Costco Wholesale Corp. for the fiscal month of November posted comparable sales, sans the effects of fuel price and foreign exchange volatility, up 9.2% with comps in the United States up 9.1%, in Canada up 7.6%, and in Other International regions up 11.3%. E-commerce advanced 11.7%.
Comp traffic gained 5.5% worldwide and 3.3% in the U.S. during November, the company stated in a conference call.
In the U.S., regions with the strongest year-over-year sales increases were Texas, the Southeast and the Midwest. As for merchandise categories, Non-Foods advanced in the low double digits with jewelry, tires, domestics and apparel the best performing segments. Food & Sundries were up mid-single digits and Fresh Foods were up mid to high single digits, the company noted in the conference call.
Costco currently operates 824 warehouse clubs, including 571 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 105 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 30 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 16 in Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 13 in Australia, three in Spain and one each in Iceland, France, and China. The company also operates e-commerce websites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.
