The opening of Costco in Iceland: Unexpected meanings of globalized phenomenon

The multinational retailer, Costco, opened its first store in Iceland during spring 2017. Not only was the opening greatly anticipated but following the store opening, Costco became one of the key issues in the Icelandic media. Our analysis focuses on Costco’s opening from insights derived from theo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Veftímaritið Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla
Main Authors: Loftsdóttir, Kristín, Mixa, Már Wolfgang
Other Authors: Félags- og mannvísindadeild (HÍ), Faculty of Social and Human Sciences (UI), Félagsvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Social Sciences (UI), Viðskiptadeild (HR), School of Business (RU), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland, Háskólinn í Reykjavík, Reykjavik University
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Stofnun stjórnsýslufræða og stjórnmála við Háskóla Íslands 2017
Subjects:
Costco
Iceland
Globalization
Post-crash
Stórmarkaðir
Matvöruverslanir
Hnattvæðing
Fjölþjóðafyrirtæki
Bankahrunið 2008
Sanna
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/664
https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2017.13.2.2
Description
Summary:The multinational retailer, Costco, opened its first store in Iceland during spring 2017. Not only was the opening greatly anticipated but following the store opening, Costco became one of the key issues in the Icelandic media. Our analysis focuses on Costco’s opening from insights derived from theories of globalization of mobility, where we emphasize that discussions about Costco in Iceland cannot be separated from the post-crash atmosphere after the massive economic crash in 2008. Our perspective is particularly influenced by Tsing’s (2005) emphasis on the unpredictability of global phenomena that move around and transplant in a new context. Our analysis both contextualize Costco’s arrival within Iceland’s historical and social context and analyzes some of the main themes in the Icelandic media discussion during the opening. The dualistic opposition of ‘us’ (Icelanders) against ‘them’ (foreigners), which has been quite salient in Iceland, were largely invisible in discussions about Costco’s opening. Costco in Iceland was quickly incorporated into a discourse as a positive force against Icelandic corruption that started after the crash. The ‘us against them’ themes thus turned from being ‘Icelanders against This paper is a part of the project of Excellence, Mobility and Transnational Iceland, funded by Rannís (Icelandic Center for Research), grant number: 163350-051. Special thanks to Sanna Magdalena Mörtudóttur, M.A. student in Anthropology at the University of Iceland for her assistance in data gathering. Peer Reviewed

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