BJ's posts September sales increase
(File photo: Michael Fein/Bloomberg News)
BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. saw September sales rise as hard-pressed consumers flocked to stores offering low prices on essential goods such as food and gas.
In September, BJ's sales rose 11.8 percent to $892.8 million when compared with September 2007, the Natick-based chain of 178 stores said.
At stores open at least a year, a measure deemed to be a good barometer of a retailer's performance, BJ's September sales rose 10.4 percent from a year ago, including a contribution from sales of gasoline worth 4.8 percent in September 2008, BJ's said.
"The increase wasn't as big as Wall Street expected," the AP reported. "Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a same-store sales increase of 11.8 percent."
BJ's said in a press release: "Sales of food increased by approximately 10 percent, driven by strong sales of perishable foods. Sales of general merchandise decreased by approximately 3 percent, due in part to lower sales of televisions, jewelry, and toys versus last year."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
