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BackAn exception is the Costco Taichung Nantun store: you must scan your membership card to purchase meals in the Western-style dining department. The Nantun store does not apply due to the BOT contract.
An exception is the Costco Taichung Nantun store: you must scan your membership card to purchase meals in the Western-style dining department. The Nantun store does not apply due to the BOT contract.
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自由时报1 hour agoBusiness2 min readChinaView original

An exception is the Costco Taichung Nantun store: you must scan your membership card to purchase meals in the Western-style dining department. The Nantun store does not apply due to the BOT contract.

costcoTaichung Nantun StoreWestern catering department

Quick Look

  • Starting from October 1st, Costco requires members to scan their membership card or barcode before purchasing Western-style catering meals.
  • The only exception in Taiwan is the Nantun store in Taichung.
  • Since the land of the store is a public development project, the BOT contract stipulates that the first floor must be operated on a non-membership basis to provide the public with diverse service options.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Costco branches in Taiwan have implemented a new membership card system for Western-style dining departments to scan before purchasing meals since October 1. The only exception in Taiwan is the Nantun store in Taichung. Because the land of the store is a public development project, the BOT contract stipulates that the first floor must be operated on a non-membership basis.

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Costco announced that you must scan your membership card before purchasing meals. It is noted below that this does not apply to the Taichung Nantun store. (provided by readers)

Costco, an American-style store, has branches in Taiwan. Starting from October 1, members must scan their membership card or membership barcode before ordering and consuming Western-style meals. This is only applicable to the Taichung store (Nantun District) in Taiwan. The Central City Government said that according to the Costco BOT contract, the first floor of the store must operate on a non-membership basis to provide the public with diverse service options.

Costco’s new system in the Western Catering Department stems from the fact that many “non-members” occupy the dining space, causing “members” to be dissatisfied with seat occupation. The new system is expected to be implemented in October. Members directly say that eating hot dogs will significantly shorten the queue time. According to Costco’s announcement, starting from October 1, 2026, you must scan the barcode of your membership card to purchase Western Catering Department meals. The bottom of the announcement states “Not applicable to Taichung Nantun Store”, which has attracted attention.

Please read on...

The Nantun store ranks among the top Costco sales in the world. Costco emphasizes that the catering department is located outside the store on the first floor and is a BOT construction. Liu Hengjia, manager of the Taiwan Marketing Planning Department, said that scanning membership cards before purchasing meals in the Western-style catering department is to protect members' rights and shopping experience.

People familiar with the matter said that the reason why the Nantun store is special is not that Costco suddenly changed its mind, but that the land it is located on was a public land development project during the era of former Taichung Mayor Hu Zhiqiang, and the city government insisted on providing diversified services to the people.

The Central City Government emphasized that the "City 113" market land was established in 2006. In accordance with the regulations on promoting private participation in public construction, a BOT participation promotion contract was signed with Costco. Costco invested in the construction and operation, with an investment amount of approximately 900 million yuan.

The Central City Government said that in accordance with the contract between the two parties, Costco promised to operate on a non-membership basis for part of the business area on the first floor of the building to provide the public with diverse consumption and service options.

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Open Questions

  • Will the new system be promoted to other branches?
  • What services does the non-membership operation of Nantun Store include?
  • How receptive are members to the new system?

Related Topics

costco
PeopleLiu HengjiaHu Zhiqiang
OrganizationsTaichung City Government
PlacesTaichung Nantun StoreTaichung City
TopicsTaichung Nantun StoreWestern catering departmentmembership cardBOT contractNon-membershipHu Zhiqiang
This article was originally published by 自由时报.

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