- BJ’s Wholesale Club reported first quarter earnings of $16.1 million, compared with $11.3 million in the same period last year. Quarterly sales rose 12.1 percent to $1.6 billion, while same-store sales rose 6.6 percent.
The company attributed the strong showing to its targeting of consumers, as opposed to the small business orientation held by rivals Costco and Sam’s Club.
- UK retailer J. Sainsbury posted annual profits that were the equivalent of $1.2 billion (US), down 2.9 percent from profits reported last year. Total sales were up 2.2 percent; same-store sales were off 0.2 percent.
The company’s new CEO, Justin King, said that the company was better focused now that its reorganization has been completed, including selling off Shaws in the US to Albertsons; that managing director Stuart Mitchell would be stepping down; and that the company would be working to be more aggressive on pricing, in order to recapture momentum lost to both Tesco and Wal-Mart’s Asda Group.
