Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman and Costco board member Charlie Munger is bullish on Cosco’s prospects on competing with Amazon and becoming an e-commerce player in its own right.

Munger said it was a matter of when – not if – the big-box, membership-only retailer will go head to head with online retail giant Amazon.

Munger’s remarks, which were made at the Sohn conference on Friday in Sydney, were first reported by the Australian Financial Review.

“Amazon may have more to fear from Costco in terms of retailing than the reverse,” Munger was quoted in a report by CNBC. “Costco will eventually be a huge internet player. People trust it and they have enormous purchasing power.”

Munger owned about 166,000 Costco shares at the end of 2020, based on a previous regulatory filing.

The 97-year-old has been a board member of Cosco since 1997 and is a longtime business partner of Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway is the conglomerate run by Buffett.

Munger hinted at the Sydney conference that the pandemic has changed consumer purchasing habits as they hunkered down indoors and bought household goods and groceries online from retailers like Costco, and helped to boost profits.

The reopening economy of shoppers returning to physical stores is also helping Costco’s bottom line and share price, according to CNBC. Shares of Costco have risen nearly 40% this year after a 28% return in 2020.

Munger’s Costco outlook comes amid a rapidly evolving retail landscape where two other big-box rivals — Walmart and Target — are also aggressively taking on and showing gains on Amazon.

Experts cite how Walmart and Target are successfully merging online and offline sales, allowing consumers to place orders online and either pick up the merchandise at the local company stores or have it shipped for same-day delivery.

Costco has invested in building its own e-commerce business. In March 2020, the company acquired Innovel Solutions, which provides last-mile delivery services, in a $1 billion deal.