ISSAQUAH, WA--(Marketwire -05/31/12)- Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) today reported net sales of $7.67 billion for the month of May, the four weeks ended May 27, 2012, an increase of seven percent from $7.14 billion during the similar period last year.
For the first thirty-nine weeks of its reporting period ended May 27, 2012, the Company reported net sales of $71.28 billion, an increase of ten percent from $64.75 billion during the similar period last year.
Comparable sales for these periods were as follows:
4 Weeks 39 Weeks ---------- ---------- U.S. 5% 7% International 3% 7% Total Company 4% 7% ========== ========== Deflation in gasoline prices had a slight negative impact on comparable sales for the four-week period, while inflation in gasoline prices had a positive impact for the thirty-nine week period; foreign currencies had a negative impact for both periods. Excluding these effects, comparable sales for these periods were as follows:
4 Weeks 39 Weeks ---------- ---------- U.S. 5% 6% International 8% 9% Total Company 6% 7% ========== ==========
Additional discussion of these sales results is available in a pre-recorded telephone message. You can access the recording by dialing 1-855-859-2056 (conference ID 28780562). This message will be available today through 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday, June 1, 2012.
Costco currently operates 602 warehouses, including 435 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 82 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, 13 in Japan, eight in Taiwan, seven in Korea and three in Australia. The Company also operates Costco Online, an electronic commerce web site, at www.costco.com and at www.costco.ca in Canada. The Company plans to open up to an additional six new warehouses prior to the end of its fiscal year on September 2, 2012.
Certain statements contained in this document and the pre-recorded telephone message constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (including health care costs), energy, and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions and other risks identified from time to time in the Company's public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Costco Wholesale Corporation
Richard Galanti
425/313-8203
Bob Nelson
425/313-8255
Jeff Elliott
425/313-8264
Costco Wholesale May Comparable Store Sales up 4% - Benzinga
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) today reported net sales of $7.67 billion for the month of May, the four weeks ended May 27, 2012, an increase of seven percent from $7.14 billion during the similar period last year.
For the first thirty-nine weeks of its reporting period ended May 27, 2012, the Company reported net sales of $71.28 billion, an increase of ten percent from $64.75 billion during the similar period last year.
Comparable sales for May was up 4%.
CTS Wholesale Sunglasses Launches Customer Reviews Website - YAHOO!
CTS Wholesale Sunglasses has embraced social media fully by launching its customer reviews site for the clients to leave their testimonials and feedback.
(PRWEB) May 31, 2012
Ecommerce vendors are increasingly embracing social media and CTS Wholesale has launched its customer reviews website to collect customer feedback and testimonials. They already have a Facebook page and a blog to keep in touch with their customers and fans.It is now common knowledge that Internet is no more a one-way medium where the business owners would show their product range and customers would buy. Now users are actively voicing their opinion about the different brands and also checking others' comments before taking a final buying decision. Therefore companies need to be in touch with their most precious asset, customers. Customer reviews websites help the companies to collect these testimonials in an organized fashion and display these to help their prospects move towards the buying decision with confidence.
"We love to carry out a constant dialog with our customers and our social media activities are a reflection of this policy. We started with a blog to share marketing tips and new product information with our small business customers. Then we launched a Facebook page to interact with them even more closely. And now we have opened another channel where they can share their good and bad experiences with us," shared Kirk Bachelder, owner of CTS Wholesale.
CTS operates an online ecommerce portal where people can buy wholesale sunglasses, wholesale hats and oil based lighters with a large selection of designs. This site is very user friendly and has provision for toll-free numbers and live online chat to help the customers with any questions they may have about the products, shipping or returns.
Actively monitoring the online media helps business owners research the in-demand products and understand the consumer psyche which enables them to launch just what the market needs. This results in ready acceptance of their products by the early and later stage buyers. CTS regularly announces coupon codes and special discounts through the social channels for a little extra profit to the people who stay connected with the company.
