Discussions

Costco

braid
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5422

braid
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5422

Costco
9/12/2023 at 3:03 PM

Someone please explain to me why we don't have a Costco in Brandon.
Over 50,000 people in Brandon itself & all the surrounding area coming here to shop would be enormous. Brando is growing in population & shrinking in shopping.
Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

.
9/12/2023 at 5:03 PM

We don’t want Costco because they don’t support your kids local hockey, ball or soccer team or any local charities.
Summertime
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 931

Summertime
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 931

?????
9/12/2023 at 5:09 PM

Farmergeorge said "We don’t want Costco because they don’t support your kids local hockey, ball or soccer team or any local charities. "
Let me fix that for you “I don’t want a Cosco because…..”

Edited by Summertime, 2023-09-12 17:11:48
JosephC
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 132

JosephC
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 132

Well...
9/12/2023 at 6:38 PM

braid said "Someone please explain to me why we don't have a Costco in Brandon.
Over 50,000 people in Brandon itself & all the surrounding area coming here to shop would be enormous. Brando is growing in population & shrinking in shopping. "
It's likely because at 50,000 people, if Brandon did have a Costco, it would almost certainly be the smallest population area in Canada to have a Costco. Even when you consider the population around Brandon, it's not much of an improvement.

According to Brandon economic development, if you go in a concentric zone 60km around the city, you'd get to 70,000 people. Then if you go 150km east-west and 200km north-south, you hit a grand total of about 150,000 people, but now we're talking about a massive area.

The other thing to consider is that Costco isn't cheap - it tends to target suburban populations with high median incomes. That's its target market.... And if you consider that in terms of the very small population spread over a huge area in western Manitoba, it's really not that compelling of a market for Costco.

Brandon actually has a significant amount of retail for what it is and where it is.

Edited to add:

Costco, since it is membership based, also can easily know how many of its members live in Westman and what they spend, and in what stores (or online). If, say, there are already a few thousand Costco members in Westman, and many regularly shop at a Costco in Winnipeg or Regina already, then what's the business case for Costco to open a store in Brandon? Many people are regularly in Winnipeg.

Plus Costco's net margins are quite small. In order for a store to be profitable it needs to be the miserable experience that Costco is - full parking lots, people everywhere, weird congregations of people staring at the rotisserie chickens, line-ups for crappy pizza and hot dogs - all day, every day.

Full disclosure - I have a membership because I buy some bigger items online now and then, but I find absolutely nothing redeeming about the in-store experience, which is pure frustration to me.

Edited by JosephC, 2023-09-12 18:57:04
Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

.
9/12/2023 at 7:05 PM

It would be rather better to support the stores and businesses that are currently in Brandon that in turn support local fund raisers, charities, events and kids sports.
Happy_ Hour
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 887

Happy_ Hour
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 887

.
9/12/2023 at 7:15 PM

I have been to Costco in Winnipeg and in Alberta with friends. I really do not see why I need to spend my money to spend my money. Someone explain why you need to pay for a membership.

If we ever got one in Brandon I doubt I would get a membership on principle alone.
Adam

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Adam
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Costco
9/12/2023 at 8:37 PM

As long as Medicine Hat has one with population 60-65,000 and Comox Valley has one with 72,000 hope springs eternal. There was a time a few years ago when a rendering for a development in the South of the city showed a footprint for an anchor tenant that very much resembled a Costco but I think that ended up being written off as aspirational.
A little less than two hours to their new Headingley box might be what folks have to settle for for the foreseeable future.
Breaker12
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 248

Breaker12
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 248

Negative
9/12/2023 at 9:03 PM

braid said "Someone please explain to me why we don't have a Costco in Brandon.
Over 50,000 people in Brandon itself & all the surrounding area coming here to shop would be enormous. Brando is growing in population & shrinking in shopping. "
Hopefully you got your answer by negative comments by the same people. People of brandon do not like change at all.. not just shopping or restaurants but anything new.
Just look at that new commerical project they want to buildmin the south end, people are against new things.

