Strong UK Growth for Costco

Membership warehouse retailer Costco's UK business turnover reached £2,544.5m in the year ended 2nd September 2018, up 7.8% from £2,360.1m in the previous year.

Gross profit increased by 9.9% to £70.1m (2017: £63.8m) 

Approximately two-thirds of the growth came from increased fuel sales at new and existing fuel stations.  Shopping frequency was noted to have increased where new fuel stations had been put in place.  Membership sales remained strong and were boosted by various marketing initiatives, and the rest of the growth came from merchandise sales.

Warehouse openings have slowed, with the most recent being Wembley, in 2016.  Costco's 29th warehouse is set to open in Stevenage within a month.  A planned High Wycombe opening has been cancelled, attracting a cost of £1.5m. Costco stated: "The short term focus of our strategy is to continue growing our business profitably through existing warehouses, with the addition of a petrol filling station at the majority of our locations".

Costco reported that its online business, which is run as a separate entity, has experienced substantial growth, with sales of £75.5m, 14.4% higher than the previous year.

Source : Insight DIY Team

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