The strategies Costco and BJ's are adopting for surviving the downturn differ.Ĭostco said it will not abandon plans to keep the lowest possible prices for customers, adding that a focus there will earn customer loyalty in the long run.īJ's has seen its market share grow by drawing shoppers away from traditional grocers with a mix of more fresh and prepared foods than other warehouse clubs. Its earnings rose 5 percent to $52.7 million, or 91 cents per share for the quarter that ended Jan. Excluding gas, same-club sales rose 6.4 percent.
Same-store sales at the significantly smaller BJ's rose 1.7 percent for the quarter. Its same-store sales dropped 3 percent for the quarter, but rose 5 percent once gasoline sales and the strong dollar's effect were excluded. Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco reported that revenue slipped 1 percent for the quarter, just shy of analyst estimates. Natick, Mass.-based BJ's did see some growth in television sales, but overall, merchandise sales were flat. "We are strategically looking to take advantages of downturn to gain market share and we are very optimistic about BJ's long-term prospects."Ĭostco's sales of most nongrocery items were sluggish, aside from some growth in television sales that analysts had predicted for both companies due to pricing and the upcoming digital conversion.
"For BJ's, economic downturns create challenges and opportunities," chief executive Laura Sen told investors during her first conference call as chief executive. Companies like Costco and BJ's have both benefited from the trend with food sales. Shoppers have sharply restricted their spending during the economic downturn, limiting purchases to the most essential items and even there, are keenly focused on deals. PALUSZEK, Jeremy God called Jeremy Ramon Paluszek, 30, from this world on Jin Corona, CA. BJ's said food sales grew 11 percent for the quarter as shoppers gobbled up dairy, meat, and prepared foods.
BJ's, meanwhile, said fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 5 percent on strong food sales and the benefit of tax audit settlements.Įxecutives at Costco said the sales of food, health, and beauty items were the strongest categories for the quarter, with notable growth in its in-house Kirkland Signature brand products. and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., but both companies said yesterday that sales of other items kept sliding in the downturn.Ĭostco reported a 27 percent drop in its fiscal second-quarter profit due largely to weak sales of products other than food and deep discounting. Shoppers looking to warehouse clubs for deals on groceries buoyed food sales at Costco Wholesale Corp.
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