Costco Arrives in Wichita!

One of the most anticipated days in Wichita shopping history arrives. Costco officially opens its doors in Wichita. For the longest time, citizens have clamored for a Costco to arrive. Costco answered and Wichita answered back.

I spoke with some reps at Costco and Wichita is expected to be one of the biggest grand openings in store history. Just by looking at membership signups, it should be no surprise Wichita shows up anytime something new opens in the city. Tuesday evening is a great example, Costco had a VIP Party for it’s members to come in and sample products, see the store firsthand, eat a bunch of free food and see what Costco was all about. It was so packed, people were parking at the hotels on the other side of the road.

Lately the only way to pack a big building full of people was to have the Shockers playing inside it. Tuesday’s VIP Party was a madhouse and a zoo. People were everywhere, food lines were long, and families were sitting in random aisles on the floor eating, For a second, I thought a big hurricane hit the city and the Costco Warehouse was a shelter for people.

Earlier on Tuesday, I had a chance to visit the warehouse and get a private tour of the facility and learn more about Costco. I’m very glad I went. I was able to get better insight on the products, how they do their pricing, what’s good there, more about the Kirkland brand, just everything to the point I feel like I’m an encyclopedia for Costco and their brand whore now. I will say after one visit, I’m drinking the juice and am a believer.

Costco truly believes in offering quality items and their Kirkland brand products are backed up by many Consumer Reports out there. Just glancing at some items like Gatorade, a Dyson Vacuum, Nike apparel, and Disney Frozen merchandise (not for me of course) their prices were very competitive to other national retailers. Even their Kirkland brand items which I’ve sampled so much of is competitive in pricing to many other offbrand items BUT better.

I think my next project will involve making a list of 20-25 items and comparing those prices to what Sams Club offers.

If you haven’t purchased a Costco membership, do so. It’ll be worth your time. I’m a strong backer of Costco and will be spending many Sunday afternoons there now, sampling food, sitting on their display couches relaxing and watching football. If their washer and dryers are hooked up, I may even bring my dirty clothes to do laundry. Come to think of it, I may just move in.

Remember, Costco officially opens Wednesday, June 3rd at 8 am. I’ll be there for sure. I have a birthday cake order I’m picking up. It’ll probably be eaten by the time I get to work.

Lastly, I want to thank all the great people at Costco for introducing me to their items and taking the time out of their day to show me around and give me a tour. These guys truly do care about the “Costco Experience” and making customers happy.

Happy Shopping!