BJ's Wholesale Club Reports December Sales; Lowers Fourth Quarter Earnings Estimate.

Business Editors

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2003

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) today reported sales for the month of December and lowered its earnings estimate for the fourth quarter. For the month of December, sales increased 11% to $765.5 million from $689.4 million in December 2001. Comparable club sales for December increased by 0.8%. Year-to-date net sales have increased by 12% to $5.3 billion from $4.7 billion in 2001 and comparable club sales have increased by 1.9%.

Commenting on December sales, president and CEO Mike Wedge said, "Sales results for December reflect a continued soft sales trend, a very promotional retail environment and an unfavorable mix of sales in both food and general merchandise categories. Additionally, BJ's became more aggressive on pricing during the fourth quarter, particularly in certain food categories."

                     Sales Results for December(a)
                           ($ in thousands)

   Five Weeks Ended                             % Change
January 4,    January 5,                    Net          Comp.
  2003          2002                        Sales        Sales
$765,467      $689,391                      11.0%        0.8%

 Forty-eight Weeks Ended                        % Change
January 4,    January 5,                    Net          Comp.
  2003          2002                        Sales        Sales
$5,313,122    $4,745,779                    12.0%        1.9%

(a) On November 9, BJ's closed two clubs in the Columbus, Ohio market
and one older, non-prototypical club in North Dade, Florida. Sales for
these three clubs are not included in the sales results for the
periods mentioned in this press release as these clubs are now
reported in discontinued operations.

The Company provided the following additional information on December sales:

BJ's comparable club sales decreased during weeks one and three and increased during weeks four and five. Week two was approximately flat versus week two in December 2001. By major market, comparable club sales for December increased in the Southeast, New England and Upstate New York. Comparable club sales decreased in the metropolitan New York area, partly due to cannibalization from the opening of two new BJ's clubs in Brooklyn and Queens. The Baltimore/Washington/Virginia market continued to be negatively impacted by uncycled competition.

On a comparable club basis, excluding sales of gasoline, the average transaction amount for the month of December increased by approximately 0.3% and traffic decreased by approximately 2.2%. Merchandise categories with the strongest sales increases included beer, wine & liquor, candy, giftware, health & beauty aids, jewelry, sporting goods, tires and video games. Weaker categories included apparel, cigarettes, computer equipment, dairy, house wares, music CDs, small appliances and toys. Sales of gasoline contributed approximately 2.1% to comparable club sales for December.

Outlook for Q-4 and Fiscal Year Ending February 1, 2003

The Company announced revised earnings guidance for the fourth quarter ending February 1, 2003, due primarily to a weaker sales trend and an unfavorable mix of sales. Additionally, the Company expects to continue to be aggressive on pricing, particularly in certain food categories. The Company now expects to report earnings of $.69 to $.71 per diluted share for the fourth quarter. Prior guidance was $.80 to $.82 per diluted share.

For the month of January, the Company expects to report comparable clubs sales in the range of flat to up 1% including gasoline.

Statements contained in this press release about future sales and earnings, and all other statements that are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause or contribute to such differences include, without limitation, levels of customer demand, economic and weather conditions and state and local regulation in the Company's markets; competitive conditions; and the Company's success in settling House2Home lease obligations under the Company's indemnification agreement with The TJX Companies, Inc. Each of these factors and other factors are discussed in more detail in the Company's Annual Report on SEC Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2002 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change.

BJ's introduced the wholesale club concept to New England in 1984, and has since expanded into a leading warehouse chain in the eastern United States. BJ's currently operates 140 clubs and 65 gas stations in 16 states.

Conference Call on Fourth Quarter and Year-End Financial Results

BJ's management will hold a conference call to discuss financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending February 1, 2003 and management's outlook for fiscal 2004. The call is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 4, 2003. The conference call will be broadcast live on BJ's website and will be available at the following address: www.bjsinvestor.com/medialist.cfm. Replays will be available at the same web address through March 11, 2003.