Latest news with #membership
CBS News
4 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
New York Equinox and SoulCycle members may be eligible for $250 refunds. Here's how to get it.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $600,000 settlement with Equinox and SoulCycle over difficulties people had canceling their membership. Under New York law, subscription services require consent for automatic renewals and must provide a simple method to cancel. The attorney general's office found Equinox's subscription terms were not in compliance. "New Yorkers should be able to cancel a membership they no longer use or want without breaking a sweat," James said. "The Equinox Group made it challenging for customers to end their membership, costing them time and money. As a result of my office's settlement, New Yorkers can now cancel their membership with Equinox, SoulCycle, or any of Equinox Group's brands much faster." "Prior to being made aware of this inquiry, we had already begun to make changes to our terms and conditions in conformance with all statutory requirements, and our policies are in full compliance. We are pleased that this matter is resolved," an Equinox and SoulCycle spokesperson said. How to get the settlement money Under the settlement, subscribers who filed complaints with the Equinox Group, the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission or the Office of the Attorney General between Feb. 9, 2021 and Dec. 31, 2024 are eligible for refunds of up to $250. New York Equinox, Equinox+ and SoulCycle members may also be eligible to $100 in restitution. In both cases, people must submit their request via email by Aug. 2. Equinox Gym and Equinox+ subscribers who tried to cancel their subscriptions in that time should email NewYorkAGclaims@ and SoulCycle subscribes should email NewYorkAGclaims@ Requests must include the name of the subscriber along with the phone number or email on their account.
South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Member loses HK$38,000 as Hong Kong branch of Singaporean 1880 club faces probe
The sudden closure of 1880 Hong Kong, a private members club based out of Singapore, left members reeling, with one losing HK$38,000, paid out for a full-year membership just two months prior, while others have complained to Customs, alleging a violation of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance. The club, located in Quarry Bay's Two Taikoo Place, operated for only seven months before shutting down last Friday due to 'cash flow difficulties'. It has been accused of owing rent and wages to more than 100 employees, with some staff seeking help from the labour authorities. Hong Kong Customs said in response to queries from the Post, that they have received complaints and are investigating. Enforcement action will be taken if any breaches of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance are found. It added that it is an offence if a trader intends not to supply a product or has no reasonable grounds to believe they can supply it within a specified or reasonable period. Offenders could face a fine of HK$500,000 (US$63,760) and five years' imprisonment upon conviction. A marketing professional, who wished to remain anonymous, joined the club in late March for its co-working space and networking opportunities, paying HK$24,000 in joining fees and HK$14,000 for a full-year membership. 'We found that [the membership] is helpful for business, especially on the networking part … they kept assuring us that they have already operated in Singapore for more than seven years and they are a reputable membership club,' she told the Post.
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
NATO east flank backs Ukraine membership, Poland, Romania and Lithuania say
VILNIUS, June 2 (Reuters) - Nordic, Baltic and central European NATO members are committed to Ukrainian membership of the military alliance, the leaders of Poland, Romania and Lithuania said following a summit of the so-called B9 and Nordic countries on Monday. NATO allies declared their support for Ukraine's "irreversible path" towards membership at last year's Washington summit. But President Donald Trump has since said that prior U.S. support for Ukraine's NATO bid was a cause of the war and has further indicated that Ukraine will not get membership. Russian President Vladimir Putin's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging NATO eastwards, and lift a chunk of sanctions on Russia, Reuters reported last week. Poland, Romania and Lithuania said on Monday, after a meeting of Nordic, Baltic and Eastern European leaders in the capital of Lithuania, that the region remains committed to the path towards Ukrainian NATO membership, and called for further pressure on Russia, including more sanctions. "We stand firm on Allied decision and commitment regarding Ukraine's irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership. Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements and to decide its own future, free from outside interference," they said in a joint statement released on behalf of all meeting participants. The meeting, held ahead of a NATO summit at The Hague later this month, included Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The State With The Most Sam's Club Warehouses
Sam's Club has stores in 44 of the 50 United States, so most Americans have the opportunity to shop there for things like the top finisher in customers' ranking of grocery store rotisserie chicken, or the Sam's Club items under $10 you need to try. But there's one state where you have the best chance of finding one of the popular membership warehouse club's locations, because it's packed with so many of them: Texas. The Lone Star state has a whopping 82 of Sam's Club's 601 total U.S. locations (including Puerto Rico), dozens ahead of second-place Florida's 45 stores, and California's third-most 29. Texas is also home to the top three cities with the most Sam's Clubs: Dallas and Houston with seven each, and San Antonio with six (via ScrapeHero). So why are there so many Sam's Club's in Texas? Bank robber Willie Sutton is famously reported to have said he robbed banks because that's where the money is, and Texas is where the people are. The state is second largest in the U.S. in both population, after California, and size, behind only Alaska. The South Central part of the country is also part of Sam's Club's history. The first location was opened by Walmart founder Sam Walton — the namesake "Sam" — just north of Texas in Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1983 after he was inspired by Price Club. Additionally, the third store ever opened was in Dallas, and Sam's Club is owned by Walmart, which is headquartered in neighboring Arkansas. Read more: The Biggest Kirkland Signature Flops In Costco History Texas has a key role in Sam's Club's ambitious future plans as well. The company announced in April 2025 that it intends to open about 15 new stores a year and renovate all of its U.S. stores. The universal remodel will be based on the digital-focused renovation of a Grapevine, Texas, Sam's Club that reopened in 2024 after being damaged by a tornado two years earlier. Among the changes, checkout registers will be replaced with a "Scan & Go" app customers use as they shop, and items only available online will be displayed that shoppers can purchase by scanning a QR code. Sam's Club main competitors Costco and (to a lesser extent) BJ's Wholesale Club, also have plans for expansion. With 628 U.S. locations, Costco is larger than Sam's Club, but not by a lot, present in a total of 47 states. It has 143 stores in California, followed by Texas with 42 (nearly half of Sam's Club's presence in the Lone Star State). The two rivals both have their pluses and minuses, including 13 things Sam's Club does better than Costco. BJ's is more than half the size of the other two big warehouse sellers, with 274 stores concentrated in the eastern United States. Currently, the retailer has no locations in Texas, although recent plans announced that BJ's has set its sights on multiple locations in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, with a projected opening set for early 2026. However, the newcomer to the state will have the 82 already operating Sam's Club locations to contend with. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Costco Stock: Can the Momentum Continue?
