http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/costco-starts-selling-cutprice-coffins-in-australian-stores-20160505-goncuo.html
Milk, bread, and a coffin - it's not your average shopping list, but Costco isn't your average supermarket.
Burial caskets and coffins went on sale at Costco Wholesale's store in Ringwood, in Melbourne's east, on Wednesday, and there are plans to introduce them to the low-cost retailer's seven other Australian stores in the coming months.
Costco said 14 different coffins and caskets ranging in price from $360 to $3800 were on offer, alongside the store's eclectic mix of groceries, electronics and household goods.
They are at least half the price of equivalent products sold at funeral homes, potentially saving customers thousands of dollars, according to manufacturer Scientia.
"Dying is expensive and funeral costs are evidently going higher and higher," said Scientia's founder and chief executive Issac Leung.
"You're going to have people that are cost-conscious and are going to look for those savings."
Mr Leung said that while some people questioned whether shoppers would buy coffins at a supermarket, he pointed to Costco's success doing just that in the United States.
Costco's local general manager Patrick Noone said he witnessed a mixed response among customers on Thursday, but was confident of strong sales.
"We're always looking for business we can leverage here in Australia, and we took a look and thought that this market could probably do with some more competition," Mr Noone said.
"This is an area where we think we can show value. And we're all going to need one, right?"
"This is an area where we think we can show value. And we're all going to need one, right?"
Costco has sold coffins and caskets in its native US for years, but Australia is the first foreign market to introduce an end-of-life range.
In Australia, coffins will be ordered through the members-only chain and then shipped within two days by Scientia to the customer or their funeral director.
The coffins are made in either China or Italy from materials including eco-friendly MDF and timber, Mr Lueng said.
Dying is expensive and funeral costs are evidently going higher and higher.Scientia founder Issac Leung
Mr Leung is a former derivatives trader and worked for Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong before moving back to Australia to look for an industry that "needed innovation".
He settled on the funeral industry, which he said has "a lot of traditions and a lot of culture that require a lot of change," and founded Scientia about a year ago.
Costco opened its first South Australian store in Adelaide in November 2014 and now has eight outlets across the country.
Its stores are three to four times the size of a typical supermarket and sell groceries, often in bulk, as well as discounted general merchandise ranging from televisions to diamond rings and hearing aids.
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