Latest news with #Wholesale
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Costco set to open 4 new US locations in August. Here's where.
Costco is set to open seven new locations globally in August, including four of them in the United States. The next wave of stores comes on the heels of three new openings in South Korea, Sweden, and Midland, Texas in June and July, as well as a handful of new stores that opened in the U.S. this spring. The wholesale warehouse juggernaut is a staple of American shopping and a cult hero for shoppers around the world, with millions of card-carrying members and hundreds of locations in the U.S. and abroad. Costco aims to open 25-30 new locations each year, typically with half of them in the U.S. and the other half in international markets, chief financial officer Gary Millerchip said in March. Here is where Costco is opening next month. How Costco hooks shoppers: Come for the hot dogs, stay for the gold bars Costco lists seven locations with future opening dates in August on its "Coming Soon" page. Rimouski, Quebec (opening Aug. 5) The Villages, Florida (opening Aug. 6) North Guadalajara, Mexico (opening Aug. 7) Richland, Washington (opening Aug. 8) Allen, Texas (opening date TBA) East Newmarket, Ontario, Canada (TBA) Spring Valley, Nevada (TBA) USA TODAY has reached out to Costco for more information. Costco opened stores in March, April, June and July this year: Brentwood, California Highland, California Sharon, Massachusetts Genesee County, Michigan Prosper, Texas Weatherford, Texas Stuart, Florida Ardeer, Australia Minami Alps, Japan Pyeongtaek, South Korea Malmö, Sweden Midland, Texas USA TODAY's James Powel and Mike Snider contributed to this report. Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Costco opening 4 new stores in August. See list of locations.
Wamda
14-07-2025
- Business
- Wamda
MENA founders: stop obsessing over profit. start tracking cash
The income statement, often regarded as the pinnacle of financial reporting, may be deceiving you. Yes, it's one of the Big Three: the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement. And yes, it tells you how much "income" your company has made. However, most business owners overlook the fact that it doesn't provide a complete picture. Let me explain. Revenue is not always cash The income statement starts with revenue. That's the number everyone gets excited about. But revenue is not cash. Just because you've 'earned' income doesn't mean you've received it. In sectors like construction, SaaS, and wholesale, it's common to recognise revenue months before you get paid. That's where Accounts Receivable shows up, but not on the income statement. It's on the balance sheet. So, you could show strong revenue growth and still be cash-starved. This is not a theoretical risk. Many businesses end up raising funding just to survive the gap between delivering a project and actually getting paid. That's called a working capital crunch, and it can kill a growing business faster than lack of demand. The mismatch between revenue recognition and cash collection is one of the most dangerous traps for fast-growing businesses. You're scaling, taking on more clients, maybe even hiring, but the cash just isn't there yet. And by the time you realise it, you're deep in a liquidity problem. Not all expenses are cash Take depreciation. It's an expense that reduces your net profit, but it doesn't touch your cash that month. You're simply spreading out the cost of an asset over its useful life, an accounting trick that's important for reporting but not for managing your liquidity. So if your net income looks low, don't panic. Look deeper. You might be doing just fine on cash, which is what really keeps the business alive. Timing differences skew reality The income statement operates on the accrual basis of accounting. That means it matches revenues with related expenses, regardless of when the cash changes hands. That sounds appealing in theory, but it creates a disconnect. You might incur expenses in one period and get the revenue in the next. Alternatively, it could be the other way around. Either way, it distorts the picture, especially if you look at one period in isolation. For example, a large one-time expense can tank your profit this quarter even if your business is performing well over the year. Without context, you might make a hasty cut or pull back on investment unnecessarily. Should we consider moving away from using the income statement? The answer is no. The income statement is still a powerful tool — especially for comparisons. It allows you to benchmark your company against others in your industry using standard metrics. If I tell you my revenue grew by 15%, that might sound great. But if everyone else grew by 25%, now we're having a different conversation. It also gives you visibility into how you're spending. The split between COGS (direct costs) and operating expenses is vital. If your gross margin is healthy but your net margin is weak, you may be overspending on admin, marketing, or headcount — which are management decisions, not production issues. The structure of the income statement helps you understand profitability at different levels: gross profit, operating profit, and net profit. Each one tells you something different. Gross margin helps you assess your pricing strategy and production efficiency. Operating margin reveals how lean or bloated your operations are. Net margin wraps it all up, but again, keep in mind what's behind it. The real compass: The cash flow statement Are you a founder or CEO seeking to maintain control? Focus on cash. How much cash is coming in, where is it coming from, and how much is going out? That's what the cash flow statement tells you. And it's the most honest reflection of your company's health. Ultimately, profit is merely a theoretical concept whereas cash represents actuality. Your cash flow statement answers critical questions: Are we generating enough cash from operations to sustain ourselves? Are we relying too much on financing? Are we investing wisely? These answers don't show up in your income statement. Cash is also what investors care about, especially in tough markets. If you're not regularly monitoring your burn rate, cash runway, and operational cash flow, then you are not managing your finances; instead, you are gambling with them. Final thought Every financial statement matters. But don't fall in love with your income statement. It tells one part of the story, and sometimes, it's the most flattering part. The best CEOs I have worked with understand this very well. They employ all three statements and comprehend their interconnectedness. But they know that if you want to truly understand the strength of a business and make smart decisions, you start with cash flow. That's where the real story lives. So next time someone waves a profit figure at you, smile politely — and ask to see the cash.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Costco Posts 6.8% Sales Growth in May, Slightly Slower Than April
