The Kidder Mathews team, co-representing Costco as Buyer’s agent, was assigned the task of finding a facility to serve as Costco’s new distribution depot. Costco indicated this facility would consolidate their dry goods and their frozen/chilled products under one roof. They also required good access to a nearby highway. They were flexible enough to consider any location as far north as Vancouver and as far south as Portland, but their preference was as close to the Seattle-Tacoma area as possible.
At the time business was booming for Costco and they weren’t sure how large of a facility they would need so size flexibility became important. On the same hand, they knew they needed to move quickly to accommodate this rapid growth.
Cognizant of the fact Costco needed to move quick, the Kidder Mathews team and his team employed a two-prong strategy. The first strategy was to search for all available existing freezer/cooler facilities from Portland to Everett.
The second strategy was to search all available industrial land. The amount of property that fit this category was considerably greater than in the first strategy and consequently, numerous options were available in the Seattle-Tacoma area. The search proceeded over a three-year period.