Massive crowds at China's first Costco force the store to shut down early

People try to get a roast chicken at the first Costco outlet in China, on the stores opening day in Shanghai on August 27, 2019. People try to get a roast chicken at the first Costco outlet in China, on the stores opening day in Shanghai on August 27, 2019. Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Massive crowds at China's first Costco force the store to shut down early 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

It was no surprise that the crowds at China's first Costco location would be big.

But the company was not prepared for this.

The photos of the opening for the Shanghai location of the Costco chain painted a clearer picture of the reports coming out of China, which said that a deluge of shoppers clogged up parts of the store and built up traffic on roads outside of the warehouse resulting in a three-hour wait, CNN reported.

Shoppers crowded around the meat department — which included the omnipresent Costco rotisserie chicken — and the food court, with elbows and arms thrown in every which direction as customers attempted to pick up various items.

The sheer amount of people forced the store to shut down hours early, according to CNN, and a text message to members reportedly read, in part, "To provide you with better shopping experience, Costco will suspend business in the afternoon.

"Please don't come," the message apparently ended, with a plea.

The madness was, in part, due to the deep discounts — an annual Costco membership reportedly only cost $28 USD — and unusual items being offered to first-time customers of the Shanghai location. Discounts were seen on a number of luxury items, the South China Morning Post reported, including Prada tote bags and MCM leather backpacks — there was also reportedly Hermès' super-popular Birkin bags available (although the Post did not have a price available for that item).

And even if you did manage to get a big-ticket item, or even something on the smaller scale, such as food, checkout was a nightmare. If you managed to wait out the three hours to get to the parking lot and find a spot, employees were warning customers that it would take two more hours just to check out, according to the Post.

All in all, the Costco only managed to stay open just until 1:40 p.m. — just five hours after it first opened.

"There's no other word to describe Shanghai's Costco but crazy," one person reportedly said on Weibo, China's micro-blogging site.

"It was chaotic as throngs of shoppers flocked to get some good bargains," a clerk told the Post. "There were bust-ups between anxious shoppers."

It's not entirely clear what the game plan will be for the crowds who will return for Costco's second day, but take a look at the slideshow above to get a glimpse of the madness from Tuesday.

Dianne de Guzman is a Digital Senior Editor at SFGATE. Email: dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com | Twitter: @diannedeguzman