COSTCO RESPONDS: I emailed Dan yesterday with a link to The LE article from Thursday and received a response from Dan. Here is the exchange of our emails from today: ME: Dan, I want to make sure you are aware of this article. I sent it out yesterday in the update but I am not sure if you saw it. Costco, anyone? Columbus resident starts petition to attract popular retailer | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer DAN: Kevin, Thanks for your interest in bringing Costco to Columbus, GA. We are familiar with the market, however it is not an area where we are prepared to open in the immediate future. Costco has not historically performed well in smaller, lower income markets in the South. We are looking to expand in larger, more affluent markets where there is a demonstrated history of high-end retailers that are performing well. ME: Thank you for your response. I have to wonder if you are referring to the Morrow, GA location? DAN: That is one that comes to mind, but there are numerous others that we could point to. While there are more opportunities domestically for Costco, much of our growth in the future will come from our international expansion. In the last year, we have opened very successful locations in Iceland, France, Spain, Australia, Taiwan and Korea.