The North West Co., the oldest retailer on the North American continent, is acquiring Cost-U-Less – which operates about a dozen warehouse club stores in Hawaii, the South Pacific and the Caribbean – for about $50 million (US). To this point, North West Co. has operated more than 200 stores in Canada and Alaska, and this move is expected to help the company develop a broader marketing as well as geographic palette.
One company executive told MNB, “Like us, Cost-U-Less is a market leader and has expertise in the complexity of serving difficult to reach locations that are challenged by long supply chains, weather and geography. And like us, Cost-U-Less serves both indigenous and newer, transient residents with wide income ranges. By joining with North West, Cost-U-Less will gain the size, scale and specialized expertise that we have been able to bring to all of our store banners. Cost-U-Less also offers the rest of North West and Alaska Commercial Company expertise in how to buy and sell warehouse products, including the opportunity to assess whether mid-sized warehouse stores could someday be part of our business in Alaska and in Canada.”
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.
One company executive told MNB, “Like us, Cost-U-Less is a market leader and has expertise in the complexity of serving difficult to reach locations that are challenged by long supply chains, weather and geography. And like us, Cost-U-Less serves both indigenous and newer, transient residents with wide income ranges. By joining with North West, Cost-U-Less will gain the size, scale and specialized expertise that we have been able to bring to all of our store banners. Cost-U-Less also offers the rest of North West and Alaska Commercial Company expertise in how to buy and sell warehouse products, including the opportunity to assess whether mid-sized warehouse stores could someday be part of our business in Alaska and in Canada.”
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.
- KC's View:
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Earlier this year, I had the privilege of spending some time with the folks at North West, and to get a sense of how they define and deliver on neighborhood marketing. And let me tell you, these folks deal with operational issues that few of us ever have to consider – like making sure the supply chain runs smoothly enough so that ships delivering product to remote locations get out before the ice freezes them into one place for the winter. I was extremely impressed by a company that doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word cookie-cutter, and by people who have a real desire to expand their horizons.
In fact, the only downside to my visit was the fact that it was the middle of winter – and I was about as cold as I’ve ever been. That said, the people were warm…and that’s really all you can ask.
