Here Is Why First Costco Store In China Closed Early On Opening Day

(RTTNews) - US retail giant Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), which opened its first outlet in China on Tuesday, had to close the store early due to huge turnout of customers, who were ready fight for discounted products and wait hours in queue.

The American retail giant announced that it suspended operations in its Shanghai store in the afternoon citing "heavy traffic and customer flows." The message was shared on Weibo, China's micro-blogging website.

After five years selling goods online in the China mainland, the US warehouse retailer opened its first brick-and-mortar store on the Chinese mainland in the Shanghai suburban Minhang district.

According to reports, the opening day brought thousands of customers who flooded the store causing chaos. According to a Weibo user, it was crazy inside the store with about two-hour queues at the checkout counters. Reportedly, about 130,000 people had signed up for store memberships as of Monday night.

Costco enters a market where many of its rivals have struggled and failed. Carrefour SA sold 80% stake in its China unit at a discount in June while German wholesaler Metro AG is seeking to sell off its operations.