Walmart, Costco set sights on Alexandria, VA sites

A rundown section of Richmond Highway will see some new life. Walmart plans to open an upscale grocery store where Michael's and Chuck E. Cheese's used to be located in Fairfax County's Penn Daw neighborhood.

"They want to alleviate the sea of asphalt look you see from the '60s and '70s," says Debi Sandlin, executive director of Southeast Fairfax Development Corp. The Fairfax Development Corp. has been working for decades to redevelop and revitalize Route 1. . . . more

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Wholesale clubs grow as supermarkets slide

A steady stream of shoppers looking for deals on necessities has helped wholesale club operators Costco Wholesale Corp. and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. deliver profit gains while many of their grocery competitors struggle.

Costco and its smaller competitor, BJ's, both reported Wednesday that traffic, profit and sales trends improved at their stores during the quarter. . . more

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Costco, other warehouse clubs holding their own during recession

Costco and other warehouse clubs have done relatively well in an economy that has been particularly brutal to retailers. Overall retail sales were down about 8 percent for the first 11 months of 2009, but sales at warehouse and superstores were up 2 percent, according to the U.S. Census' monthly retail trade report.

The three biggest club players are Sam's Club (605 stores), Costco (566) and B.J.'s Wholesale Club (184, mostly on the East Coast).. . . more

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Costco To Boost Expansion in 2011

Expect Costco Wholesale Corp. to ramp up expansion in 2011 and beyond, the company said at its first quarter 2010 conference call.

The company plans to open 16 to 18 new stores this year, 13 to 14 of them in the United States. That will grow to the low-20s in 2011 or 2012, and the high-20s beyond that, said Richard A. Galanti, executive VP and CFO. The company recently opened a smaller unit in Manhattan, opening a dim possibility of additional smaller stores. . . . more

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Costco Opens First Manhattan Store, Looks at Sites

Costco Wholesale Club Inc., the largest U.S. warehouse club, is opening its first store on Manhattan today and is looking at other sites.

“This is a big deal for us,” Joe Portera, an executive vice president and chief operating officer of the eastern and Canadian division, said yesterday in an interview at the new store. “We’ve been trying to get in forever. It’s very important that we do another one.” . . . more

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Costco plans to accept food stamps nationally

Costco Wholesale plans to accept food stamps at its warehouse stores nationwide, a major shift for a company that earlier this year said it doubted there would be enough demand among customers to warrant accepting food stamps in even one market, New York City.

"The rules are different today," CEO Jim Sinegal said. "People who were in good shape financially all of the sudden are needing some assistance.". . . more

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Costco Maintains Store Growth Plans

Costco Wholesale Corp. will maintain the pace of its expansion of both its traditional warehouses and newer Business Center formats, executive VP Richard Galanti said at the company’s third quarter conference call. Plans call for approximately 23 new warehouse openings in 2010, keeping expansion at about the same percentage rate as previous years. The 20 new openings this year include the company’s debut in Australia, with a unit opening in Melbourne in August. (Other openings for the fourth quarter include units in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.)

“We are seeing some opportunities out there, some at lower costs,” Galanti said. The company also is opening two to three new Business Centers annually.. . . more

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Newcomers Challenge Office-Supply Stalwarts

In the grinding recession, companies are finding ways to save even on the cost of the lowly office pen. And that has created an opening for discounters to steal business from the office-supply industry's big three.

Online discounters and retail giants such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. are cranking up their efforts to woo customers of the big office superstore chains -- Staples Inc., Office Depot Inc., and OfficeMax Inc. The result: a wave of price-competition that is benefiting lower-cost vendors and encouraging companies to switch suppliers. Wal-Mart's Sam's Club, a warehouse-store chain, last month began sending employees to small businesses to compare office-supplies prices, and plans to provide cost comparisons for 100,000 businesses by late May.. . . more

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Costco to snap up property while prices are low

PORTLAND, Oregon, March 19 (Reuters) - Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O), the No. 1 U.S. warehouse club, plans to take advantage of the distressed real estate market to open stores this year, even as sales decline because of the recession, its chief executive said on Thursday.

