Costco Reports Increased June Sales

July 6, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 7, 2011 Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) reported net sales of $8.69 billion for the month of June, the five-week period ended July 3, an increase of 18 percent from $7.33 billion during the same period last year.

This year's five-week period included 34 days in the U.S. (U.S. warehouses closed Memorial Day) versus 33 days last year (U.S. warehouses closed Memorial Day and Independence Day). The calendar shift positively impacted this year's total and comparable sales by about two to three percent (three percent in the U.S.). Also, this year's five-week period included sales from the company's Mexico joint venture; otherwise the net sales increase would have been 15 percent.

For the 44 weeks ended July 3, the retailer reported net sales of $73.44 billion, an increase of 14 percent from $64.51 billion during the similar period last year; excluding Mexico sales, the increase would have been 11 percent.

Costco currently operates 584 warehouses, including 427 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 81 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, eight in Japan, seven in Korea, six in Taiwan and one in Australia. Costco plans to open up to eight warehouses prior to the end of its 2011 fiscal year on Aug. 28.