Yes supporting local franchisee store do help our community 10000%. However the bulk of brandonites migrate to superstore or walmart for groceries, which is a corporate store. Costco is a corporate store as well.

In my opinion, we have enough population is western Manitoba and areas including north dakota to support a costco.

Also if theres a costco in Brandon, the rest of businesses in Brandon make money too, people migrate to our city and spend money on other shopping, gas, accomodations and the list goes on. That money is local and we dont have to give it to Winnipeg.
Abbysmum
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 4946

Abbysmum
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 4946

Apples and oranges
9/12/2023 at 9:38 PM

Adam said "As long as Medicine Hat has one with population 60-65,000 and Comox Valley has one with 72,000 hope springs eternal. There was a time a few years ago when a rendering for a development in the South of the city showed a footprint for an anchor tenant that very much resembled a Costco but I think that ended up being written off as aspirational.
A little less than two hours to their new Headingley box might be what folks have to settle for for the foreseeable future. "
You're not really comparing apples to apples here. The population distribution is quite different, at least in Medicine Hat, which changes the picture significantly. (I'm less familiar with Comox, which is 50% larger than Brandon anyway, so I'll ignore that).

Medicine Hat is nearly 3 hours to Calgary. It's also closer to a lot of stuff in Saskatchewan like Swift Current than Regina (plus, has the no sales tax bonus!).

Additionally, Alberta's population is much more distributed than Manitoba. Alberta has roughly 4.5M people, with a combined 2.4M ish between Calgary and Edmonton. That's just a little over 50%. The rest is in places other than Edmonton and Calgary. Lots up north, but lots is other pockets around the province too. Manitoba, on the other hand, has roughly 57% of it's 1.3M living in Winnipeg proper.

If you look at the top 40 towns and cities in Manitoba, you know how many are in Westman? 6, including Brandon. That's if you count Dauphin, about 2 hours away. How many within 60 km (a half hour drive or so) of Winnipeg? 11. That's not counting places like Morden and Winkler. In fact, the top 40 population centre's in Manitoba has 11 reserves on it. Most of those are up North.

So no, we do not even remotely have a business case for population here to support a Costco. The dynamics are so vastly different. We would have to hit 100K in Brandon proper before they'd even look at us, if I had to guess.
Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

.
9/12/2023 at 10:47 PM

Breaker12 said "Hopefully you got your answer by negative comments by the same people. People of brandon do not like change at all.. not just shopping or restaurants but anything new.
Just look at that new commerical project they want to buildmin the south end, people are against new things.

Yes supporting local franchisee store do help our community 10000%. However the bulk of brandonites migrate to superstore or walmart for groceries, which is a corporate store. Costco is a corporate store as well.

In my opinion, we have enough population is western Manitoba and areas including north dakota to support a costco.

Also if theres a costco in Brandon, the rest of businesses in Brandon make money too, people migrate to our city and spend money on other shopping, gas, accomodations and the list goes on. That money is local and we dont have to give it to Winnipeg. "
Pulling people into Brandon to shop doesn’t do much for the stores in smaller communities does it. You know the generous small local businesses that people approach first when organizing a fundraiser or community event expecting support.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-12 22:48:11
Adam

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Adam
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Comparisons
9/13/2023 at 12:29 AM

Abbysmum said "You're not really comparing apples to apples here. The population distribution is quite different, at least in Medicine Hat, which changes the picture significantly. (I'm less familiar with Comox, which is 50% larger than Brandon anyway, so I'll ignore that).

Medicine Hat is nearly 3 hours to Calgary. It's also closer to a lot of stuff in Saskatchewan like Swift Current than Regina (plus, has the no sales tax bonus!).

Additionally, Alberta's population is much more distributed than Manitoba. Alberta has roughly 4.5M people, with a combined 2.4M ish between Calgary and Edmonton. That's just a little over 50%. The rest is in places other than Edmonton and Calgary. Lots up north, but lots is other pockets around the province too. Manitoba, on the other hand, has roughly 57% of it's 1.3M living in Winnipeg proper.

