Massachusetts retailer BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc., with 11 stores in Connecticut said Thursday that increased gasoline prices and better food sales helped push a key sales figure higher in December.
At BJ’s, sales at warehouse clubs open at least a year rose 4.8 percent in December, narrowly beating the 4.6 percent increase that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected.
This sales figure is a key indicator of retailer performance because it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.
BJ’s, based in Natick, Mass., said sales of food rose about 5 percent in December, while general merchandise sales were near flat. Consumers have headed to warehouse club operators during the recession in part to stock up on basic food items.
Some of the company’s strongest categories included breakfast foods, frozen foods, cigarettes, clothes and electronics. Among the weaker categories were jewelry, televisions, toys and trash bags.
BJ’s said traffic grew about 4 percent when excluding gas sales, while the average transaction amount dipped about 1 percent.
Sales improved in all regions, with the best performances in the Southeast and upstate New York.
Taking out the effect of higher gas prices, sales at clubs open at least a year climbed 2.7 percent last month.
BJ’s said a rough winter snowstorm in the eastern U.S. hurt more than half its stores during the last two weeks of the month, and pulled down its merchandise comparable club sales by 2 percent to 2.5 percent.
Total sales grew 9.4 percent to $1.16 billion for the five weeks ended Jan. 2.
BJ’s currently runs 186 of its warehouse clubs in 15 states. (AP)