"We're getting better deals on real estate," said Costco's CEO Jim Sinegal at a media event in Portland, Oregon. "People who didn't want to talk with us about shopping center sites now want to talk with us.". . . more

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Costco Wholesale Opens New Business Center in Hawthorne, CA

ISSAQUAH, WA, Mar 19, 2009 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Costco Wholesale Corporation, the leading warehouse club operator, is opening a new Costco Business Center in Hawthorne, CA, at 8 a.m. on Friday, March 20, 2009, to better serve Los Angeles-area businesses. The new Costco Business Center stocks more business-oriented products than standard Costco Wholesale warehouses. Businesses have two ways to purchase from the Costco Business Center -- either shop the warehouse in Hawthorne or receive delivery from the Costco fleet. Delivery orders can be placed online at Costco.com or by phone or fax.

"Our Business Centers cater to businesses by offering products for their specific needs. We carry more than 7,000 diverse items, including vending products, convenience store items, restaurant/institutional foods, hospitality products and office necessities such as office supplies, office furniture, office equipment, janitorial and break-room supplies," states Phil Lind, Vice President of Business Centers for Costco Wholesale. . . . more

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Costco formally withdraws zoning bid in Brookfield

BROOKFIELD, CT -- Costco Wholesale has withdrawn its application to build a new 158,000-square-foot warehouse store on a 37-acre property off Junction Road known as "the cornfield."

The decision was announced during a meeting of the Brookfield Zoning Commission Thursday night.. . . more

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Business-focused Costco Opens in Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Last week, Costco opened its first Costco Business Center here, on the site of a former traditional Costco location, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

The store, open to all Costco members, is designed to serve and attract business customers, and does not offer the usual Costco items such as apparel, jewelry, sporting goods, pharmacy and in-store dining areas, the report stated.

The store is intended to be a combination office supply store, restaurant wholesaler and convenience store supplier, and features a full-service print and copy center and an increased selection of products, including restaurant, hospitality, convenience store and professional office, the report stated.. . . more

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Big Discount Chains Profit in Recession

Costco and BJ's Turn Healthy Profits as Other Retailers Feel the Pain

Warehouse clubs Costco and BJ's reported substantially higher profits on Wednesday, with both benefiting as cost-conscious shoppers worried about the economy shunned department stores and specialty retailers in favor of lower-priced alternatives.

BJ's even said it welcomes continuing modest inflation, hoping more shoppers will view warehouse clubs as safe havens from higher food and gas prices.

"We're embracing inflation in this particular organization," BJ's Chairman and Chief Executive Zarkin told analysts in a conference call.. . . more

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Costco sees an upside to down economy

Costco Wholesale customers are gravitating toward basics like food, jeans and T-shirts, but they also like to spot the occasional deal on high-end Tumi luggage and Coach handbags, says CEO Jim Sinegal.

The stagnant economy has Costco Wholesale customers gravitating toward basics like food, jeans and T-shirts.

But they also like the occasional deal on high-end Tumi luggage and Coach handbags, Costco CEO Jim Sinegal said Friday to a group of retail buyers and wholesalers at Pacific Market Center's Winter Gift & Home Accessories Show. . . . more

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Costco Drops Contract for Local Store

In an abrupt move last week, Costco walked away from a contract to buy land for a store near New Baltimore.

The Issaquah, Wash., retailer had an agreement to purchase about 18 acres at U.S. 29 and Route 600 from developer Cross Creek Investments LLC.

But in a letter last week to Cross Creek Investments, Costco stated it would not go forward with the deal.

In a Jan. 12 letter, John H. Foote, who represents the developer, notified Fauquier Circuit Court Judge Jeff Parker of Costco's decision.