"The reviews website helps us listen to our customers and learning about their good experience in dealing with us motivates us to provide an even better service next time. We also get to know if someone has faced any problem and we can set things right and resolve the customer's issues quickly thereby improving the overall satisfaction level," said Kirk. "Those who leave us a review are also rewarded by a surprise bonus," added Kirk.
CTS offers wholesale replica sunglasses, sunglass accessories and sales tools like display stands, which can be bought online and sold at malls, exhibitions and other retail markets. With a fantastic profit potential, selling sunglasses has become an attractive proposition for several people who want to run their own small retail business. CTS is a leading online wholesaler of such products. Those testing the waters can buy as little as 1 dozen, while there is a provision for large commercial level wholesale packs for those with an established outlet.
The store has a convenient ordering process, facility to pay with a credit card and same day shipping resulting in pleasant online shopping experience. Toll-free numbers in both USA and UK allow the customers to get their questions answered in real time.
About CTS Wholesale LLC:
CTS Wholesale operates an online store selling sunglasses, caps, hats and lighters to dealers buying in wholesale. Stressing on high style, attractive prices and reliable quality, they are a popular consumer website. Visit http://www.CTSWholesaleSunglasses.com. The customers can leave their review at http://reviews.CTSWholesaleSunglasses.com.
Contact:
Kirk Bachelder
CTS Wholesale LLC
503.364.3486
###
Kirk Bachelder
CTS Wholesale Sunglasses
503.364.3486
Email Information
Bliss Thru Shopping: Bethel bound, part I - Sun-Journal
Nothing would be quite so divine as a personal tour of a balsam factory.
Saltwater taffy from Maine Line Products. Tastes like summer at the beach.
"Mmm," we would say. "Smell that!"
Unfortunately, to keep our secret identities, well, secret, such a tour would have to be conducted at night, with the lights out, and since we assume there must be balsamic saws and sharp stick edges pointing about, it suddenly just seems less blissful and more courting disaster.
Instead, we dare to dream, and these days Bag Lady and Shopping Siren are dreaming of Bethel. Because Memorial Day marked the unofficial start of tourist season. Because it was time for another online road trip. Because, at the mere mention of us visiting Western Maine, we had five retailers invite us for a look-see, including Maine Balsam Fir.
In six years of Bliss, five invites is a tidal wave. Scratch that. TIDAL WAVE.
So Bethel and greater Bethel, here we come, virtually. Part One: In which we admire art, cook up deliciousness and reach through cyberspace to pet Martina.
Smell that!
* "Classic Beverage" 11- by 16-inch canvas photo print, Artistic Endeavors, $75
Reminiscent of Andy Warhol's famous Campbell's Soup painting, only, you know, with beer. A can of Budweiser to be exact. Forget beach scenes and pretty wildflower fields; nothing says summer like a cold one.
* Saltwater taffy, 14 ounces, Maine Line Products, $7.95
Tastes like the ocean on a summer day. Minus the tourists. Because, ew.
* "Bethel, Maine: A Brief History" by Stanley R. Howe, Bethel Historical Society, $21.99
With 160 pages and 75 illustrations, it's everything you ever wanted to know about Bethel (er, "Sudbury Canada" as it was known in 1768) but were afraid to ask.
* "Up Bethel Hill: The Cookbook of the Bethel Historical Society," Bethel Historical Society, $12.95
We have no idea what kind of recipes, summer or otherwise, this book contains, but it's on its second printing, so it's got to be good, right? That's practically "The Joy Of Cooking" level.
* Alligator salt and pepper shakers, Nabos, $17
These alligators may be dancing. They may be sunning themselves. They may be locked in mortal combat, letting go only long enough to pepper your steak. There are no photos in the online shop, which heightens the mystery of ordering said shakers. Or, for $18, earrings. Online shopping here is very much: "Trust us; you'll dig it." And trust we do, if for no other reason than the site offers photos of shop dog Martina, who looks pretty adorable, and we figure adorable hangs with adorable.