Costco Wholesale turned in another strong quarter, as it works to navigate tariff uncertainty. The company's investments in improving the customer experience appear to be paying off. Meanwhile, it continues to benefit from last fall's membership-price hike. 10 stocks we like better than Costco Wholesale › Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) continues to be one of the biggest winners in retail, turning in yet another strong quarter amid tariff uncertainty. Its stock also has kept its winning ways, up about 13% year to date and 235% over the past five years (as of this writing). Let's dig into the retailer's most recent results to see whether its momentum can continue. Not surprisingly, tariffs were a main topic of discussion when Costco held a call with analysts to discuss its fiscal third-quarter earnings. The company said tariffs pose a significant challenge, but it feels confident in its ability to navigate the current uncertain environment. It's working on ways to mitigate the impact, including sourcing more goods locally and actively rerouting products. It said it also strategically pulled forward seasonal summer items. Costco is also working on improving the customer experience. This includes things like investing in technology to expedite the checkout process, extending gas-station hours, and opening new locations around high-volume warehouse stores to help alleviate congestion. It also recently added a "buy now, pay later" program for big-ticket items, which it says is showing initial promise. These initiatives appear to be paying off, with quarterly revenue rising 8% to $63.21 billion and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increasing 13% to $4.28. That was ahead of the analyst consensus for EPS of $4.24 on revenue of $63.19 billion, as compiled by LSEG. Same-store sales also rose 8% when adjusting for changes in gasoline prices and foreign currency. U.S. same-store sales jumped 7.9% (adjusted), while Canadian comparable-store sales climbed 7.8% (adjusted). Other international same-store sales increased 8.5% (adjusted). E-commerce revenue increased 15.7% on an adjusted basis. Excluding gasoline and currency effects, the average transaction was up 2.7% worldwide and 2.3% in the U.S. Traffic climbed 5.2% worldwide and 5.5% in the U.S. Meat and produce performed well in the quarter, while gold and jewelry, toys, housewares, and home furnishings were all up by double-digit percentages. Membership-fee revenue climbed 10.4% in the quarter to $1.24 billion, as the company continued to benefit from the fee hike that went into effect in September. Memberships, meanwhile, rose by 6.8% to 79.6 million paid households. Higher-cost executive memberships climbed 9% to 37.6 million; these customers account for only 47% of total paid memberships, but 73% of Costco's worldwide sales. The membership renewal rate was 92.7% in North America and 90.2% worldwide. Both numbers were down slightly due to more digital signups, which have slightly lower renewal rates. The company said that a higher percentage of online signups from younger consumers has led to slightly lower renewal rates. Costco also continues to expand, opening eight new locations in the quarter. It ended the quarter with 905 warehouse stores and expects to open nine more locations this quarter. It said approximately 80% of its openings in fiscal Q4 will be in markets with high levels of traffic and they will cannibalize some existing store sales, but ease congestion. When you compare Costco's same-store sales growth to retail competitors, it's clearly winning and taking market share. Target had an awful quarter in which its comparable-store sales fell 3.8%, but even Walmart's 4.5% growth in U.S. same-store sales couldn't come close to matching Costco's 7.9% rise. Consumers just continue to flock to the value that warehouse stores provide. As Costco continues to outperform, its valuation has continued to expand. The stock now trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 57.5. Costco's stock has always had a premium valuation, but that has really ballooned in the past few years: While I think Costco is a great company, I also think it's difficult to justify such a high multiple given its revenue growth (with percentages in the low teens). It's adding new locations, but some of these will cannibalize sales at existing stores. In addition, its new-location growth is less than 3% this fiscal year, showing the maturity of the concept. That said, I also don't know what will stop the stock's momentum. A high valuation has long been a knock on the stock, but it just keeps rising. I personally wouldn't chase it here, but Costco has proved many investors wrong in the past. 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The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Costco Stock: Can the Momentum Continue? was originally published by The Motley Fool
