Costco Warehouse is not letting the potential retail apocalypse infect them and whilst other retail companies are announcing closures, the warehouse retailer has big plans for more expansions in the coming weeks.
This warehouse styled retailer who offers its customers affordable prices and a unique business model has remained a crowd favorite. This statement rings true, especially now during these contentious times where companies are caving in to pressures to discontinue their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. Despite pressures from the political right wing, Costco has remained steadfast in its implementation of these necessary policies. This is, perhaps, one of the contributing factors to the company’s success which is enabling it to expand operations in spite of the current tough economic landscape.
Costco Warehouses offers inventory and store locations in bulk
For the warehouse, 2024 ended on a hopeful note with the announcement of the opening twenty-nine new locations for the upcoming year. As such, by March, the retailer will surpass a total of 900 store locations across the globe.
So far, the retailer currently has 897 warehouses in operation with 617 of these spanning the United States and Puerto Rico. Of the twenty-nine new locations, six will be opened as soon as March in the U.S., resulting in the company breaking past 900 in numbers of locations. The remainder of the twenty-nine new locations will be opened throughout the course of the fiscal year of 2025 which ends on August 31, 2025. Additionally, April will see the opening of a further three locations if sales growth goes as expected.
Globally, the warehouse has locations in several countries with 109 in Canada, 41 in Mexico, 36 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 19 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, 7 in China, 5 in Spain, 2 in France, and 1 each in Sweden and New Zealand.
Company sales
During the first five or so months of the current fiscal year (beginning September 1, 2024), the company is recording a 8.2% growth in net sales which now amounts to $113.55 billion. Holiday shopping season included, comparable sales in the U.S. rose by 6.6% during this time. More recent reports show that for the four-week period ending February 2, comparable sales rose by 9.2% in the U.S.
The earnings report for the second quarter of 2025 will be released soon, on March 6. According to analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, there is an expectation that revenue will be “up more than 7% to $63 billion and net income of more than $1.8 billion, an increase of 4.5% over the same period a year ago.”
Costco Warehouses has previously shared that its main source of income comes from the membership fees paid by customers. The earnings from membership fees is what allows the retailer to offer such low prices on its products. Currently, an annual membership costs $65 for the U.S. and Canada Gold Star. Executive memberships cost $130 per year but come with extra benefits such as services discounts, and an annual 2% reward of up to $1,250. Both of these membership fees were increased in 2024 for the first time in little under a decade. The last fee increase happened in 2017.
New locations: when and where?
Of the new locations, six will be opened in the U.S. during the course of March. Here are the locations and projected opening dates of these new stores:
- March 1 – Sharon, Mass
- March 7 – Brentwood, California
- March 8 – Highland, California
- March 13 – Genesee County, Michigan*
- March 14 – Proper, Texas
- March 15 – Weatherford, Texas
Costco Warehouses has also released the locations and potential dates for the next three new locations in various countries slated to open. They are as follows:
- Stuart, Florida – April 2025
- Minami Alps, Japan – April 2025
- Ardeer, Autralia – 2025
*The opening date for the Genesee County, Michigan location is not available on the official Costco website but was rather reported on by various local media outlets. Costco has shared that, “it’s company policy is not to share specific opening dates because they are subject to change due to construction schedules, city requirements, and other issues.”