Sam's Club

[gjl]

Costco is coming to Tulsa for sure and they are also in Kansas, Colorado, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. The liquor laws aren't the sole reason they aren't here.

I'm not wanting to debate why they are not here. So are you saying they don't sell wine in their stores in those states?

[Pete]

I'm not wanting to debate why they are not here. So are you saying they don't sell wine in their stores in those states?

They either set up a directly adjacent yet separate liquor store or have nothing at all.

[Mississippi Blues]

Do you have a link to Costco coming to Tulsa "for sure"?

There's a poster on skyscrapercity that seems to think there's a Costco under construction in Broken Arrow (I believe), but I've never seen anything other than that one poster that seems to think a Costco is already UC there. No reports by the papers or news stations, no building permits, nothing. Just speculation.

[bluedogok]

I think SAM's gas is all E10. If the Shell sells no ethanol 100% gas they will do fine.

If the EPA gets their way "real gas" will be a thing of the past anywhere.

The new Sams will be more convenient for me than any of the other ones provided they stock the products I buy at Sams. Not all Sams in OKC stock the same items. Some things I buy at the Reno Sams are not stocked at the NW Expressway Sams.

We found that to be the case, my wife likes the Topo Chico Mexican mineral water, the Sam's location we normally went to in Austin (South Mopac) did not carry it but the other location by our house (South I-35/Southpark Meadows) did. Costco did not carry it in Austin and neither Sam's or Costco carry it up here in Denver, we have buy it at Walmart Neighborhood Market since they have the 12-packs. I couldn't find Yoshida's marinade in Austin (at either place) and I know that OKC used to have it, pretty easy to find here in Denver. Griffin's distributed their products at Sam's in Texas but not up here.

And a question about Costco. Are there any Costco stores anywhere in the country that do not sell wine? I mean are they in any states that do not allow it because of their liquor laws?

The ones here in Colorado only have 3.2 beer inside the store. Just like in the Austin stores, some have an adjacent liquor store which is nothing more than a space leased to a separate operator and no connection to or card needed to buy liquor. The adjacent liquor stores here in Colorado have wine, high point beer and liquor, the location in Austin did not have wine or beer (that I remember) but did have liquor. I rarely went to the liquor store in Austin with Spec's nearby. Up here in Colorado any entity can only hold one liquor license, they do not have the 10-year residency requirement like Oklahoma. Whole Foods has their one location with wine, high point beer and liquor in Boulder, Trader Joe's will have their one wine/beer location near Downtown Denver and King Soopers (Kroger) has theirs in Glendale just southeast of downtown. Sam's stores here also have the adjacent liquor store at some locations.

I know the Massachusetts liquor laws can be more restrictive than Oklahoma requiring anything with alcohol to be sold at package stores. The Whole Foods that we would go to by our hotel we stayed at in Boston at has no beer or wine. Never did go to a Costco up there but did see one off the highway when taking Amtrak to Mystic, Connecticut.

[PhiAlpha]

More and more Wal-Mart. I really doubt OKC will ever be able to support stores like Costco or a major national grocery chain. It seems like every new retail development in this town is Wal-Mart centered. Unbelievable.

I shop at sams, I'm happy with this. If Costco doesn't want to test the market here, that's their loss. Sams will in no way prevent more high quality grocery stores from being built. That site has been empty for years and will now have a quality tenant, this is a great deal. Quit being so melodramatic.

[Pete]

There's a poster on skyscrapercity that seems to think there's a Costco under construction in Broken Arrow (I believe), but I've never seen anything other than that one poster that seems to think a Costco is already UC there. No reports by the papers or news stations, no building permits, nothing. Just speculation.

That's my point.

I almost never call out posters but I'm tired of bchris completely misrepresenting what is going on with Costco, especially since the posts are clearly biased in the "OKC never gets anything good and Tulsa always does' way.

I wouldn't say anything but we have lots of casual visitors to this site that see this type of post and since they are stated so emphatically, they are likely to assume them as fact.

[PhiAlpha]

Has nothing to do with Bentonville. If Costco is so great (and I like Costco) and such a better product, then they shouldn't be afraid to go head to head with Walmart. Look at Traders Joes which everyone is sure will be going into the old crescent location which is a couple of blocks from WF. What about CVS and Walgreens opening up across the street from each other all over the city. Those companies aren't afraid to compete. I don't buy into this crap about they won't come in because of Walmart. There are Sams Clubs all over the country and I am sure there are Sam's Clubs in markets where there are also Costcos.

I don't think Costco is worried about Sams. Looking at Costco's expansion plans, they have shifted from a majority of expansion being US stores to a higher percentage of new stores being outside the US as it is more profitable according to several of the business articles I have read.

That and all the targets across the street from walmarts...they aren't afraid to compete either.

[bluedogok]

That's my point.

