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The Costco in Perrysburg will have a gasoline station larger than the chain’s Central Avenue site in the Westgate area.
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‘Help wanted’ call almost here for Perrysburg Costco

THE BLADE

‘Help wanted’ call almost here for Perrysburg Costco

Retailer, with reputation for good pay, to hire 200

Costco Wholesale Corp. officials said Wednesday they expect to begin hiring for their Perrysburg store within the next few weeks and confirmed reports that the new store is pegged to open in mid-June.

Matt Keersemaker, general manager of the Perrysburg store, said he expects to hire about 200 employees to staff the store, ranging from cake decorators to tire installers.

Costco will begin taking online applications through its website in early April. Mr. Keersemaker said that will be the only way to apply initially, though the company will likely expand its search in the coming weeks and months.

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“We will explore job fairs and stuff like that once we get in the full swing of hiring,” he said.

Costco is the nation’s second-largest retailer, with sales topping $110 billion in its 2014 fiscal year. The company, which operates as a membership-only warehouse club selling gasoline, groceries, and other merchandise, has more than 470 locations in the United States. A basic membership costs $55.

Costco entered the Toledo market in 2007 with its store on Central Avenue in the Westgate area. The chain’s second Toledo-area store has been a long time coming. The company first publicly expressed interest in the Perrysburg area in mid-2013. But the process was slowed by local concerns over traffic congestion, landscaping, and signage. Moving an underground natural gas line also delayed the project.

But Mr. Keersemaker said that once construction started things have gone smoothly.

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“The construction has been good so far. As we see it today, everything’s on time,” he said. “We’ve had a couple rough winters in northwest Ohio but we’re able to get through the better part of the winter and hopefully everything goes as planned with the rest of the construction.”

Mr. Keersemaker, who was previously general manager of the Central Avenue store, said the two Toledo-area stores will essentially be the same.

The only real difference is that the new Costco will have a slightly larger gas station. Mr. Keersemaker said the Central Avenue gas station likely will be expanded in the future.

Costco is known for offering better pay and benefits than many of its competitors. For example, all U.S. employees who have at least 90 days of employment are offered a 401(k) retirement plan that includes a company match. The company also offers health insurance to part-time employees.

As of 2014, Costco had 195,000 employees in the United States, of which 112,000 were full-time.

Mr. Keersemaker said Costco’s starting wage is $11.25 per hour, though multiple organizations have reported that Costco’s average wage is about $20 per hour.

Perrysburg officials say the project also has helped spur other development in the area.

“The amount of interest generated because of the Costco project is just phenomenal,” said Brody Walters, the city’s planning and zoning administrator.

Staff writers Tyrel Linkhorn and RoNeisha Mullen compiled this report.

First Published March 12, 2015, 4:00 a.m.

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