If you look at the top 40 towns and cities in Manitoba, you know how many are in Westman? 6, including Brandon. That's if you count Dauphin, about 2 hours away. How many within 60 km (a half hour drive or so) of Winnipeg? 11. That's not counting places like Morden and Winkler. In fact, the top 40 population centre's in Manitoba has 11 reserves on it. Most of those are up North.

So no, we do not even remotely have a business case for population here to support a Costco. The dynamics are so vastly different. We would have to hit 100K in Brandon proper before they'd even look at us, if I had to guess. "
Def not as simple as apples to apples but the approx populations within radius aren’t that far off. Fun tool at this link lets you draw on a map and it gives you a population estimate within that area:
https://www.freemaptools.com/find-population.htm

Within around an hour of Medicine Hat I’m getting around 105,000 people.

That Comox number is for the valley that has 72,000 so it’s sort of a trading area. You can add Campbell River which is a good size. I drew a similar radius and ended up with a little over 106,000 around a Comox store. One thing I wonder if comes into play with Comox (store is technically in Courtenay) is how product is distributed to get it to the island. Maybe having the third island store is part of it. Also as far as shoppers, driving a bit of a distance to get to a store in the island climate (winter) might open the door to a few more year-round regular shoppers too.
Another interesting one is Grande Prairie which looks to be around 110,000 within radius.
Prince George the box I drew was just over 109,000. Different in their cases with how isolated they are from a major centre.

Tried my best to stick to a similarish radius for Brandon and I’m getting just under 97,000… the smallest of all of the examples but to me not jump off the page far away. I didn’t go as far as casting the net to Dauphin or into Eastern Sask, I’m not really in tune with just how far someone would drive regularly enough to justify a membership or what Costco would use along with other variables like competition in any given market, how fast a city’s growing, incomes, etc etc.

Core point I wanted to make though. If population is one factor, I dont think its a complete Lol to dream (or resurrect an old friend of a thread :)). I actually wonder how many examples there are of population centres this big in Western Canada that have a 2 hour drive to get to one?
Breaker12
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 248

Breaker12
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 248

Typical
9/13/2023 at 5:48 AM

Farmergeorge said "Pulling people into Brandon to shop doesn’t do much for the stores in smaller communities does it. You know the generous small local businesses that people approach first when organizing a fundraiser or community event expecting support.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-12 22:48:11"
Typical generic answer... works for every single other province in Canada and state in America.
Small stores will always be approached first becuase there is a local franchisee attached to it. Corporate stores have a process to go head office before giving fundraising.

In the end, brandon is a city hub and in western manitoba needs it to be, it is up to people to shop wherever they want. There are tons of people that shop at walmart/superstore vs they're own community locally owned store. I am sorry some products are 2 to 3 times the price of walmart/superstore at locally owned stores.
Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

.
9/13/2023 at 7:18 AM

Breaker12 said "Typical generic answer... works for every single other province in Canada and state in America.
Small stores will always be approached first becuase there is a local franchisee attached to it. Corporate stores have a process to go head office before giving fundraising.

In the end, brandon is a city hub and in western manitoba needs it to be, it is up to people to shop wherever they want. There are tons of people that shop at walmart/superstore vs they're own community locally owned store. I am sorry some products are 2 to 3 times the price of walmart/superstore at locally owned stores. "
Brandon is no more than a large town with more than enough retail presently to serve its area and little else.
It makes me sad, the first people to demand support from their local stores are the ones that never shop there. But those local businesses always support their community generously .
If people honestly sat down and figured out the cost of their gas and time to run around they’d find that they don’t save much if anything shopping elsewhere.
So no , it’s not a generic answer. It’s common sense.
Trustfall
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 105

Trustfall
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 105

Google says...
9/13/2023 at 9:53 AM

Costco requires, within a 5-mile trade area radius, 200,000 people and a median income of $75,000. Their target demographic also includes college educated, 2-person+ households.