* Bargain box, Maine Balsam Fir, various prices
Sadly, the store's online shop is under construction, but we hear rumors — OK, the owner told us via email — of an aromatic box filled with balsam fir seconds and other goodies. She also tells us she's been sweet-talked by customers into a quick tour of the factory. We plan to go the moment we work up a good disguise.
Best find: Celebration Cake, Gourmet in a Pinch, $3.49
Shopping should be a celebration. Like, "Yay, I lived another day to shop!" or "Isn't this great? I have Friday off!" Cake helps in that spirit, and this little celebration cake (white chocolate mousse with lady finger sponge cake walls) would help a lot.
Unfortunately, you can't order online, so you'll have to stop by their Mayville Road, Bethel, shop for desserts and meals to go. When you're there, ask about their online "about us" section, which mentions an executive chef who may or may not also be a sigma six expert black belt. It's unclear. (Shopping Siren believes the chef and black belt to be different people; Bag Lady prefers to imagine them as one person who also works for the CIA, though there is no mention of that. Technically.)
Think twice: About stopping now. We bring you more Bethel-area goodness next week, when we pester moose, ponder the merits of laser tag versus mini golf and get in touch with our inner Scot.
Bag Lady and Shopping Siren's true identities are protected by a pair of stylish, sweater-wearing Doberman pinschers (who believe every day is a celebration that deserves cake) and the Customer Service counter at the Sun Journal. You can reach them at baglady@sunjournal.com and shoppingsiren@sunjournal.com.
Foster City shopping center changes hands - The Business Journal
Foster City’s Marlin Cove Shopping Center is changing hands for $17.38 million in an off-market deal that closed fast.
How fast?
“The deal was all cash in 21 days,” said Ryan Forsyth of Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank , who represented the buyer, Retail Opportunity Investments Corp., with colleague Scott Crowle. The seller was not disclosed.
The 74,596-square-foot center, at 1070-1098 Foster City Blvd., includes a three-story office building and 53,379 square feet of retail. It is 75 percent leased, and tenants include 99 Ranch Market, Starbucks and Round Table Pizza. The office building includes doctors’ offices and PrimePay, a payroll services company.
Nearby is the high-rise apartment complex Marlin Cove apartments, with 280 units. Also, in April the city sold a 15-acre property to developer The New Home Co. for $30 million. Plans for the site, adjacent to City Hall at 610 Foster City Blvd., include 30,000 square feet of retail and a senior-housing complex that would add 400 townhomes, condos, assisted living units and affordable apartments to the region.
“The population is going to get denser,” Forsyth noted.
Marlin Cove Shopping Center in the past has leased for about $2.50 a square foot.
ROIC focuses on retail properties and has 32 shopping centers across the country. In Northern California, it owns centers in Sacramento, Stockton, Pleasant Hill, Monterey County and Pinole. The company posted gross profit of $51.7 million for the year ended Dec. 30, 2011.
David Goll covers health care, retail, nonprofits and education at the Business Journal. His phone number is 408.299.1853.
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Lessons Learned From Mystery Shopping - CSNews Online
Gas prices rise and fall almost cyclically in and around summertime, but they remain unpredictable due to myriad other forces. How does a convenience store protect against a customer who is predisposed to aggravation based on the soaring prices, and guard its own bottom line?
Superior customer service is clearly a factor. Mystery shopping -- the only honest, transparent view of actual customer service measured against the factors important to your brand -- has helped c-stores protect their bottom line by ensuring attentiveness to the shopper.
"Quality service still sells," said Al Goldsmith, vice president of Maritz Research Virtual Customers, a Mystery Shopping Providers Association – North America (MSPA-NA) member. "We see it in every industry, but particularly in the dynamic and competitive retail petroleum sector. Since most petroleum products are commodities, an effective differentiation strategy must rely heavily on quality service and consistent delivery at retail to achieve sales and customer loyalty objectives."
