Posts Tagged 'costco (cost)'
Chart of the Day: Top 10 U.S. Retailers 2011 vs 2001
Published March 29, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a CommentTags: amazon.com (amzn), best buy (bby), costco (cost), cvs, home depot (hd), kroger (kr), lowe's (low), retail sales, retail trends, target (tgt), walgreens (wag), walmart (wmt)
Are Monthly Same-Store Sales Losing Their Luster
Published August 26, 2011 Uncategorized 1 CommentTags: chain store sales, costco (cost), macy's (m), retail sales, same-store sales, walmart (wmt)
Like many industry observers, we eagerly anticipate the first Thursday of every month when U.S. retailers release monthly same-store sales reports, as they provide a timely indicator of both performance at individual chains and clues about overall spending trends by American consumers. Unfortunately, the decade-long trend of retailers discontinuing monthly reporting continues (see graphic below), and soon it seems we will have only the oft-revised monthly retail report from the Dept. of Commerce and be forced to extrapolate company performance based on overall sector results in between quarterly reports.
Same-store sales, also called comparable store sales (or like-store sales, identical store sales) have long been one of the most relevant measures of healthy growth at retail companies, as it provides an “apples-to-apples” comparison of top-line growth at existing stores (usually open at least 12 months, excluding new & remodeled stores). This enables analysts to differentiate between sales growth that comes from new stores, especially at-fast growing chains that derive much of their growth from increased store counts, from that of improved operations at existing stores.
Retailers are not required to report monthly sales, but it has been a novel aspect of the industry since the 1970′s. Same-store sales are no “silver bullet” for retail industry performance and there has always been noise in monthly comparisons caused by factors including calendar shifts and changes in weather. However, the monthly reports have long provided a unique perspective on company and industry trends, relative and comparative performance, and retail executive commentary and outlooks.
Ten years ago over 100 retailers reported performance on a monthly basis, and as recently as July 2004 there were still 77 chains reporting across a variety of sectors with aggregate monthly revenues of $52.5 billion, representing 65% of GAFO (General Merchandise, Apparel & Accessories, Furniture and Other – Office Supplies, Stationary & Gifts) sales.
Last month, only 27 chains with aggregate July revenues of $30.6 billion reported results, comprising just 31% of GAFO sales for the month. With Hot Topic announcing July would be their last monthly report and BJ’s Wholesale likely to stop reporting when their buyout by private equity is complete, the ranks will be down to just 25.
(click below for expanded graphic)
While some of the contraction can be attributed to bankruptcies (Gottschalks, Bombay Co, Sharper Image) and some due to acquisitions (Goody’s by Stage Stores), the majority of companies made conscious decisions to stop reporting monthly sales. Unfortunately, there is no longer any representation from footwear companies, dollar stores, woman’s apparel companies or home goods retailers, and many important bellwethers such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble ceased reporting long ago.
There is basically one main argument put forth as the reason why retailers discontinue reporting sales on a monthly basis: companies want to align how management thinks about the business to the interest of long-term shareholders, removing short-term trading and volatility of share prices. Continue reading ‘Are Monthly Same-Store Sales Losing Their Luster’
Retail Quick Facts: 10 Things About Costco You Probably Don’t Know
Published April 27, 2011 Uncategorized 2 CommentsTags: costco (cost), retail facts
- Costco is the 3rd largest retailer in the U.S. (behind Wal-Mart & Kroger) and the 7th largest retailer in the world by sales, as well as ranking #25 on the Fortune 500 list
- Five of the original eleven-person management team (including both co-founders: CEO James Sinegal & Chairman Jeffrey Brotman) and more than 400 of the original 1,000+ employees from its founding in 1983 are still at Costco today
- Costco sold 92 million hot dog & soda combinations at food courts in FY 2010 at $1.50 each, a price held constant since 1985
- Costco’s Kirkland Signature Brand products represent 15% of total items and 20% of total sales, and the company believes sales penetration will eventually reach 30%
- Costco generates sales of nearly $140 million per warehouse (by far the highest of any American retailer) and $1,000 per sq ft, compared to rivals Sam’s Club ($78 million per wh & $586 per sq ft) and BJ’s Wholesale ($54 million per wh & $500 per sq ft)
- Costco sold 2.3 billion gallons of gasoline at its 343 gas stations last year totaling $6.2 billion, 51.1 million chickens totaling $256 million, $3.9 billion worth of meat, $790 million in seafood, $1.15 billion in total wine sales, $1.8 billion worth of TV’s, $362 million of cameras, $1 billion in bakery sales and $3.4 billion worth of produce, as well as filling 33 million prescriptions and processing 1.2 billion in photo prints
- Costco Connection, the monthly magazine sent to over 8.3 million members, boasts a readership of over 20 million people with a median household income of $108k, household net worth of $984k and aggregate buying power of over $864 billion; 86.5% of readers own a home, 55% graduated college and 51% own their own business
- With 3 million pairs of glasses sold last year, Costco is the nation’s 5th largest optical retailer and was ranked by Consumer Reports as consumers’ favorite eyeglass retailer
- Costco Hearing Aid Center is one of the largest retailers of hearing aids in the U.S., and sells more digital hearing aids than any other independent retailers
- Costco became the first company ever to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in less than six years, and has grown sales from $101 million in 1983 to $76.3 billion in 2010 for a compound annual growth rate of 27.8%
E-Commerce Sales Jump 15% in 2010
Published February 17, 2011 Uncategorized ClosedTags: abercrombie & fitch (anf), costco (cost), e-commerce, nordstrom (jwn), retail sales
Consumers returned to their spending ways again in 2010, as total retail trade sales (which excludes restaurants) rose 7.0% over the prior year. Yet, nominal sales were still 1.9% below their peak level of 2007. While e-commerce business slowed during the past few years, retailers still managed growth in the channel through the recession and 2010 saw a return to the double-digit gains we had become accustomed to.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported this morning that e-commerce sales increased 16.1% in the 4th quarter to $44.1 billion (seasonally adjusted). For the full year 2010, e-commerce sales rose 14.8% to $165.4 billion. This represented 4.2% of total retail, up from 3.9% in 2009.
This represents even stronger growth than comScore’s estimate a few weeks ago, which said e-commerce sales rose 11% in the quarter to $43.4 billion. Continue reading ‘E-Commerce Sales Jump 15% in 2010′
Retail Throwdown: Warehouse Club Edition
Published January 4, 2011 Uncategorized 1 CommentTags: bj's wholesale (bj), costco (cost), retail, sam's club, warehouse clubs
Below is a comparison of the 3 major warehouse club operators in the U.S. – Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club (owned by Wal-Mart), and BJ’s Wholesale. Each of these companies ranks in the top 30 largest U.S. retailers by revenue, and warehouse clubs have increasingly become the preferred shopping destination for million of consumers.
