The 5th Costco branch in Taiwan is ceremoniously opened in Taichung City today, the (9th). Taichung’s Mayor, Jason Ho offered personal congratulations, and stated that Costco has invested one billion NT dollars in Taichung city, which has created 1000 employment opportunities and assists in the commercial prosperity of this city. Today, even though the launch has not yet begun, people have already waited in line for the store, which shows the vigorous supporting atmosphere in Taichung. 

Costco was established in the U.S.A. in 1976, and currently and has founded 523 sales fields. With more than 53 million global members, its annual sales volume is over 64 billion dollars. The first Costco branch was opened in Kaoshuang in 1997, followed by Nei-hu, Xi-zhi, and Zhong-he. Its growth rate is over 10% every year, and in addition, total sales reached 15 billion NT dollars last year, with over 550,000 local members.

The Costco Taichung branch is located in “City 113” of Hope Square. The municipal government invited Costco to develop by way of BOT, which is the first large-scale BOT case promoted in Taichung city. Costco will pay 320 million in developing rights funds, and 5% of annual rent for usage of the grounds. 　　

The establishment of the Costco Taichung branch has attracted public attention and has already broken multiple records, including over 100,000 recruited members, the biggest sales field of five Costco branches, with 5,600 square feet of level ground area for a rare walk-in area, which allows consumers to directly walk into the large-scale cold-storage refrigerator to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables.