Costco Posts Strong June Sales Gains

For the month of June, Costco Warehouse Corp. posted comparable store sales, excluding the effects of gasoline and foreign exchange rate volatility, up 6% for the United States, international locations and the company as a whole. Including the gas and foreign exchange impacts, U.S. comps gained 3%, while those for international operations were down 8% and those for the company were down 1%.

Total sales advanced by 1% to $11.01 billion.

By region in the U.S., comp store sales were best in Texas, the Midwest and the Southeast, the company reported in a conference call.

By merchandise category, as stated in the conference call, softlines gained in the mid to high single digits, with comps especially strong in small appliances, housewares, domestics, jewelry and women's apparel. Hardlines advanced in mid single digits with electronics pacing the overall category and sporting goods, hardware, automotive and tire segments all strong. Food and sundries increased in the low to mid single digits and fresh foods grew in the mid single digits.

Costco operates 679 warehouses, including 479 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 89 in Canada, 36 in Mexico, 26 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Japan, 11 in Korea, 10 in Taiwan, seven in Australia and one in Spain. It plans to open to an additional eight new warehouse clubs prior to the end of its fiscal year on August 30. Costco also operates e-commerce web sites in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.