The longer I am here in the Kingdom the more I realize how much I miss Costco! First of all, I actually dislike shopping and therefore appreciated how not only did Costco allow me one-stop-shopping for any items I needed whether it be kitchen, food items, home furnishing, clothes, eyeglasses, etc., but the prices were very reasonable and the products of good quality. I encourage anyone not familiar with Costco to view their web site: http://www.costco.com/ and I think you’ll get a sense on why I miss this kind of store so much.
Neither does the Kingdom have Walmart, (http://www.walmart.com/) K-Mart (www.kmart.com) or Target (http://www.target.com/). In their places, you will instead find Euromarche, Carrefour and Geant.
Euromarche (http://www.euromarche.com/aboutus.html) is open 24 hours and I would categorize it as similar to Kmart but perhaps a little lower in quality. It is an excellent place to go to for household items (not furniture) at reasonable prices. However I would unlikely purchase any clothing or shoes there. The prices are reasonable but careful observation of the stitching and way the items are made I can see they would not last for very long without beginning to rip at the seams or lose bottons.
Geant (http://www.geantsaudi.com.sa/Misc/AboutUs.aspx) I would chose to compare with Walmart. Most individuals seem to go to Geant for food products more so than the other non-consumable offerings. I do believe the quality and selection is better than that of Euromarche.
Carrefour (http://www.carrefourksa.com/English/advertise.asp) is probably the closest in comparison with the western chain, Target. Carrefour is not only in the Kingdom but other countries in the Middle East too. The quality is good and the store usually offers a wide variety and selection.
But why do I miss Costco with these other choices available? I continue to believe that the quantity and quality Costco continues to offer the best. And frankly I am surprised that Costco has not penetrated the Saudi market. One way Costco maintains the lower prices for good quality is to sell items in bulk. Now think about it – the Saudi families are typically larger than the average Western family and routinely buy what westerners would view as bulk purchases. In fact, when I was in the States, my Saudi friends all adored and appreciated shopping at Costco and lamented that it was such a shame not to have something similar in the Kingdom. Talk about the ideal consumer base already in place!
As I am on my roll here with comparisons, I am confident that anyone from the States or spent time in the States is familiar with Home Depot (www.homedepot.com). I know it may sound unusual for a woman to say this but oh how I enjoyed spending time in Home Depot. I so enjoy putting a home together and adding those special touches to personalize a home. And, Home Depot was the place to go to buy the hardware items (and much more) associated with a home. The closest equivalent to Home Depot in the Kingdom is Saco (http://www.saco-ksa.com/saco_Home/stores/stores.html). It does “okay” but is nowhere near ot the selection of Home Depot and also in my view, expensive for what is offered. However if one needs anything electronic such as convertors, fiche, piping, kitchen items, bath items, etc., then Saco is where you need to go.
But in closing, if one of the above-cited American chains were to come to the Kingdom, I wish it would be Costco. Not only does one receive the largest choices and value for the money but the built-in consumer base is aleady here to make it an instantly viable market opportunity.
Filed under: America, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi customs, culture
yes, yes, yes to Costco. It’s the best.. No place can compete Costco when it comes to quantity and pricing. However, the person should be married if s/he wants to be a Costco’s customer
(LOL a good reason to get married, I reckon 
) I should seriously consider getting married it seems 
Khalid,
You just have marriage on your mind!
Actually I know of many students in the States who would go to Costco and share costs on the bulk purchases which helped them in turn stretch their tight budgets.
LOL, actually, I don’t know if this consider to be stereotyping or not
All those whom I know who have Costco membership are married. Usually, those single Saudis, go with a married Saudi. I’ve never been to Costco alone, it’s always with someone who is married . Do you know why? This doesn’t conflict though with the marriage that is on mind 
Costco was always my favorite grocery store while we lived in Orlando. You could sample all the newest foods before buying them and save a bundle on your bill. It was a treat alone or with the children and hubby along. But, it’s definitely a place to go if you have many mouths to feed….not a place for a single person unless they lived with their extended family.
I haven’t yet dared purchase from CostCo because we’re only 3 at home. However, I definatly agree that shopping in the States, in general, gives choices for purchasing bulks in reduced prices.
If you live close to Northern Riyadh, you might like to try “Almakhazen Akubra-Giant Stores”
http://www.giant-stores.com/
My family back home consists of a total of 9 people, they found it to be the most convenient shopping/pricing within the neighbourhood.
Costco is for singles too!!! i remember being a student in the states and of course as everyone knows students dont exactly have huge amounts of cash so my roommates and i would make a trip to costco to grab a bite to eat. Not only could delight in the free food samples offered on weekends but the café/food stand was incredibly cheap. Can you imagine a large kosher hot dog and a refillable coke for $1.50!!! A one-foot churro for $1!!! A huge slice of pizza for $2.25!!! And it wasnt just the prices that attracted us… the food tasted great!!! In fact the last time i had a hot dog was last summer at Costco. They sell hot dogs at IKEA in riyadh but if you’re unfortunate enough to buy one dont bother asking for relish because all you’re going to get is a clueless look from the clerk.
“Not only could delight in the free food samples offered on weekends…”
by “delight” i meant “freeload” =Þ
Oh, I could definitely go for a kosher hotdog with mustard, ketchup, relish and a dash of onion from Costco. Yummy!!!
ya’ll are making me so hungry!
Aysha, the majority of the time it was only my husband and I in the States but we would typically go once or twice a month to Costco. We would have usual grocery, cleaning products and paper products we’d always buy and also get other items occasionally too. Their book, CD and DVD department was always excellent and you did not have to buy in bulk to take advantage of the prices. And if you needed an appliance or electronics for the home, you could get a good deal. Prior to our move to KSA we did a MAJOR Costco trip stocking up on the things which would be hard to find here. We also took advantage and bought a nice proprane BBQ grill for about 60 – 70 per cent less of what a similar one would cost here in KSA. I’d certainly endorse checking it out at a minimum.
