This Costco Rival Is Drastically Changing Its New Stores

BJ's Wholesale Club is known for its huge warehouses and savings—but what if you could shop the popular chain at a smaller scale?

That's just what the wholesale club is doing at a new store in Warwick, Rhode Island. It's roughly half the size of a regular BJ's and offers all that a regular sized store has: fresh foods, produce, and seasonal products.

The BJ's Market store is just 43,000 square feet and will officially open on May 6. Members will still get to buy in bulk and find the same pricing as full BJ's clubs. Curbside pick-up, same-day delivery, and Express Pay will all be available at these mini locations.

"BJ's Market will serve as an exciting new innovation lab for BJ's Wholesale Club," Bill Werner, executive vice president of strategy and development at BJ's, said in a statement. "We are bringing the same great savings and value our members know and love, but delivering a convenient location closer to home."

Current BJ's members will have full access to BJ's Market immediately, BJ's said. In support of the new store, customers who sign up at BJ's Market will have full access to all BJ's clubs and gas stations. Through May 5 they will get a one-year BJ's Inner Circle membership for $25 or a one-year BJ's Perks Rewards membership for $65.

BJ's President and CEO Robert Eddy announced the upcoming BJ's Market in Warwick when reporting fiscal 2021 results in early March. He noted that a more compact format will serve as an innovation center and could provide a new growth avenue for the retailer's brick-and-mortar base.

"As we look ahead at the various ways we can grow new units, we will also open a small-box pilot this year," Eddy said in a March 3 call with analysts. "While this could become a new expansion vector for us, it will initially function as an innovation lab."

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