A major retail petroleum company that's a customer of Goldsmith's Maritz Research has the numbers to prove that scoring your customer service -- and making adjustments on the fly -- directly benefits the bottom line. The client's mystery shopping program scores its channel partners three times year and what's been revealed is that locations attaining high marks on mystery shops and audits sell more gas, regardless of fuel prices. In the first year of the program alone, the client's channel partners experienced a double-digit increase in average monthly volume.
Gas prices are an important factor in customer decisions, but other factors play as important a role. A recent survey by MSPA-NA member Corporate Research International, a division of Stericycle, revealed that three of the top five factors that drive customer choice relate to employees.
When asked, "What is important to you when determining where to shop?" gas prices scored an 8.48 (out of a possible 10), barely outscoring team members' professional and clean appearance (8.41), employee willingness to help customers (8.38) and their knowledge and courtesy (8.24). Convenience naturally was the king, topping the survey with an 8.55 score.
What that tells us is if the convenience store is next to or near another gas station and its prices are typically competitive with its neighbor (and seemingly just as convenient a location), then the service given by the employees will directly determine which store's cash register rings more consistently. Other factors, such as soda and coffee selection and pricing, loyalty programs and candy prices, scored much lower in the survey.
SavOn, a chain of 13 c-stores in upstate New York, has seen an increase in the skills of its associates and the ability of managers to coach employees through its mystery shopping program with College Station, Texas-based Customer Impact, another MSPA-NA member.
"We realized years ago that it takes more than low prices to create a positive experience for our guests," said Sean Brown, owner of SavOn. "Guest service is the key in gaining and retaining customers, and our mystery shopping program through Customer Impact helps us maintain that service at an unmatched level, no matter how far fuel prices rise."
Brown said his employees have come to be "excited" to receive the results of their mystery shops. The constant mystery shops built into SavOn's program allow employees to stay on their toes and receive great satisfaction when they receive high scores.
And one factor we cannot ignore is the single factor customers tell us they can't ignore -- a bad restroom. According to a recent research survey by Cintas Corp., 95 percent of customers avoid patronizing a business in which they have had a negative restroom experience. Given the general reputation for the restrooms in gas stations and convenience stores, this represents a golden opportunity.
"Consumers are becoming very selective of where they buy their gas and where they choose to do their business," said Steve Heintzelman, vice president of sales and marketing at RitterAssociates, a MSPA-NA member. "Providing the consumer with a great overall experience that includes a friendly staff, a varied selection of convenient products, as well as a clean restroom, can make the difference -- even when your gas prices are higher than your competitors."
So, while consumers are never happy with the frequent spike in gas prices, your bottom line will rise and fall largely on other factors. Unless you are offering a significant savings on gasoline compared to a neighboring station, your employees clearly make the most substantial impact on customers.
Mystery shopping, for years, has helped delivered a clear view of your 24-hour delivery of customer service. If you don't have a handle on that issue, it might leave a bad taste in a customer's mouth -- even more than coffee brewed hours ago.
Dan Denston is executive director of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association -- North America, a position he's held since 2011. He has extensive history with associations and association management throughout the country, as well as other varied business and educational experience. MSPA-NA is the trade association representing the customer experience metrics (mystery shopping) industry throughout North America.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in this column are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Convenience Store News.
Costco Wholesale May Comps. Climb 4% - Quick Facts - RTT News
5/31/2012 3:08 AM ET
(RTTNews) - Membership warehouses operator Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST: News ) reported May comparable sales growth of 4% for the total company. Net sales in May totaled $7.67 billion, an increase of seven percent from $7.14 billion in the same period last year.
The company said the deflation in gasoline prices had a slight negative impact on comparable sales for the four-week period, while inflation in gasoline prices had a positive impact for the thirty-nine week period; foreign currencies had a negative impact for both periods. Excluding these effects, total company's comparable sales for the 4-week period went up 6%.
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