Khalid,
The reason most Costco members are married is because the place sells their items in bulk and most single people would not need the amounts of food or products that it sells.
What is a single person going to do with 10 pounds of onions? They’d probably go bad before they got to use them.
Be married and have a family then 10 pounds of onions lasts a week or two.
We are two adults and four children and Costco LOVES us! We got the Executive Membership so they pay us back like 2%-3% back at the end of the year. When you factor in diapers, wipes, formula and food and the money returned can be pretty large.
We also get things like our iTUNES cards from there, magazines, clothes, electrical equipment, you name it.
A2S,
Yes, their Kosher hot dogs are REALLY good.
I have heard of Costco but don’t know that we have any in Indiana. We do have Sams Club which is part of Wal-Mart. I shopped there last spring for my oldest daughters high school graduation party. I did alot of comparison shopping before going and really didn’t save as much as I thought I would. I compared the prices to Wal-Mart. However, I did save big time on the cake! We got a cake for 100-150 people for about $30! That was a big savings compared to some of the other cake shops that wanted almost $100! I’ll have to do some homework and let you know what I find out about Costco here in Indiana.
_Aysha my bro is married. He has no children, yet he gets all their stuff from Costco. I asked him once, It’s the two of you only! how come you buy your stuff from there. He told me he keeps some stuff. e.g. He bought a bulk of toothpaste. They were using it for about 10 months.
_Carol I bought my external HD 6 months ago from there. EBay, Amazon didn’t have a deal better than Costco at that time.
_AbuSinan Usually 2 or 3 of us go with one of the married guys, and buy our stuff from there. We never owned a membership though
Well I just did my homework and there are only 3 in Indiana and none within a 100 mile radius. I guess I’ll just have to stick with Sams Club! ; )
Tina,
If I am correct, Sams Club is also part of the Costco/Walmart/Price Club family. The founder of Walmart knew what he was doing when opening up his various enterprises!
For those like Aysha who are returning soon to the Kingdom, stock up on the good garbage bags, paper towels, paper plates, plastic silverware — these are items which do not weigh a lot and compared to the choices (and prices) here in KSA the savings is significant. In fact, I could probably write a post on my frustration with the choices of garbage bags, paper plates and paper towels in the Kingdom! (LOL)
I would also buy their gourmet jelly beans since it was a bulk size and bring them to family members here who loved them. I would buy such things in bulk and then repack them in smaller gift bags for the jelly bean lovers!
Lastly, we did check out the Giant store in Riyadh. It’s okay for buying bulk groceries and that is where one would benefit but after Costco, I was disappointed.
Carol,
One might have to be careful with the jelly beans. Unless the gelatin used in them in kosher they might be taken at customs! I have been told similar type things have happened in the past. Many types of candy have gelatin, which is generally made from pork unless otherwise noted.
I had a friend who had a couple bags of candy taken by Saudi customs for this reason. The guy didnt even realise that it had gelatin in it.
Abu Sinan,
I certainly did not know that…I’ll have to check myself whenever I’m planning to purchase more.
A hint for those looking to make sure their candy is halal, often when gelatine is used, if it is halal gelatine, it will say K-Gelatine, or less often U-Gelantine, meaning it is kosher and has been approved by the two main issuers of Kosher certificates.
If it does not have these symbols next to the gelatine you can look for these symbols elsewhere on the package of candy or food. If it does not have it and the food has gelatine, there is a good chance the product has pork.
Of course the kosher symbol wont always be on food that is pork free. For instance, anything that has meat and dairy mixed might be pork free, but is not kosher because it breaks the Jewish law of mixing meat and dairy.
I’m pleased to share that Reuters picked up this post:
http://www.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/investing?bbPostId=CzCso0daZ4bnXBEZgr4vZTMqJCz7rwo520LfKWCzAVfF5WVf5Oh
ooohhh.. I miss costco!!! I used to go with my sister twice a month.. and loved it!! AND HOME DEPOT!!! My Mom and I loved roaming the isles in that place… Good God I miss it!
I understand Om Lujain!
It sounds like you still have a lot of easy choices there in Saudia. Here in the West Bank most places that are called “super markets” are as big as my livingroom, and most grocery stores are smaller than that. I have to go 3 or 4 places just to get the ingredients for dinner. I have never been to a Costco, but I miss Home Depot so much. Not only because they have everything all in one place, but it is all displayed (with the prices marked) so I can see it without my having to try and explain to some man in my broken Arabic what I need.
Alajnabiya, you’re right that when compared to some other places, there are choices in Saudi.
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I used to love the costco hotdogs too and my paretns would take me with them for their monthy trip. Free tasting and lots of begging to get anything I could eat in a month’s time.
I do make do with what we have here in UAE, Carrefour, Mega Mart, Spinneys. Lebanon had Spinneys and Monoprix, and when i left they got Geant. At first I didn’t think there were supermarkets at all. Only little market shops the size of a enrty hall. Then I really missed Fry’s, Abco, Walgreens size stores. After finally finding spinney i felt better.
HOME DEPOT! I used to alays go browsing and buying there with my parents, especially my father, and I can still smell it. Wood, plastics, gardening, metal…and best of all those massive lumbar carts that you can ride on while your dad pushes you around. Weeeeeee! Yup that’s one i miss lots. If they had it here in UAE/LEB/SAUD I’d for sure be a black robe in a sea of white.
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I was not awaret hat Costco in fact has its own blog where it provides the links of those who have also chosen to write about Costco:
http://www.costcoshoppers.com/costco-blogs