Yesterday the American bulk quantities store - Cosco - opened it's warehouse in Sydney, and it was rushed with customers. The concept will be popular with many people, but there will be problems for some when the gloss wears off.
For a start, customers need to become members to shop at Cosco - and that costs $ 60 per year. The goods on offer are bundled in mega-packs - at very cheap prices because of the quantities involved - but that introduces the need to have space at home to store them and brings the danger of jaded appetites if the same food is served too often.
How long will it take to devour a two kilogram pack of Fetta cheese ? And where do you put a pack of sixty toilet rolls ? Then there is the space problem of a two hundred and twenty pack of baby nappies ?
Cosco will be a boon for those with big families and some people will overcome the quantities problem by sharing with friends and neighbours, but this type of supermarket is unlikely to serve the needs of small families, lone pensioners or those living in small apartments.
You may have noticed that the traditional supermarkets have devised methods to counter the Cosco threat in advance of the new store opening. Sales brochures and advertising in recent times have offered special prices if customers buy two or three of the same item at the one transaction - and this has spread to liquor sales with most spirits subjected to multiple buys for the best price.
It is easy to see the tacticians at work here. They expect their customers to rush Cosco in the first instance, but have prepared a fall back position. Once those customers become disillusioned with mega quantity buys - they are offering a lower alternative quantity at a reduced price.
It seems that the old adage that " All is fair in love and war " should have added " and supermarket pricing " !
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