US chain Costco to open Madrid store

After opening its first store in mainland Europe in Seville last year, US wholesale chain Costco has now begun construction work on premises in the Madrid satellite town of Getafe.

It will be the warehouse club chain’s first store in the Spanish capital, but not the only one. Costco also has plans to open a second location in Madrid in 2015, its financial director Richard A. Galanti announced on Monday.

Speaking at an analysts’ conference, Galanti said sales at its Seville store had been “slightly below predictions,” but were “finally beginning to grow.”

Galanti did not reveal the location of the second Madrid store, but said both it and the Getafe branch would open in the fall

Above all, he praised the good progress of the hypermarket chain’s member subscriptions. The company’s business model requires customers to pay an annual membership fee in exchange for the promise of lower prices.

Galanti did not reveal the precise location of the second Madrid store, but said both it and the Getafe branch would open in the fall.

The second-biggest superstore chain in the US, Costco opened its 15,000-square-meter Seville branch in May 2014 with a staff of 235. After Spain, it plans to open stores in other countries in mainland Europe – it already has 25 locations in the UK. As well as a store, the company is also building its central offices in Getafe, where it plans to create 520 jobs.