Cost-U-Less Announces Same Store Sales Increase; Caribbean Stores Weather Hurricane Georges.

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1998--Cost-U-Less, Inc. (NASDQ:CULS) announces a same store sales increase of 10.4 percent for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 1998.

For the first nine months of 1998, same store sales are up 6.7 percent when compared to the same period one year ago.

"Obviously, these are great sales numbers. I am very proud of the job being done by our management and staff, and encouraged by the way our customers are responding to what we are doing. The key to success in this business is providing the value and products people want and need -- at great prices," said Cost-U-Less chairman and CEO, Jim Rose.

For the second quarter ended June 28, 1998, Cost-U-Less reported an increase in net income to $62,000 or $0.03 per share. The company will report third quarter earnings later this month.

In related news, the company's two Caribbean stores (St. Thomas and St. Croix) in the U.S. Virgin Islands suffered only minor facilities damage as a result of Hurricane Georges that recently pounded the region. Both stores were closed during the storm, resulting in the loss of one business day in St. Thomas. The store on the harder hit island of St. Croix missed a total of four selling days. In the three days prior to the actual storm, as people made storm preparations, both stores registered nearly triple their normal average daily sales. For the full month, and despite the loss of selling days, the Caribbean stores registered double digit sales increases when compared to the same month one year ago.

"We build all of our stores to be able to withstand serious weather conditions and they came through this very well. While we are pleased that our stores came through relatively unscathed, our enthusiasm is dampened by the incredible human and financial toll that Georges wreaked on the Caribbean. Cost-U-Less and its employees are a vital part of the region, and while the prospect of a hurricane is something no one relishes, they are a fact of life. We find that our customers rely on us in the face of impending storms, which is reflected in our sales," said Rose.

Cost-U-Less currently operates nine stores. In addition to its two Caribbean locations, Cost-U-Less has stores in Guam (2), Hawaii (2), American Samoa, Fiji and Sonora, Calif. The company plans on opening a second store in Fiji next month and one in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles in January 1999. Expansion plans call for the opening of 26 stores by the end of the year 2002.

Founded in 1989, Cost-U-Less is a leading operator of mid-sized warehouse "club style" stores throughout the Pacific and Caribbean. Cost-U-Less began trading publicly on July 23, 1998. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.costuless.com.