Costco news

Costco has opened its flagship store on Alibaba's Tmall online marketplace. The store now carries mainly imported food and healthcare goods including its Kirkland Signature private label. It's driving traffic by ensuring quality of its all imported products and offering discounts and free delivery for some items. Testing new ecommerce models Entrance to China's ecommerce market is part of Cos...

Costco delivered an impressive performance in the final quarter of the year. Total revenue increased 9.3%, comp store sales were up 7% and net income rose 13.0%. As the retailer focuses on its new financial year, we take a look at what’s shaping its strategy. Increasing capital expenditure Over the last two years Costco has picked up the pace of new store openings, with...

A number of US retailers, including Walmart, Costco and Fresh Direct have committed to displaying unit-pricing information on their websites. Enabling consumers to make quick price comparisons Walmart, Costco, Fresh Direct, Walgreens, CVS and Drugstore.com will make this information available on their websites and mobile apps within the next nine months. This will benefit consumers, enabli...

Costco’s third quarter revenue increased by 7.1% to $25.8bn, with comparable store sales (ex-fuel and currency impacts) up 6%. Net income attributable to Costco increased by 3.1% to $473m. Food categories deliver solid performance These results reveal an improving performance versus the previous quarter, although they continue to be negatively impacted by exchange rate movements. Food ca...

Costco has opened its first store in Spain this week located in Seville. Potential in Spain Although the US is key, accounting for over 70% of warehouses and turnover, Costco is becoming increasingly international; half of all warehouse openings in 2013/14 will be outside the US. Seville provides Costco with access to a population of a million people within a half-hour's drive of the store....

With work on its warehouse number 26 already underway at Hounslow, it has been revealed that the warehouse club operator, Costco now has secured planning permission on two further sites within the M25.  Costco plans to have both new sites trading within 12 months, bringing its warehouse numbers to 28 by the middle of 2015. Sites at Wembley and Sunbury make six within the M25 These new sites...

Following its recent expansion to New York, the online grocery delivery specialist, Instacart, has now launched in Los Angeles. Connecting personal shoppers with customers Instacart, which is based in San Francisco, and initially focused its operations on the Bay area, uses personal shoppers to deliver products to customers’ homes directly. The business currently uses a range of stores in...

Costco’s second quarter sales increased by 5.8% to $25.8bn, with comparable store sales (ex-fuel and currency impacts) up 5%. Net income attributable to Costco fell by 15.4% to $463m. Profitability impacted by a range of factors The key standout within Costco’s results is the decline in net income. A number of factors impacted the retailer’s profitability during the quarter including weak...

Press reports have revealed that warehouse club operator Costco has begun construction work on its 26th site in the UK. The new warehouse, projected for completion in the late summer is located in Hounslow, close to Heathrow, west London.   Strengthens Greater London presence This will be the fourth Costco within the M25 (and with Thurrock sitting just outside), and it is understood that th...

Having logged its fifth successive year of sales growth since it entered the Australian market, Costco has invested another $110m into further expansion. Sales and profits grow for second consecutive year Documents filed at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show that Costco Australia saw revenues increase to AU$612m and net profits reach AU$1.81m for the retailer's financ...