Phoenix, AZ, October--Costco will soon start selling sofas — and you won’t have to purchase them in 20-packs.
The retailer known for its megavolume megacenters is drawing a bead on the furniture market this month with the opening in Tempe of a Costco Home, a warehouse as big as the Alltel Ice Den, practice facility of the Phoenix Coyotes.
When the 120,000-square-foot store opens on Friday, it will be only the second Costco Home store in the nation, the first being a test store that opened two years ago in Kirkland, Wash., near Costco’s corporate headquarters, said operations manager John Ostmeier.
Ostmeier said Tempe was selected next because Costco Wholesale Warehouses and their predecessors, Price Clubs, have been here for almost 30 years, making the Valley one of the company’s most mature markets with a high saturation of Costco members.
Card-carrying members will be able to browse the home store’s enormous showroom (65,000 square feet) for anything from crystal chandeliers to rustic dining room sets, from affordable flooring to overstuffed, tapestrycovered Rocco loveseats.
"You can also buy a fountain for your back yard, a putting green and a (custom-designed) wine cellar," said warehouse manager Kristine Sinclair.
And, with few exceptions, customers can haul away their purchases then and there. Filling the back half of the building are towering cantilevered steel shelves where sofas and such are stored like canned tomato sauce is at regular Costco stores. With few exceptions, every item is in stock.
"The only reason it wouldn’t be is if nine or 10 people purchased the same item in one day," Sinclair said.
Delivery, which is not included in the store’s prices, is available to anywhere in the state. Otherwise, shoppers will pull their vehicles to the back of the store, where their larger purchases will be loaded.
Not good at putting a room together or at selecting a window treatment? Interior decorators on staff provide free advice.
