Costco Wholesale Corp. reported solid June sales gains and announced it is raising membership fees in September.
Costco reported reported net sales of $24.48 billion for the retail month of June, the five weeks ended July 7, up 7.4% from the period a year past.
With the effects of volatile fuel prices and foreign exchange rates excluded, June comparable sales gained 6.9%, with comps in the United States up 6.3%, those in Canada up 8.4% and those in other international markets up 8.7%, the company noted. E-commerce comps advanced 19.1%.
Effective September 1, Costco will increase annual membership fees by $5 for U.S. and Canada Gold Star, Business and Business add-on members, bringing the fee for each level to $65. Also effective September 1, annual fees for Costco Executive Memberships in the U.S. and Canada will increase from $120 to $130. The maximum annual 2% reward associated with the Executive Membership will increase from $1,000 to $1,250.
