Costco Wholesale Corp.

Nineteen of the nation’s leading retail and CPG companies received perfect scores on the 2013 Corporate Equality Index compiled by the Human Rights Campaign.

The Human Rights Campaign released its 2013 Corporate Equality Index, which gives companies ratings of up to 100% based on their policies regarding LGBT employees and also released a buyer's guide for LGBT consumers. According to the equality advocacy group, a total of 1,848 companies were invited to submit applications, of those 530 actually did so and of those 252 received scores of 100%.

New York -- An apparel last-minute surge in holiday shopping helped many key retailers report better-than-expected sales in December. Twenty retailers reported sales in December rose an average of 4.5%, compared with the year-ago period, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Costco, Gap, Nordstrom and TJX Cos. were among the best performers.
 

At a time of year when much of the retail news we hear focuses on receipts and holiday sales performance, I can’t help thinking that the notion of value has become synonymous with price — and only price. You can make the argument that price has nearly hijacked the whole definition of value. Why is that, exactly? Should retailers be paying closer and more systematic attention to how they articulate (and how customers perceive) the value of their brand?

In what turned out to be one of the stranger holiday seasons in recent memory retailers fought through a range of unconventional headwinds to deliver an uneven performance.

New York -- Target Corp. turned in a less than stellar performance in December, recording flat same-store sales. But Costco Wholesale Corp. and TJX shone, exemplifying an up-and-down season in which consumers backed off buying amid concerns about a “fiscal cliff” and the uncertain economic climate.

Growth in sales and membership income at Costco helped the company produce earnings per share of 95 cents and beat analysts’ estimates by two cents.

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp. reported Wednesday that net income for the quarter ended Nov. 25 rose 30% to $416 million, compared with $320 million in the year-ago period and surpassing analysts’ forecasts.

Sales increased 9.6% to $23.71 billion from $21.2 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimated $22.11 in revenue. Same-store sales increased 6% domestically and 7% internationally, excluding fuel sales and foreign exchange effects.

Same store sales in November at Target plunged unexpectedly while apparel discounters and Costco kept humming and Kroger extended its string of consecutive comp increases to nine years.

The nations second largest grocer this week reported a third quarter profit, excluding some non-recurring items, of 46 cents that was three cents better than analysts forecast and its identical store sales increased by 3.2%. Total sales including fuel for the period increased 5.9% to $21.8 billion.