Last week, Parker ruled that Fauquier's board of supervisors did not violate the county comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance in approving a Costco store near New Baltimore. . . . more

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Why consumers are buying furniture at Costco

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. This adage, applicable to everything from baseball leagues to politics, also resonates in the home furnishings industry, as club stores position themselves as a unique source for products that are as high quality and fresh in design as they are value-priced. Costco Wholesale Corp., which recently made headlines for reporting stable sales in a quarter when other merchants were in veritable free fall, continues to expand its home furniture offerings and promote its stand-alone Costco Home stores, warehouse-size locations designed exclusively for customers who join Costco as members.

Overall, the Issaquah, WA-based Costco chain has continued to establish itself as a club store leader and penetrated new markets all over the globe in recent years. Although some plans for future growth have slowed due to the current economic situation, according to company-released information, the warehouse retailer retains a large customer base not only for its competitive pricing, but its breadth and depth of offerings and reputation of its brands, from national labels and its own Kirkland Signature products.. . . more

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Costco Maintains Growth Plans

Costco Wholesale Corp. is maintaining its store opening schedule, with plans to build 22 new stores this fiscal year, executives said at the company’s first-quarter conference call.

The company opened eight stores in the first quarter (down from 10 in the first quarter of last year) and closed one store in Las Vegas that will be converted to a business center. More stores will open in the third and fourth quarters.

“So far, so good,” said Richard Galanti, CFO. “We’re pretty much in line with what we said in the beginning, [opening] 20 to 25 stores. We think there are some good real estate opportunities coming down in the next few months”

Expect more of these new stores to be located near malls. A store at Cumberland Mall in Atlanta, which attaches to the center only via a breezeway, has been very successful for the retailer. . . . more

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Costco profit little changed from last year

Costco Wholesale Corp., the biggest U.S. warehouse-club chain and owner of stores in Brick, Hazlet and Ocean Township, said first-quarter profit was little changed as sales growth slowed.

Net income rose to $262.5 million, or 60 cents a share, from $262 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier, Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco said today. Twenty analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated average profit of 62 cents excluding one-time items.

Sales slowed because of lower fuel prices and the dollar’s gain against other currencies, which eroded the company’s revenue from international locations. Waning demand for jewelry and other pricier items shows that even Costco’s higher-income customers are feeling the effects of shrinking values in their homes and stock holdings, increasing job losses and the U.S. recession. . . . more

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Costco: Economic Climate Fueling More Bargain Shoppers

Costco (NASDAQ: COST) knows how to get their customer to spend money and come back for more. The spending trends are particularly revealing when compared to competitor, BJ's Wholesale (NYSE: BJS).

People visit Costco more. On average, customers visited Costco 2.8 times/month from January to October this year. BJ's Wholesale customers averaged 2.1/month during the same period. This data according to the new Main Street Spending Index (MSSI) compiled by Geezeo, a personal finance website that helps consumers track their spending. . . . more

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Despite a weak economy, Costco.com turns in another strong year

Costco.com has wrapped up another year of strong web sales.

For the 2008 fiscal year, Costco Wholesale Corp. generated web sales of $1.7 billion, an increase of 41.7% from web sales of $1.2 billion in fiscal 2007. In comparison, Costco, No. 18 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide , grew total revenue by 12.6% while comparable warehouse sales rose year-over-year by 8%.

For fiscal 2008, Costco posted net income of $1.28 billion on revenue of $72.5 billion vs. net income of $1.08 billion on revenue of $64.4 billion in the prior year. Overall Costco.com accounted for 2% of total sales and drove 6% of the growth in revenue across all channels.

“Internet sales for the whole year came in just shy of $1.7 billion, certainly beating our own budget,” Costco chief financial officer Richard Galanti told stock analysts on Costco’s recent year-end earnings call.

Though Costco didn’t break out specific numbers, Internet sales were softer in the fourth quarter, growing year-over-year by 26% compared with 34% in Q4 of fiscal 2007. “In recent weeks we have seen a slight reduction in the average ticket, but not in frequency of transactions,” Galanti told stock analysts. “Our average ticket is over $400 and big-ticket items have certainly slowed.” . . . more

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