News Briefs

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported another month of strong online and in-store sales growth, helped by surging gasoline prices and increased demand.

The membership warehouse club giant’s net sales rose 13% to $23.92 billion in April. Net sales for the first 35 weeks were $197.18 billion, an increase of 9.5.%. 

Costco’s total comparable sales in April rose 11.6%. Comp sales increased 11.7% in the U.S. and 11.5% in Canada. Other international comps rose 11.5%.

Digitally-enabled comparable sales rose 18.8% and are up 21.6% for the first 35 weeks.

Excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, total comparable sales rose 8% in the U.S. and 7.6% in Canada. Other international comps rose 6.5%.

“April had one additional shopping day versus last year, due to the calendar shift of Easter,” Costco said in the April release. “This positively impacted total and comparable sales by approximately one and one-half to two percent."

Costco’s board approved a 13% increase to the quarterly payout in April, lifting it from $1.30 to $1.47 per share.

[READ MORE: Report: Costco to open its first standalone gas stations — in these states]

Costco currently operates 928 warehouses, including 637 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 115 in Canada, 42 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, three in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland and New Zealand. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

A legendary media property is making its first move into social commerce.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit is partnering with influencer-guided shopping platform LTK to provide shoppable experiences in the LTK app, across its social platforms, and on its own website. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit official profile on the LTK app, launched with the publication’s recently released annual issue, offers shoppable visual content and editorial features throughout the year.

In addition, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit is enabling shoppability across its social content with LTK technology. The partnership marks Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s first social commerce venture, selecting LTK as the infrastructure partner to help provide ongoing discovery, engagement and shopping through its content.

Through LTK, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit can link to millions of products across thousands of brands, enabling seamless discovery and purchase. The publication plans to create new social commerce opportunities around key cultural moments throughout the year via this new collaboration, including its annual runway show, which will be shoppable in real time as looks are posted live on LTK.

Other publications have also entered the social commerce space in recent years. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Pinterest, Real Simple magazine launched its first-ever shoppable issue in 2024 with a "Best & Brightest" theme spotlighting more than 120 products Each section of the magazine featured QR codes that link to corresponding Pinterest boards, where users can instantly buy the products seen in the pages. 

[READ MORE: Pinterest partners for its first-ever ‘shoppable’ print magazine]

Other examples include Rolling Stone partnering with actress/singer Kate Hudson to cohost a shoppable simulcast interview and living room concert supported by the TalkShopLive livestream shopping platform, and a celebrity-focused e-commerce site launched by Us Weekly.

Photo credit: Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated.

Burlington Stores continues to aggressively expand its store network.

The off-price retailer is on track to open 26 new stores in May. In March, the company, whose 2025 sales rose 9% to $11.5 billion, said it planned to open 110 net new stores as well as a new distribution center in Savannah, Ga., fiscal 2026.

Here is a list of the Burlington Stores opening in May, along with their opening date, as listed on the company’s website.

•Arizona: Avondale (5/15)

•California: Santa Clara (5/08), Bakersfield (5/15), Manteca (5/22)

*Florida: Jacksonville (5/15)

•Illinois: Bourbonnais (5/15)

•Kentucky: Louisville (5/15)

•Michigan: Fort Gratiot Twp. (5/15)

•Minnesota: Rochester (5/29)

•New Jersey: Jersey City (5/22), Watchung (5/29)

•New York: Horseheads (5/15)

•North Caroline: Asheville (5/15)

ªOhio: Columbus (5/08), St. Clairsville (5/29), Willoughby Hills (5/29)

•South Carolina: Myrtle Beach (5/15), Conway (5/29)

•Texas: McKinney (5/15), Katy (5/22), Houston (5/29), Round Rock (5/29)

•Washington: Kent (5/08); Longview (5/08)

•Wisconsin: Eau Claire (5/15), Oshkosh (5/15)

Meijer had a busy first week in May.

The Michigan-based company opened the doors to three new stores on May 6, including a small-format, 47,000-sq.-ft.  location under the Meijer Grocery banner in Rochester Hills, Mich. The food-focused outpost is the retailer's fourth Meijer Grocery store in the Midwest and its third in Michigan.

