I went to English class this afternoon and met a very special teacher.
He is not a Taiwanese but from US. One student in class talked about shopping in COSCO. COSCO is very popular here. The teacher suggested us not to go shopping at those outlet for they are destroying those family stores on the streets. The same stories happened again and again... 7-11 is the largest chain of convenient store here, it openes 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year. You can buy many kinds of beverage, snacks, meal(using their microwave), hot fast food...and you can fax, print your documents, withdraw money from their ATM... If you buy something online but don't want to pay by a Visa, you can pay for your goods in a 7-11 and get it there. No mention you can pay any bills there, even the fine bill! It also services as Fedex...you can sent your package there. They really take the advantage of their distribution power.
So you can imagine how many people lost their business...but for Taiwanese, it's hard to live without it now.
The quality is still okay in 7-11. The teacher told us COSCO sells many low quality products and some of them are forbidden in Europe and US for toxic ingredient. It's so sad our government dare not to say NO to American big companies. At least I didn't go to COSCO, and never will.
It requires buyers to have a membership, which costs more than 40 dollars a year. Only for one year, you got to pay for membership again after a year. You may just save a little with some cheaper products, but it has been covered in your membership. Besides, the economy loses many business...
Well, some student said it's fancy to shop in COSCO, just like you are in US~~ I don't know if it is true, since I never go there. But it's true in Asian countries, many people worship every western stuff.
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Here in the US, Costco is intended to save money. The quality's actually quite good, prices pretty reasonable (although more expensive than Sam's Club, run by Walmart). Of course, I know in India for one, prices for McDonalds and Dominos Pizza, cheap eateries in the US, are pretty exorbitant, and maybe that's true with Costco there.
The debate about chain-store versus mom-and-pop stores is always tough for me, and I go back and forth. I just got out of grad school, and Walmart helped me afford a lot more than I could with my measly paycheck. But a local store also enriches your local community. So I guess it's a balancing act.
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