Interesting economic article on this region

[Kitties of Domination]

Originally Posted by weisgarber1

I think you are absolutely right. The Chattanooga area Costco was/is more a result of the VW plant and the economic expansion it will bring, as well as the higher salaries that brought Costco to Chattanooga. And, wine sales in grocery stores and other retail outlets such as Costco will eventually be legal, just a matter of time, imho.

Knoxville has a higher average household income than Chattanooga. Contrary to popular belief, there is more money in Knox Co. than in Hamilton Co. I think it boils down to this: larger markets (Nashville, Salt Lake City) are a safer bet without wine sales than smaller markets. This is why cities smaller than Knoxville have Costco in North and South Carolina. The VW plant may have given Chattanooga additional attention, but that's not what brought Costco to Chattanooga. The Georgia side is by no means the most populated or affluent area of Chattanooga and is not the obvious place to put one, so wine sales seem to be the deciding factor in this case.

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by Kitties of Domination

Knoxville has a higher average household income than Chattanooga. Contrary to popular belief, there is more money in Knox Co. than in Hamilton Co. I think it boils down to this: larger markets (Nashville, Salt Lake City) are a safer bet without wine sales than smaller markets. This is why cities smaller than Knoxville have Costco in North and South Carolina. The VW plant may have given Chattanooga additional attention, but that's not what brought Costco to Chattanooga. The Georgia side is by no means the most populated or affluent area of Chattanooga and is not the obvious place to put one, so wine sales seem to be the deciding factor in this case.

We will just have to agree to disagree on this one. It is not the per capita income I was suggesting as the primary reason for the store, it was the economic expansion that will occur as a result of the VW plant, and because the pay level of that plant will be higher than average, to go along with secondary and tertiary jobs that will be created, Costco used those factors to locate the store. The wine sales are just a secondary reason, imo. I agree with JMT on this one.

[jabogitlu]

I kind of agree with all of you. Chattanooga seems to be on the edge of an economic expansion that caught the eye of Costco earlier than other mid-markets in the South without a Costco. I imagine they looked into relocating to the Georgia side rather than in TN, therefore, because it allowed them to sell wine.

[hiknapster]

I'm with Kitties. When I worked at Publix the manager told me that his profit aisle was the wine aisle, the rest barely made a profit. Of course Costco sells more than groceries and wine sales aren't in any grocery stores in TN, obviously. But still, when push comes to shove, they put it on the GA side for a reason. The manager told me the wine profit is enormous.

[Scott LF]

There are 2 Sam's club's here already; nicely located I might add. What is it that Costco has, or does, that can not be had at Sam's ?

Granted, me personally, I had already been shopping at a Sam's club before I moved here... but if I moved to an area with only a Costco, I'd be happy as well. The point is, I am buying at a volume discount.

[hiknapster]

Usually, there is a better selection at Costco; higher end. We have a business membership at Sam's and although there is at least a better selection at the west location, as opposed to the east, I am not too impressed.

That is one thing: Knoxville is severely lacking in shopping clubs. Even in the rinky-dink area that I am from there were more and better. I have no idea why Knoxville is like that. They have everything else.

[Brian]

I came across this on a Georgia-based blog that was forwarded to me... I decided to look around and found a older blog entry about the Costco/Catoosa County (GA) deal. Perhaps this was the reason Costco picked Catoosa?

County balances cost of Costco | Chattanooga Times Free Press