Almost three years ago Jay Gardner, the Flagler County property appraiser, cryptically said a big box store “everyone in the county will be happy about” will soon build on land he owned along State Road 100 at the north edge of the county airport and toward Seminole Woods Boulevard. Next Friday, Sept. 20, BJ’s Wholesale Club will open its 38th store in the state there, and its 245th store (or club, as it calls them) overall.
BJ’s Wholesale, a 103,000 square foot store, anchors the Cornerstone at Seminole Woods shopping center, with an archipelago of gas pumps that opened earlier this month, Miller’s Ale House that opened last month, a LongHorn Steakhouse and a Chase bank opening soon, and a yet-unnamed chicken restaurant slated for the near future.
The shopping center is taking shape concurrently with the Florida Department of Transportation’s resurfacing of State Road 100, construction of a sidewalk and new deceleration and turning lanes, some of it intended to alleviate the crush of traffic on State Road 100. But the expected surge of traffic in and out of BJ’s Wholesale will add to an already congested zone with no comprehensive solution short of the planned addition of a lane each way on State Road 100 at an undetermined date in the future. County officials tried to ease congestion with a cut-through from BJ’s to Seminole Woods Boulevard. They were unsuccessful. RaceTrac nearby declined to allow the cut-through as it considers BJ’s a competitor.
BJ’s will offer fresh foods, produce, full-service deli items, fresh bakery goods, household essentials, home décor and pet supplies, but not in the same way as a traditional store. As the company’s latest annual report describes it, “Warehouse clubs offer a relatively narrow assortment of food and general merchandise items within a wide range of product categories. In order to achieve high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover, merchandise selections are generally limited to items that are brand name leaders in their categories alongside an assortment of private label brands. Since warehouse clubs sell a diversified selection of product categories, they attract customers from a wide range of other wholesale and retail distribution channels, such as supermarkets, supercenters, internet retailers, gasoline stations, hard discounters, department and specialty stores and operators selling a narrow range of merchandise. These higher cost distribution channels have traditionally been unable to match the low prices offered by warehouse clubs over long periods of time.”
The Palm Coast store will also feature the treasure-hunt experience familiar to BJ’s members with a variety of seasonal favorites, fashion for the family, toys, tech and a selection of local products, according to a company release.
“We are ready to save our newest members up to 25 percent off grocery store prices every day,” said Palm Coast Club Manager Aaron Meldofsky. “We’re looking forward to taking care of families who depend on us in our community.”
The wholesale club members can choose from a variety of shopping options like in-club shopping, curbside pickup, in-club pickup, same-day delivery and standard delivery from BJs.com. When shopping in-club, members will have access to ExpressPay through the BJ’s mobile app, a service that allows shoppers to scan products as they go and avoid the checkout line.
To become a member, BJ’s Wholesale Club offers a regular membership for $55 a year and $110 a year for its Club Card+. The regular club card enables the 25 percent off grocery store prices, curbside pickup, one complimentary household membership and discounted additional memberships at $30 each. The $110 Club Car+ provides 2 percent back in rewards on most purchases, 5 cents a gallon off on gas, and some additional reward options.
However, Palm Coast shoppers can–for only a week–join the new club now with BJ’s limited-time founding member offer, available through Thursday, September 19, at $25 for a one-year membership for the regular card, and $70 for the Club+ Card membership. Click here to apply. The in-person membership desk at the store will open Friday (September 13). Several restrictions apply, so make sure you read the fine print with any application to any of BJ’s Wholesale services.
BJ’s has a longstanding commitment to nourishing communities where it operates and is partnering with Feeding Northeast Florida, a food bank serving the Palm Coast community through such organizations as Grace Community Food Bank. Once the club is open, BJ’s will donate unsold produce, meat, dairy and more to the food bank every week to support families in need, the company release states.
“Our continued partnership with BJ’s Wholesale Club will help to provide even more nourishment to families in our surrounding communities,” said Susan King, President and CEO of Feeding Northeast Florida. “Through BJ’s donation program, we will be able to support more families and help fulfill their basic needs.” BJ’s Wholesale Club has partnered with Feeding America and the Feeding America network of food banks for over 15 years, providing more than 125 million meals to local families.
According to ZipRecruiter, the average wage at a BJ’s Wholesale in Florida is $32,841 a year or $16 an hour, considerably less than the $40,500 national average, with the majority of salaries ranging between $23,200 and $37,400. According to ZipRecruiter, Florida ranks number 48 out of 50 states nationwide for BJs Wholesale Club salaries. The company, which opened its first store in New England in 1984, is publicly traded. It operates in 20 states. (It bought the land along State Road 100 for $3.5 million.)
How does it keep prices lower? “Warehouse clubs eliminate many of the merchandise handling costs associated with traditional multiple-step distribution channels by purchasing full truckloads of merchandise directly from manufacturers and by storing merchandise on the sales floor rather than in central warehouses,” the company’s annual report states. “By operating no-frills, self-service warehouse facilities, warehouse clubs have fixturing and operating costs substantially below those of traditional retailers. Because of their higher sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover, warehouse clubs generate cash from the sale of a large portion of their inventory before they are required to pay merchandise vendors. As a result, a greater percentage of the inventory is financed through vendor payment terms than by working capital. Two broad groups of customers, individual households and small businesses, have been attracted to the savings made possible by the high sales volumes and operating efficiencies achieved by warehouse clubs.”
The company ended the last fiscal year February with net sales of $19.5 billion, up from $18.9 billion the year befolre, plus $420 million in membership income, for total revenue of just under $20 billion, and net profit of $523 million. The company had 34,000 full-time and part-time employees.
Toto says
BJ’s is great. One gets 2 cards upon the purchase of membership that can be shared outside of your household. Unlike Costco’s card where additional cards have to be the same household, same address. They accept not only their own awesome coupons, but from manufacturers as well. I love scan and go, which I use at each visit. Upgraded membership gives .05 cents off gas, as does their own credit card. Unlike Costco who only accepts Visa. There’s an in store deli offering sliced cold cuts. I belong to all 3 warehouse stores, I’m not renewing Costco. I liked having the Costco membership, but it’s just not worth the hype. Just thought I’d share with readers!
Shark says
Finally, after getting ripped off by Publix and all of the gas stations, a ray of hope !!!
DennisC Rathsam says
GRIDLOCK!
Atwp says
Very exciting!
me says
when do we get a trader joes?