I wonder if this is US because I think there are many locations that do not meet these qualifications.
Adam

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Adam
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Costs
9/13/2023 at 10:04 AM

Farmergeorge said "
Brandon is no more than a large town with more than enough retail presently to serve its area and little else.
It makes me sad, the first people to demand support from their local stores are the ones that never shop there. But those local businesses always support their community generously .
If people honestly sat down and figured out the cost of their gas and time to run around they’d find that they don’t save much if anything shopping elsewhere.
So no , it’s not a generic answer. It’s common sense.
"
It’s easy to confidently make that kind of absolute statement and it sure gets conversation stirred up, but in reality it just isn’t that simple. Different variables in play like how far you’re traveling (coming from Minnedosa is different than coming from Melita), what the gas price of the day is, what and how much you’re buying, what you’re driving (anywhere from an electric or efficient hybrid all the way to a gas guzzling three row SUV) and how much of that running around is done within town. If the topic is Costco, looking at it through a Brandon-Winnipeg lens I know there are some folks that go in and do large enough shops and quantity buys that do make it worth it for them but imagine that the greater the distance the less it’s worth it. You’ve implied you’ve sat down and done the math. Care to share?
Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

.
9/13/2023 at 10:27 AM

Adam said "
It’s easy to confidently make that kind of absolute statement and it sure gets conversation stirred up, but in reality it just isn’t that simple. Different variables in play like how far you’re traveling (coming from Minnedosa is different than coming from Melita), what the gas price of the day is, what and how much you’re buying, what you’re driving (anywhere from an electric or efficient hybrid all the way to a gas guzzling three row SUV) and how much of that running around is done within town. If the topic is Costco, looking at it through a Brandon-Winnipeg lens I know there are some folks that go in and do large enough shops and quantity buys that do make it worth it for them but imagine that the greater the distance the less it’s worth it. You’ve implied you’ve sat down and done the math. Care to share?
"
It’s actually very simple. My time valued at $215 hr based on an average 10 hr work day , 7 days a week 365 days yr.
A trip into Brandon is minimum $60 gas plus vehicle running costs, insurance , depreciation etc which would total minimum $120
Therefore an hour and a half each way plus two hours spent in Brandon &#61:
5 hours at $215 &#61: $1075 lost income plus $120 travelling costs&#61: $1195 for a trip into Brandon, I’d have to do a heck of a shop to save that much.
To sum that up it’s far cheaper for me to shop locally when possible even if individual items cost a little more and that locally spent money stays local and comes back around helping the community.
Like I said people have to sit down and be honest with themselves about their expenses.
Note these numbers are based off
Gross business income before costs, expenses
And taxes.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-13 10:43:18
ChristopherMacDonald
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 144

ChristopherMacDonald
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 144

Costco
9/13/2023 at 10:57 AM

There are 3 in WPG already with plans for a 4th.
Also one in Regina.
How bad do you need a discount wholesale warehouse?
Also, it's not as "cheap" as everyone thinks.
Adam

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Adam
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15663

Math
9/13/2023 at 12:13 PM

Farmergeorge said "
It’s actually very simple. My time valued at $215 hr based on an average 10 hr work day , 7 days a week 365 days yr.
A trip into Brandon is minimum $60 gas plus vehicle running costs, insurance , depreciation etc which would total minimum $120
Therefore an hour and a half each way plus two hours spent in Brandon &#61:
5 hours at $215 &#61: $1075 lost income plus $120 travelling costs&#61: $1195 for a trip into Brandon, I’d have to do a heck of a shop to save that much.
To sum that up it’s far cheaper for me to shop locally when possible even if individual items cost a little more and that locally spent money stays local and comes back around helping the community.
Like I said people have to sit down and be honest with themselves about their expenses.
Note these numbers are based off
Gross business income before costs, expenses
And taxes.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-13 10:43:18
"
Congrats on a significant outlier income. Safe to say Costco doesnt bank on many $215/hour folks when doing its broader brushstrokes assessment of a market.
Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