I almost never call out posters but I'm tired of bchris completely misrepresenting what is going on with Costco, especially since the posts are clearly biased in the "OKC never gets anything good and Tulsa always does' way.

I wouldn't say anything but we have lots of casual visitors to this site that see this type of post and since they are stated so emphatically, they are likely to assume them as fact.

It isn't just with Costco either, it is pretty much any retail that comes close to competing with Walmart that he blames them for.

[AP]

Quit being so melodramatic.

Yes. +1. Agree. Like. Anything else I can add?

[Plutonic Panda]

Walmart is perfectly legitimate business and operates within the laws. Don't like them, don't shop there.

[gjl]

That and all the targets across the street from walmarts...they aren't afraid to compete either.

I got this in an email and the verification comes from Snopes.

Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.

The 76 days between January 1 to March 17 represent 20.8% of one year. If we take 20.8% of Wal-Mart's sales for fiscal 2008 ($374,526,000,000), that works out to a total of $77,901,408,000 for a 76-day period. (We acknowledge that this is only an approximation, since sales are not evenly distributed throughout the year.)

Target stores reported sales of $63,367,000,000 for fiscal 2008, so it's fair to say that Wal-Mart does indeed sell more (in dollar terms) between New Year's Day and St. Patrick's Day than Target sells all year.

Targets appeal to a different clientele than Walmart. That is why there are Starbucks in Target and McDonalds in Walmart.

[PhiAlpha]

Yes. +1. Agree. Like. Anything else I can add?

devil smiley face?

[zookeeper]

What a shot in the arm to this area. Along with the big Lowes store, this could anchor a southern end to a very nice strip of retail from NW 39th north. Considering all of the retail, restaurant, and development from NW 50th and May north, past the NW Expressway intersection on to 63rd (huge hub of activity), to Grand (Blue Seven, etc.) and then you could even make the argument it runs all the way to Britton Road where the nicest mainstream grocery store in the city is on May & Britton. The big question mark is Mayfair Shopping Center which has gone downhill fast. What an incredible opportunity with that land on both sides of May Avenue, whether to really update that center or tear it down and replace it with an all new Mayfair development.

This is really good news for a revitalized May Avenue that will now stretch a good distance.

[Pete]

It really is a nice bit of infill development.

And it also brings a warehouse store much closer to almost everyone who lives in the central core.

Just one more reason to never go to Memorial Road or the big box hell of far West OKC.

[Urbanized]

That's a great point. I'm not a regular at Sam's, but living/working downtown I usually try to find an excuse to go to the Lowe's, Home Depot, Target, etc. in that area instead of the (probably slightly closer and in some cases definitely larger) versions east, west or north. A lot of the appeal to me us that I can get there and get gone via the grid rather than congested access roads. There's a lot to be said for the grid when it comes to traffic dispersal.

[Pete]

That whole near NW side of town is definitely experiencing a bit of a renaissance.

Obviously, HH and Mesta Park are incredibly desirable, but now Classen Ten Penn, Gatewood, Jefferson Park, the Paseo, Crown Heights Putnam Heights and even Mayfair and most the other neighborhoods in the area are definitely picking up.

That Lowes very nearby is another great amenity if you don't want to jump on a freeway.

[windowphobe]

I've bought gas at that Shell. It's E10. (Shell stations with E0 can be found along May at 36th and 50th.)

[rezman]

What a shot in the arm to this area. Along with the big Lowes store, this could anchor a southern end to a very nice strip of retail from NW 39th north. Considering all of the retail, restaurant, and development from NW 50th and May north, past the NW Expressway intersection on to 63rd (huge hub of activity), to Grand (Blue Seven, etc.) and then you could even make the argument it runs all the way to Britton Road where the nicest mainstream grocery store in the city is on May & Britton. The big question mark is Mayfair Shopping Center which has gone downhill fast. What an incredible opportunity with that land on both sides of May Avenue, whether to really update that center or tear it down and replace it with an all new Mayfair development.

This is really good news for a revitalized May Avenue that will now stretch a good distance.

What a shot in the arm to this area. Along with the big Lowes store, this could anchor a southern end to a very nice strip of retail from NW 39th north. Considering all of the retail, restaurant, and development from NW 50th and May north, past the NW Expressway intersection on to 63rd (huge hub of activity), to Grand (Blue Seven, etc.) and then you could even make the argument it runs all the way to Britton Road where the nicest mainstream grocery store in the city is on May & Britton. The big question mark is Mayfair Shopping Center which has gone downhill fast. What an incredible opportunity with that land on both sides of May Avenue, whether to really update that center or tear it down and replace it with an all new Mayfair development.

This is really good news for a revitalized May Avenue that will now stretch a good distance.

I might just be me, but it seems like ever since Gene Warr passed,.. And actually back to the time after he retired, Mayfair Shops have gone down hill. And the closing of Mayfair Market didn't help.

