Costco Opens Its First Store in China

US retailer Costco Wholesale officially opened its first store in China. The store, which sprawls out over 150,000 square feet in Shanghai's southwestern suburbs, was forced to close the door after mid-day after huge crowds of bargain-hunters swamped the store .

The massive warehouse outlet issued a notice to users in the early afternoon saying that it would no longer allow anymore customers through the doors, citing 'overcrowding' situation inside the store and traffic chaos in surrounding areas.

Foreign 'hyper-markets' have struggled in China, analysts have warned Costco's model may struggle in a market that has been tough on foreign food retailers.

In June, French chain Carrefour agreed to sell 80% of its China business to domestic retailer Suning after suffering recurring losses.

German wholesaler Metro is in the process of selling its operations to a local bidder and Britain's Tesco pulled out of the Chinese market in 2014.

- APMR News