Not really.
9/13/2023 at 12:45 PM

Adam said "
Congrats on a significant outlier income. Safe to say Costco doesnt bank on many $215/hour folks when doing its broader brushstrokes assessment of a market.
"
As I said that’s gross earnings. I knew joe public wouldn’t understand because they don’t want to know the cost of producing their food.
After costs,inputs, taxes, fuel, repairs, insurance etc etc I’m lucky to walk away with $30,000 profit at years end in a good year. Divide that by hours worked puts my paycheque at $8.22 hour which I think you’ll find is significantly below minimum wage and much less than most workers will get out of their beds for. Such is the personal cost of choosing to produce food for people.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-13 12:48:08
Arax
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 93

Arax
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 93

$215x10x365
9/13/2023 at 1:14 PM

Farmergeorge said "
It’s actually very simple. My time valued at $215 hr based on an average 10 hr work day , 7 days a week 365 days yr.
A trip into Brandon is minimum $60 gas plus vehicle running costs, insurance , depreciation etc which would total minimum $120
Therefore an hour and a half each way plus two hours spent in Brandon &#61:
5 hours at $215 &#61: $1075 lost income plus $120 travelling costs&#61: $1195 for a trip into Brandon, I’d have to do a heck of a shop to save that much.
To sum that up it’s far cheaper for me to shop locally when possible even if individual items cost a little more and that locally spent money stays local and comes back around helping the community.
Like I said people have to sit down and be honest with themselves about their expenses.
Note these numbers are based off
Gross business income before costs, expenses
And taxes.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-13 10:43:18
"
Wow George, you make $784,750.00 per year by your math. I must say congrats and I don't blame you for not wanting to bother with discount shopping.

A little tongue in cheek as I saw your little gross income edit but point being, your "costing" calculation is utterly bogus if you aren't using a net earned value for your time.

Edit - So at 8.22/hr you need to save $161.10 to make the trip worth it. Little more doable than $1195

Edited by Arax, 2023-09-13 13:17:37
TheBrofessor
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 141

TheBrofessor
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 141

.
9/13/2023 at 5:06 PM

Everybody's situation is different. For a lot of people, the basic mathematics show that there can be a significant difference in the costs between stores.

https://modernfifty.tv/costco-vs-walmart-vs-superstore/
https://www.tawcan.com/cheapest-canadian-grocery-store-costco-walmart-superstore-grocery-inflation-price-comparison/
https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceCanada/comments/12wt01c/i_realized_i_have_wasted_so_much_money_not/
Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

.
9/14/2023 at 12:56 AM

I see no one else posted their own numbers or calculations.
And a business owner wouldn’t use net earned time in such a calculation. You would use gross earned time because that represents the total loss of income to the business.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-14 00:59:33
TheBrofessor
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 141

TheBrofessor
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 141

.
9/14/2023 at 7:46 AM

What calculations would you like to see? Most people in Canada live in cities that have a Costco, and the time and fuel difference for them to drive to Costco vs another store would be negligible.

Edited by TheBrofessor, 2023-09-14 07:56:18
Iceman69
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 506

Iceman69
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 506

lol
9/14/2023 at 7:53 AM

Farmergeorge said "
It’s actually very simple. My time valued at $215 hr based on an average 10 hr work day , 7 days a week 365 days yr.
A trip into Brandon is minimum $60 gas plus vehicle running costs, insurance , depreciation etc which would total minimum $120
Therefore an hour and a half each way plus two hours spent in Brandon &#61:
5 hours at $215 &#61: $1075 lost income plus $120 travelling costs&#61: $1195 for a trip into Brandon, I’d have to do a heck of a shop to save that much.
To sum that up it’s far cheaper for me to shop locally when possible even if individual items cost a little more and that locally spent money stays local and comes back around helping the community.
Like I said people have to sit down and be honest with themselves about their expenses.
Note these numbers are based off
Gross business income before costs, expenses
And taxes.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-13 10:43:18
"
no one does this.. the world doesn't work like this.
Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

