Costco Considering Building Store In West Hartford
Costco, which about 10 years ago made an unsuccessful attempt to open a store in central Connecticut, is once again considering building a store in West Hartford.
Two sources have told me that Costco is in the preliminary stage of planning for a warehouse club store in West Hartford.
Costco officials Thursday declined to comment, stating a longstanding policy of refusing to discuss future plans. West Hartford officials, including Mayor R. Scott Slifka, said they have not been approached by Costco.
West Hartford would be a perfect location for the high-end warehouse store. Its closest stores now are in Enfield or Waterbury. While I see many of my West Hartford-area friends in the Enfield Store, I am sure Costco would do well in West Hartford, especially by building near the Home Depot and Wal-Mart stores.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Costco, I would highly recommend it. I have been a member for two years and have saved thousands of dollars. I don’t own Costco stock, but I should.
Costco treats its customers and its employers well. It pays a livable wage, has excellent fringe benefits, and has loyal employees who in return enjoy working there and will go out of their way to make sure customers are satisfied.
I will be writing soon about Costco pharmacies, where you will find medication cheaper than anywhere else. You don’t even need to be a Costco member to use its pharmacy.
Ever since moving one mile over the line to Massachusetts, I have been shopping every week at the Costco in Enfield, where I buy the bulk of our groceries, books, kitchen supplies, computers, casual clothing and electronics.
It’s a wonderful place to purchase jewelry. You could save several years of membership fees by purchasing your diamond ring there.
Costco members tend be fanatics, so don’t get me or them started about where the steak, hors d’oeuvres or fruit came from if you are guests for dinner.
Return policies are incredibly liberal — no questions asked on most items and you frequently get a phone call the following day asking you if you were treated well when you returned an item.
Another example: When you pick up your prescription, there is a roped-off area to provide privacy, preventing the person behind you from being privy to your conversation.
Costco does have its disadvantages: Its stores are limited to 4,000 items; merchandise is moved frequently, driving people like me crazy when I try to speed shop; merchandise that I get hooked on disappears for a new product; hours are limited; and stores are closed on most holidays.
Its business model calls for special items that might only be there for a few days, like pianos, Oriental rugs, spocialty kitchen knives and furniture.
Kirkland, Costco’s brand for items ranging from pots and pans to cosmetics, is highly rated by Consumer Reports.
“Most sell for at least 20 percent less than name-brand competitors. We have rated highly many Costco products we’ve tested in recent years, including detergents, paper towels, batteries, and gas barbecue grills,” wrote Consumer Reports two years ago, where it compared Costco with Sam’s Club, which it also rated highly.
I suggest that anyone thinking about joining a wholesale club read the Consumer Reports story here.
One of the interesting things pointed out by the article is that although savings of more than 50 percent are available, people tend to buy more merchandise than they would at a regular store.
One encounter I had with a Costco employee symbolizes why I feel valued there: As members leave, an employee checks your receipt against what is in your cart. One day, that employee stopped me and said, “I don’t see that camera you paid for.”
It was there, hiding behind groceries. But she was just as concerned about my not being shortchanged as she was about Costco being protected. If only all businesses were run this way.
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6 Responses for “Costco Considering Building Store In West Hartford”
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COSTCO coming to West Hartford would be great!!!
I have been a BJ’s member for a decade, but been intrigued by the Costco hiding across the highway (in Waterbury). Is it really better across the street? There are so many more BJ’s – and a new one is in the planning process in my hometown of Southington. Your link to Consumer Reports only talked about Sam’s and Costco; I won’t use Sam’s because the militancy I experienced there (high security getting in and out). You can just walk into BJ’s and check the prices. You can’t at Sam’s, and I hear you can’t at Costco either.
I read with interest about the possiblity that Costco was coming to West Hartford in the latest edition of Connecticut Watch Dog. A couple of years ago, I was speaking with a representative of Costco at a racing event and it was indicated that they were considering moving into Newington. That never occurred. I hope that it doesn’t happen in West Hartford either. Before you and others “gush” over stores such as Costco, BJ’s, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, you have to keep in mind the old adage that you get what you pay for. Wal-Mart was exposed by Consumer Reports a couple of years ago for selling a computer at a “bargain-basement” price but then charging for all sorts of extras to enable the computer to be more than just a word processor and e-mail reader. Even Costco is not immune to such practices. In the most recent issue of Consumer Reports (Consumer Reports p.5 Dec. 2009) there was a letter to the editor about a printer that was less expensive at Costco than other stores. The gentleman had a question about an additonal letter in the printer’s serial number. He called the manufacturer and learned that the Costco unit had more plastic parts than a unit with no letter in its serial number which had more metal parts. I had a similar experience with a word processor at other discount stores some years ago.
I would love for there to be a Costco in West Hartford or Newington. I have been in the Enfield store quite a while ago, but it is too far for me to travel to shop on a regular basis.
George, Costco is definitely considering a West Hartford location. I was called about 6 months ago to participate in a survey for them as I shop with them a lot. They offered me a $25 gift card to give my thoughts on a new location, I think they had said near the Stop & Shop, I get the feeling it was down the street from the BJ’s location over there.
You are right about Costco being good….. I live along the shoreline east of New Haven and always wanted to have Costco open a store somewhere along the shoreline to avoid the hassle of the “Q” Bridge.. We also belong to BJ’s, which alright, but it can’t compare to COSTCO..