Costco addresses rumours that a new store will open in Liverpool

Rumours spread that Costco planned to open a new store in Speke

Costco has responded to speculation that it plans to open a new store in Liverpool. The multinational wholesale chain sells a wide variety of items, including food, electronics, homeware and much more.

It operates 890 warehouse stores across the globe, including 29 in the United Kingdom. Costco currently has one store in Liverpool, found on Waterloo Road at the edge of the city centre. Costco Chester is found near Ellesmere Port and Costco Haydock is located between the Merseyside town and Ashton-in-Makerfield.

A post in the Facebook group Speke Past and Present on September 13 asked whether other people in the area had heard if the former GlaxoSmithKline site in the South Liverpool suburb would become a Costco. The pharmaceutical company closed its site in Speke in 2005 and the industrial estate was sold.

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Several people in the Speke Facebook group said they had heard that Costco planned to open a new location on that industrial estate, but the American chain said it would not comment about future locations as a company policy. Now called Southern Gateway, the complex just off Speke Boulevard is made up of a number of warehouse facilities.

Businesses currently operating in the vicinity of Southern Gateway include The Very Group and the Boulevard Retail Park, which is home to Home Bargains, The Food Warehouse and a Costa Coffee Drive Thru. Nearby, you will also find Toby Carvery, Starbucks, a Shell garage and Dobbies Garden Centre.

When the ECHO asked if it was opening a new store in Speke, a Costco spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, it is our company policy to not comment regarding future Costco warehouses until we are ready to share details about the new location (usually 2-3 months in advance).”

Costco plans to open eight new locations before the end of 2024. They include Zaragoza in Spain, Ogori in Japan, Torreón in Mexico and several places in the United States and Canada.

Indurent, the owner of the Southern Gateway industrial estate, has also been contacted for comment by the ECHO.