COSTCO

NEW YORK — Sales during the month of April edged up for wholesalers Costco and BJ's Wholesale Club, the companies reported Thursday.

Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco reported a 17% increase for the four weeks ended May 1 to $6.8 billion, compared with the year-ago period. For the period ended April 30, BJ's disclosed a sales increase of 12.2% to $871.7 million, compared with April 2010.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Wholesaler Costco on Tuesday said its board of directors has approved a $4 billion share buyback program. The company also raised its quarterly dividend by 17% to 24 cents, up from 20.5 cents.

The share buyback program expires in April 2015 and replaces a previous plan set to expire in July, which had $800 million remaining, the company said.

Many analysts have voiced concern that despite numerous indications of a slow, but healthy, economic recovery in the United States, growth in the number of jobs has lagged, even as it has exceeded economists’ expectations.


But another indicator that the economy is picking up speed is U.S. sales growth at Costco Wholesale, the members-only mass merchandiser based in Issaquah, Wash. For fiscal 2010, sales at the company’s 424 U.S. stores — which the company officially calls warehouses — were $59.6 billion, compared with $56.5 billion in 2009.


PHOENIX — Vitabath, a bath and body brand that dates back more than 50 years, is looking to attract a whole new generation of women with the introduction of 17 new body washes.

The brand's revival will begin with the rollout of lime citron basil, exclusive to Costco, in June. This will be followed by the release of the 16-scent Vitabath fragrance collection in July.

ISSAQUAH, Wsh. — Costco experienced a 17% increase in its monthly sales ended April 3, totaling nearly $7.2 billion.

Costco was positively impacted by the calendar shift; the company's five-week period for March included 35 days this year, compared with 34 days last year. The wholesale retailer noted the comparable-store sales saw an 11% boost. Excluding such effects as inflation in gasoline prices and strengthening foreign currencies, which had a positive impact on comparable sales, Costco said comps would have increased 7%.

NEW YORK — Retailers rank among the highest for their customer service, according to a new report by the Temkin Group.

The consulting and research firm analyzed responses from 6,000 consumers, found that Amazon.com ranked No. 1 for providing an "excellent" customer experience, coming in with a ranking of 81.3%. A business qualifies for an "excellent" rating when their score is 80% or higher, Temkin said.

NEW YORK — Some of the nation's most popular retailers earned a spot on Interbrand's annual ranking of the 50 most valuable U.S. retail brands.

Walmart topped the list, with Target coming in the No. 2 spot, while CVS/pharmacy, Walgreens and Sam's Club respectively earned the fifth, sixth and seventh spots.

Other retailers on the list included Publix, Dollar General, Costco, Whole Foods and Family Dollar.

NEW YORK — Costco Wholesale CEO Jim Sinegal has made the Barron’s magazine list of the top 30 CEOs.

Sinegal earned the 22nd spot on the list. The magazine pointed out his busy travel schedule, which takes him to most of Costco’s 582 stores every year, as well as a recent trip to Asia from which he arrived in Issaquah, Wash., at 8 a.m., showered and was in the office at 9 a.m.