BJ's Wholesale Club Reports March Sales.Business Editors NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 10, 2003 BJ's Wholesale Club BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. NYSE: BJ is a membership-only warehouse club chain operating in the East Coast of the United States, as well as in the state of Ohio. History , Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BJ) today reported that sales for March 2003 increased by 15.8% to $554.0 million from $478.3 million in March 2002. Comparable club sales increased by 5.9% for the month of March. Commenting on the results, BJ's president and chief executive officer, Mike Wedge wedge, piece of wood or metal thick at one end and sloping to a thin edge at the other; an application of the inclined plane. It is employed in separating two objects from each other or in separating one part of a solid object from an adjoining part, as in splitting said, "Results for the month of March reflect strong sales in a number of food categories including meat, snacks, and bottled water, offset by weaker sales in various general merchandise categories including greeting cards See e-card. , lawn care and toys. On a comparable club basis, food and consumables sales increased by 2.7% and general merchandise sales decreased by 1.9%."
Sales Results for March
($ in thousands)
Five Weeks Ended % Change
April 5, April 6, Net Comp.
2003 2002 Sales Sales
$ 553,958 $ 478,269 15.8% 5.9%
Nine Weeks Ended % Change
April 5, April 6, Net Comp.
2003 2002 Sales Sales
$ 984,393 $ 846,643 16.3% 6.2%
The Company provided the following additional information regarding March sales: Comparable club sales increased in all major markets, with the highest increase in the Southeast and lowest in Metro New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Comparable club sales increased during weeks one, two, three and five and decreased during week four. Sales for weeks four and five reflect a calendar shift in the Easter holiday from the fifth week of March last year to the third week of April this year. This resulted in lower sales during week four offset by an extra day of sales in week five as compared to last year. On a comparable club basis, excluding sales of gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by , the average transaction amount for the month of March was up 0.2%. Traffic increased by 0.5%. Categories with the strongest sales increases included fresh meat, health & beauty aids, tires, and bottled water. Weaker categories included bakery, cigarettes, consumer electronics, fresh deli and lawn care. Gasoline sales had a positive impact on comparable club sales of 5.0%, primarily due to significant gasoline price inflation. BJ's introduced the wholesale club concept to New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. in 1984, and has since expanded to become a leading warehouse chain in the eastern United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . The Company currently operates 140 clubs and 69 gas stations compared with 131 clubs and 55 gas stations one year ago. BJ's press releases and filings with the SEC are available on the Internet at www.bjs.com. |
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