US retailer Costco Wholesale Corporation has reported net sales of $11.26 billion for November, a 13.2% sales increase compared to the same month in 2016.
For the twelve-week first quarter of the company’s fiscal year 2018, ended November 26, 2017, Costco reported net sales of $31.13 billion, a 13.3% increase from $27.47 billion reported in the same period for 2017.
Comparable sales for the four-week retail month of November increased by 10.2% in the US, 13.8% in Canada and 11.1% internationally. E-commerce sales rose 39% during the period.
Fiscal Year Sales
For Costco's twelve-week first quarter of its 2018 fiscal year, the sales increases were 10.3% for the US, 11.3% for Canada and 10.1% internationally. E-commerce saw a sales increase of 43.6%.
Due to the shift of Thanksgiving closure and this year’s twelve-week first quarter having one less sales day than last year, the pre-Thanksgiving and Black Friday/holiday weekend sales fell into the first quarter compared to the second quarter last year, according to Costco.
Combined, these factors produced an estimated net benefit of approximately 1.5% in the U.S., and slightly less worldwide, the retailer said.
In October, the US wholesaler reported a sales increase of 10.1% compared to 2016, also with growth across all its markets.
At the beginning of October, the company’s shares fell by as much as 5.9% as investors became concerned by a drop in Costco membership renewal rates and narrowed margins.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