"We're excited to bring our streamlined shopping experience to more customers in Rochester Hills for added convenience closer to home," executive chairman Hank Meijer said.

In addition, Meijer opened a 159,000-sq.-ft. supercenter in Brownsburg, Ind. It also opened a 159,000-sq.-ft. supercenter in Northeast Ohio in Aurora, on the site of the former Geauga Lake amusement park which closed in 2007.

Meijer supercenters offers an expansive produce section as well as an extensive deli and meat department and a full array of specialty, national brand and Meijer-branded grocery items. They also features a full-service pharmacy as well as general merchandise, including baby and pet departments, apparel, beauty care, a floral department and an outdoor garden center.

The three store were all built with accessibility in mind. As in all Meijer stores, the locations all offer free access to Aira, an app-based service that provides live navigation assistance to blind and low-vision customers using the camera of their smartphones.

Meijer donates at least 6% of its net profit to Midwest communities annually, and each of its stores works with local food banks and pantries to help fight hunger. Since 2008, the retailer's Simply Give program has generated more than $100 million for its food pantry partners throughout the Midwest.

The privately owned, family-operated Meijer operates more than 500 supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets and express locations throughout the Midwest.

An auto repair and tire retailer is enhancing its end-to-end planning with an artificial intelligence-driven platform.

Pep Boys is deploying AI-enabled Relex Solutions technology to optimize forecasting and replenishment across its and distribution center network. Leveraging the Relex platform, Pep Boys seeks to account for complex demand influences like seasonal demand shifts, regional buying patterns, and promotion-driven spikes.

By obtaining this insight, the retailer hopes to ensure optimal inventory placement and availability across its network. Pep Boys will also use the platform to refine exception management with intelligent alerts, improve DC prioritization, streamline vendor collaboration, and optimize product allocation across its network. 

"Pep Boys' ecosystem requires sophisticated planning to handle high mix volumes, in a dynamic consumer driven environment," said Greg Huffman, director, Relex Solutions. "Our platform assists with data-driven decisions that improve both service levels and operational efficiency."

Relex partner Wysupp will implement the solution, which integrates forecasting, replenishment, and inventory visibility into a single, unified platform.

[READ MORE: Gordon Food Service Store unifies forecasting and replenishment]

"Implementations like this go beyond technology, they require close collaboration and a strong understanding of retail and supply chain realities to drive real results,” said Sandra Oliveira, CEO at Wysupp. “It's great to be part of a transformation that will help Pep Boys operate with greater visibility, efficiency, and confidence moving forward,” 

Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, Penn., Pep Boys operates more than 850 locations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

A lifestyle apparel brand has tapped a new leader to oversee its in-store experience.

Psycho Bunny, which offers apparel for men, women and children, has named Kevin Ramstack as VP of stores. In his new role, he will oversee all retail store operations, focusing on driving performance, strengthening field leadership, and elevating the customer experience across Psycho Bunny’s footprint.

Ramstack most recently served as VP of commercial and luxury apparel brand Club Monaco, where he spent a total of eight years. Prior to Club Monaco, Ramstack spent over 15 years at Abercrombie & Fitch, rising through the ranks from district manager to senior director of operations. During his tenure there, Ramstack led international expansion, “Store of the Future” initiatives, and omnichannel programs such as buy online, pick-up in-store.

[READ MORE: Q&A: Designing retail spaces to attract Gen Z]

“Kevin’s depth of experience across both stores and digital, along with his ability to lead teams through periods of growth and change, makes him a strong addition to our leadership team,” said Alen Brandman, owner and chairman of Psycho Bunny. “As we continue to expand our retail presence, his leadership will be critical in strengthening our field organization and delivering a best-in-class in-store experience.”

Headquartered in Montreal, Psycho Bunny operates nearly 150 stores worldwide.

"I’m excited to join Psycho Bunny during such a dynamic moment," said Ramstack. "The store environment is where our brand truly comes to life. I look forward to collaborating with the team to translate Psycho Bunny’s fearless spirit into a high-energy, immersive experience for every customer who walks through our doors."