Farmergeorge
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1837

.
9/14/2023 at 8:11 AM

Iceman69 said "no one does this.. the world doesn't work like this. "
Those are real figures taken from my books.
Adam asked me to share my numbers so there they are.
Maybe you should work out your own.
NOYB
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 601

NOYB
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 601

your wage?
9/14/2023 at 10:07 AM

You value your time at $215/hour? Wish my employer did.
Irie Mon
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 334

Irie Mon
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 334

I Thought We Were Talking About A Costco in Brandon
9/14/2023 at 10:07 AM

Farmergeorge said "Those are real figures taken from my books.
Adam asked me to share my numbers so there they are.
Maybe you should work out your own. "
I thought we were talking about a Costco in Brandon
PrimeConvoy

Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 490

PrimeConvoy
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 490

well,
9/14/2023 at 11:29 AM

Farmergeorge said "I see no one else posted their own numbers or calculations.
And a business owner wouldn’t use net earned time in such a calculation. You would use gross earned time because that represents the total loss of income to the business.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-14 00:59:33"
When you come here and attacked people's actions, motives and intelligence, don't be surprised with the reactions you receive.

Back to the topic:
I recently visited the Coscto in Regina, and I frequent the ones in Winnipeg often. Every time I leave I am left bewildered as to why people actually wan this in Brandon.

If Costco eventually comes to Brandon, that's a good thing, no matter how you slice it. Costco has never brought the decline to a Canadian City, I don't see how it would start with Brandon. At the same time, I don't see how Brandon is suffering without one...it's a 2 hour drive to the nearest one. Which is much closer than the hundreds of thousands of people in Saskatchewan that have to travel to the nearest Ikea....I know, apples and oranges. (^ ^,)
aBUFAmember
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 162

aBUFAmember
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 162

Sure...
9/14/2023 at 9:00 PM

Farmergeorge said "
It’s actually very simple. My time valued at $215 hr based on an average 10 hr work day , 7 days a week 365 days yr.
A trip into Brandon is minimum $60 gas plus vehicle running costs, insurance , depreciation etc which would total minimum $120
Therefore an hour and a half each way plus two hours spent in Brandon &#61:
5 hours at $215 &#61: $1075 lost income plus $120 travelling costs&#61: $1195 for a trip into Brandon, I’d have to do a heck of a shop to save that much.
To sum that up it’s far cheaper for me to shop locally when possible even if individual items cost a little more and that locally spent money stays local and comes back around helping the community.
Like I said people have to sit down and be honest with themselves about their expenses.
Note these numbers are based off
Gross business income before costs, expenses
And taxes.

Edited by Farmergeorge, 2023-09-13 10:43:18
"
If you want to make the worst case possible, but your costing isn't realistic. 1st, forget vehicle operation costs, insurance, and depreciation. You bear that even if your car sits idle on your driveway so the Costco trip doesn't add those costs to your annual budget (OK, maybe a very marginal operational wear and tear). 2nd, you can hardly cost your time based on 'lost income' or however you've justified it. People don't generally go to Costco during their own working hours. They go on weekends or days off. No lost income. 3rd, sure, not everyone, but many people fit a trip to Costco into a multi-purpose trip to Winnipeg or Regina where they might be going anyway, or which they justify spreading the 'cost' over several stops/purposes - other very specialized shopping, entertainment, medical appointments, visiting friends or family, etc. I agree, there are some who still make the trip to Costco the main purpose, but they might not even be the majority, I don't know and won't assume. It's just much more complex.
By the way, I'm in no way disagreeing with your point about supporting local businesses and the community. But within Brandon, as others have said, you still have masses of people shopping at Walmart and similar, with the same outcome. The point of this discussion is whether there is a business case for Costco in Brandon. I suspect not, whether we 'should' want it or not. It's a corporation with an algorithm which is based on population, trade area, and income. I doubt we meet their thresholds. I'll say I'm wrong when they build a store here.