[Soonerman]

Costco is speculated to be coming to Tulsa and they are also in Kansas, Colorado, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. The liquor laws aren't the sole reason they aren't here.

Doesn't Kansas have similar liquor laws?

[OklahomaNick]

Side note/question?

What ever happened to Lynn Hickey Dodge or Lynn Hickey for that matter?
They had a HUGE dealership there..

[Brett]

I always find it entertaining to see idiots who are driving northbound on May Ave. pull into the empty Lynn Hickey site and attempt a U-turn.

[onthestrip]

I might just be me, but it seems like ever since Gene Warr passed,.. And actually back to the time after he retired, Mayfair Shops have gone down hill. And the closing of Mayfair Market didn't help.

Believe the family sold the center several years ago

[Pete]

Side note/question?

What ever happened to Lynn Hickey Dodge or Lynn Hickey for that matter?
They had a HUGE dealership there..

Here is a great article by Steve from February 2006:



Flashback: Lynn Hickey
Hijinks help build Dodge dealership
Steve Lackmeyer • Modified: February 5, 2006 at 12:00 am • Published: February 5, 2006
For a quarter century, Oklahoma City television viewers were treated to the hijinks of a car dealer who was willing to do just about anything, it seemed, to sell a Dodge.

And that included the annual stunt of Lynn Hickey climbing into a van that was then lifted by crane high over Interstate 44 and May Avenue. At other times, viewers got to watch Hickey gleefully exploding a Chevrolet van or Ford pickup.

Hickey started the dealership in 1969, as May Avenue was becoming one of the city's busiest commercial corridors. By 1995, the business, turned over to his sons Doug and Wade, was ranked as the most successful Dodge dealership in the country, with sales hitting $135 million.

That next year, the dealership was sold for a reported $13.85 million to Texas-based Cross-Continent Auto Retailers.

"We were one of the first to be sought after when the public companies started merging dealerships in the mid-90s, Doug Hickey said. "They made us an offer we couldn't refuse.

Doug Hickey said his dad, now 67, spends his time at his ranch in Sayre, breeding prize-winning Appaloosa and quarter horses and "farming peanuts.

"He's working harder now than he ever was before, Doug Hickey joked.

Wade Hickey has continued an association with jet-setting television pitchman Tom Parks, producing commercials for dealerships across the country.

And Doug? He's still selling cars in Broken Arrow and continuing the same sort of stunts that made his father a household name.

The crane gimmick ended with the sale of the Oklahoma City dealership. A Tulsa dealer already had stolen the idea when Doug Hickey moved northeast and opened a Mitsubishi dealership. In 2004, he hired daredevil Evel Knievel to promote a Memorial Day weekend sale.

"We did a promotion where for every 10 cars sold that week, I'd try to jump one, Doug Hickey said. "He trained me to do the jump. We ended up selling 90 cars, and I jumped eight.

The corporate consolidation of dealerships, meanwhile, didn't work out as well as predicted. The Dodge dealership sold four times since 1996, and the current operation, Bob Moore Dodge, recently moved to Northwest Expressway.

For the first time in almost 40 years, no Dodges are for sale at I-44 and May Avenue.

The corporations, Hickey argues, thought they could take the old-fashioned "car guys out of sales and replace them with college-educated professionals.

"The success of Lynn Hickey Dodge was due to the people we had, Hickey said.

But could Lynn Hickey Dodge return to Oklahoma City? Hickey's dealership in Broken Arrow may soon close half the property already has been sold to the neighboring Northside Christian Church. The Hickeys still own the land at Interstate 44 and May Avenue.

"I don't have any plans right now, but it's always a possibility, Hickey said. "The Broken Arrow store came after we sold out in Oklahoma City I didn't want to get out of the car business.

[soonerliberal]

I've bought gas at that Shell. It's E10. (Shell stations with E0 can be found along May at 36th and 50th.)

I don't think the ethanol gas really matters to people anymore. I have been in Charlotte, NC for 6 months now and have yet to find one store here or in SC that sells 100% gas (even QuickTrips or Loves). Everything is E10. There are plenty of people who drive pickup trucks and I haven't heard a single complaint or outrage. I think the no ethanol fad is over.

[jn1780]

There's a poster on skyscrapercity that seems to think there's a Costco under construction in Broken Arrow (I believe), but I've never seen anything other than that one poster that seems to think a Costco is already UC there. No reports by the papers or news stations, no building permits, nothing. Just speculation.

I would find it hilarious if it turned out to be a Walmart or Sams and that poster falls into a deep depression. But, I know it is not a Walmart for the same reason it is not a Costco, there would have to be approvals and building permits. I dont get why this concept is difficult to understand. Once a building actually starts construction it is impossible to keep its identity a secret.