Grace in Taiwan: Costco in Taipei

I’ve been to Costco a couple of times in Montreal. My friend Vicky got a membership card and kindly drives me to the store close to Verdun and let me purchase a lot of body lotion, shampoo and food for my family, and of course cat’s litter for Akan. To me Cosco is the place for people who need a big amount of goods but wanna save money, and they won’t go there very often since they buy a lot each time.

However, in Taipei, my friend Randy told me Costco is seen as a “high-class (or at least above middle)” store here. People go there to get fresh food of good quality, and what sounds funny is, to get something American in order to feel like “American.” I was so driven by the curiosity and asked him to take me there. So last week we went to Neihu- a technology park where Costco is located- and had a “tour.”

Indeed, people in Costco are kind of different from what I saw in Montreal. First, a lot of people’s carts are almost empty. I even saw a woman leaving with only 2 boxes of cereals. Second, Costco in Taipei is a boutique at the same time because there is a section selling brand bags such as Burberry and Fendi, and one of each costs 20,000 NT (600 CDN) to 75,000 NT (2,500 CDN). Other than the boutique, it got a drug store, a photo studio, a glasses store which provides service of optometry. Third, it got a lot of nice ready-to-eats, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean dishes. Fourth, the most interesting to me, Costco in Taipei seems to be a spot of entertainment. I saw dressed-up girls strolling as groups, and numerous parents and their kids trying all kinds of food and goods excitedly. Randy told me Costco is like a supermarket: a place you can go everyday and enjoy the pleasure of shopping.

I had thought it’s stupid that Costco became “high-class” in Taipei. But while being there I realized that people in Taiwan are simply trying to transform an American input into their own output. I believe this kind of transformation of consumption due to the longing for exotic life style is everywhere in the world, including North America and Europe.