingman stated.
Despite the anticipation, concerns have been raised about potential traffic issues in the area, but for local residents like Archie Dalli, the prospect of having a Costco closer to home outweighs any potential inconveniences. Rebecca Phillips from Caroline Springs echoes this sentiment stating “Docklands was always so hard to park”. Christine Baldevia from Deer Park welcomed the news with enthusiasm, expressing her anticipation of purchasing Costco memberships for her entire family.
News of the Docklands store closure has been met with a hint of sadness but it seems that some locals were well ahead of the official media announcement. Though Costco had previously denied it was building a new store in the area, savvy community members on social media platforms were accurately predicting the move. Such is the enthusiasm of some locals that a Costco Ardeer fans’ Facebook page has already gathered 14k+ members.
Costo aims to relocate approximately 270 employees from the current Docklands warehouse to the new store as well as creating some welcome employment opportunities for Westies.