Costco reported a 6.8% increase in sales for the month of May compared to May 2024. Comparable store sales rose less than analysts had expected, according to a note from JPMorgan analysts. The analysts said cooler than average weather in May could have slowed sales, while purchases rushed by tariffs likely peaked in March and Wholesale (COST) after the bell Wednesday said that its sales in May grew 6.8% year-over-year to $20.97 billion, slightly slower growth than the 7% that it saw in April compared to April 2024. The warehouse retailer's comparable store sales rose 4.1% in the U.S., 4.3% for the total company, and online sales grew 11.6% in May. The 5.5% comparable sales increase in the U.S., when excluding the impact of gas prices and foreign exchange rates, came in below the 6.4% analyst consensus, JPMorgan analysts wrote following the sales report. The analysts wrote that Costco's sales results are in line with some other retailers that mentioned in recent earnings reports that May sales were weaker than April or March, largely due to weather—including a cooler-than-normal Memorial Day weekend in parts of the country. Costco said it doesn't typically cite weather as a factor unless there is an extreme weather event, per the analysts. Any big purchases that consumers made ahead of schedule because of fears that tariffs would raise prices likely peaked in March and April, as executives said in last week's earnings call that they were seeing few tariff-motivated purchases at this point, according to the JPM analysts. The analysts said Costco's comparable sales growth could be pressured in the next few months as Costco laps the popular sales of its gold bars, which frequently sold out quickly when they were available. The retailer narrowly beat estimates in its fiscal third-quarter report, as other analysts have said Costco is well-positioned to navigate the tariff environment. Costco shares were little changed shortly ahead of markets opening, and are up nearly 15% since the start of the year but still just below record levels set in February. Read the original article on Investopedia
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New York's Retail Worker Safety Act Is Live
New York's retail crime compliance countdown has closed as the Retail Worker Safety Act (NYRWSA) has been implemented, and Governor Kathy Hochul's 'landmark legislation' has commenced. The Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union (RWDSU), for one, is grateful. More from Sourcing Journal Activists Know How to Stop Sexual Violence in the Garment Supply Chain. Will Brands Buy In? Are Amazon's Warehouses Facing an 'Injury Crisis'? SHIPS for America Act Reintroduced to Reinvigorate US Shipbuilding Effective June 4, the NYRWSA (S. 8358B/A. 8947C) will 'introduce critical safety measures to protect retail workers across the state,' according to the semi-autonomous division of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). 'Retail workers—and shoppers—across New York will be safer because of this law,' Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, said. 'Retail workers should not have to go to work every day in fear; this law goes a long way towards ending that.' New York State Senator Jessica Ramos introduced the NYRWSA last January to compel employers to evaluate their workplaces for risks, develop a violence prevention plan, provide ongoing safety training for workers—and revisit these efforts annually. The Harris-endorsing union has worked with Ramos and New York State Assemblymember Karines Reyes, who chairs its subcommittee on workplace safety, throughout the bill's ascension and amendments. While the New York State Senate passed S8358B last summer, Governor Kathy Hochul signed an amendment to the act in February, extending the effective date of some of its provisions to June 2. 'The Retail Worker Safety Act provides for preventative measures that will help deter violence and harassment before it starts,' Appelbaum said. 'And, most importantly, will assist workers in getting help quickly in the event of an emergency.' Retailers with 10 or more employees must develop 'comprehensive violence prevention plans, conduct regular risk assessments and provide biennial training on de-escalation techniques and active shooter scenarios,' the NYRWSA mandates. Retailers with 500 or more employees, meanwhile, must install silent response buttons—allowing 'workers to discreetly alert security personnel during emergencies,' the RWDSU said—before January 1, 2027. 'As a produce manager, I've witnessed firsthand the escalating tensions in retail environments,' said Edwin Quezada, a manager at a stop-and-shop in Long Island and Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW member. 'This Act ensures we have the training and tools to handle volatile situations, making our workplaces safer for both employees and customers. We worked hard to see it brought into law and I'm proud to see it starting to take effect.' The issue has become a source of anxiety for retail employees as retail crime ratchets up, a survey conducted by the RWDSU last spring found. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed said they've personally experienced verbal harassment or intimidating behavior at work. Eighty percent reported concerns about an active shooter entering their place of business. Seven percent reported that their employers 'made safety improvements following violent incidents,' per the survey. 'Every day I came to work with a pit in my stomach, not knowing if today would be the day someone got aggressive or violent,' said Nancy Almodovar, a salesperson at a major department store in Manhattan, per the RSDSU. 'We've been ignored for too long by our employers, but this law finally says: our safety matters. It gives us real tools and real protection—and for the first time in a long time, I feel like someone's looking out for us.' There's precedent for such programs, the labor union said. The NYRWSA builds on the public sector's workplace violence protection law from 2006 and uses the statutory framework of New York's 2018 workplace sexual harassment protection law, per the RWDSU. 'We are grateful that Governor Hochul has focused on preventing retail violence and theft and for bill sponsors Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Karines Reyes,' said Appelbaum.
Wall Street Journal
30-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Costco to Rely on Advancing Orders, Production Shifts to Offset Tariffs
Costco Wholesale COST 3.67%increase; green up pointing triangle is taking steps to reduce its exposure to tariffs by pulling orders forward and moving the sourcing of its private-label products to the regions where they are sold. These actions have helped lower costs for the warehouse-club chain, while also enabling it to avoid sharp price increases for consumers, Chief Executive Ron Vachris said on a call with analysts Thursday.
