Retail Watchers

The Costco in the Christown Spectrum mall in Phoenix is set to close sometime later this year. There is no direct replacement in the general area. It appears that Costco is using the new store in Surprise, AZ (about 20 miles away) as the "replacement" for this store even though they have about 6 or 7 other locations closer to this site than the Surprise store.

This store was always a unique store as it was a mall anchor (with its food court physically located inside of the mall). It also had what I'd consider a "Sam's Club" merchandise mix (lower end products more reasonably priced) as opposed to the higher end mix found in most of the other stores in the area.

https://www.azfamily.com/news/christown ... 9ce7e.html

Since Costco tends to locate in affluent areas, I'm guessing the neighborhood around Christown has significantly declined since the Costco opened there in 2002.

pseudo3d wrote: ↑February 11th, 2020, 8:38 pm Since Costco tends to locate in affluent areas, I'm guessing the neighborhood around Christown has significantly declined since the Costco opened there in 2002.

Yes and no.

This store was a replacement for the original Price Club in the Phoenix Area (which is now a Costco Business Center). That store is in a neighborhood that is anything but affluent. The neighborhood around this store is undergoing change. Grand Canyon University is redeveloping and gentrifying a massive swath of land about 1 - 2 miles SW of this store. The area due east of this store is an older upper middle class neighborhood. The area immediately north and west of this store is somewhat lower class and has possibly gotten worse since 2002 (but has also seen some new development / redevelopment).

arizonaguy wrote: ↑February 11th, 2020, 7:40 pm It also had what I'd consider a "Sam's Club" merchandise mix (lower end products more reasonably priced) as opposed to the higher end mix found in most of the other stores in the area.

I've never seen Costco carrying a lower priced mix in a single store. I've probably been to 75 Costco stores over time and have never seen a "Sam's Club" mix. What do you mean by this?

babs wrote: ↑February 12th, 2020, 8:08 pm

arizonaguy wrote: ↑February 11th, 2020, 7:40 pm It also had what I'd consider a "Sam's Club" merchandise mix (lower end products more reasonably priced) as opposed to the higher end mix found in most of the other stores in the area.

I've never seen Costco carrying a lower priced mix in a single store. I've probably been to 75 Costco stores over time and have never seen a "Sam's Club" mix. What do you mean by this?

I mean this store carries more reasonably priced items of certain categories.

This store sells Morton water softener salt. The other stores in the area sell Natures Own water softener crystals at about 4 times the price.

Costco's merchandise mix is constantly evolving. While I have never really noticed a lower priced mix, there is some localization of items in different areas of the country. Not all Costco stores sell liquor. And there is some localization of things like bread and dairy products as well as produce.

Definitely seen it at the "Aloha" (Beaverton) store compared to Hillsboro. The latter carries additional South Asian products that the other a few miles away does not.

Hopefully Costco can successfully relocate many of their employees. That is definitely a kick to one of Phoenix's oldest malls. If you're curious about the entrance and food court, Retail Archaeology on YouTube has a recent video.

I believe the other anchors here are a Walmart and Target.

Costco is where the original JC Penney Christown store was (JCP is now at the West end of the mall)

SamSpade wrote: ↑February 14th, 2020, 9:57 am Definitely seen it at the "Aloha" (Beaverton) store compared to Hillsboro. The latter carries additional South Asian products that the other a few miles away does not.

Costco does that all over the country. They add in local favorites. Hawaii stores are the best example. The Bend, Oregon store carries Bear spray, items for winter and water sports.. But I have yet to see a store stocked with lower priced items.

The rumor on Nextdoor is the mall's owner jacked the rent up 70%. Not sure whether the number is accurate, but a rent increase could very well drive them away.

While I like that the store is close to me and sometimes has merchandise the Arcadia Crossing store does not have, it is a difficult store to get in and out of . Parking along Bethany Home is impossible, plus you have to wheel a shopping cart through the mall to your car. Parking on the Montebello side behind Costco is somewhat less impossible (notice I did not say "better") but the lot isn't laid out well and the cul-de-sac near the bus terminal makes getting in and out a pain. Plus, the maniacal drivers make getting to and from the car a challenge.