Image | WBJ Source: Earnest Research
BJ's Wholesale Club sales, excluding gasoline, have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic.
May 21, 2020
BJ's, packed during outbreak, sees store sales jump 27%, profits 167%
Photo | Grant Welker
BJ's Wholesale Club former headquarters at 25 Research Drive in Westborough
By Grant Welker
The coronavirus pandemic has caused shoppers to stock up on food and other essentials while many are stuck working from home, are jobless or unable to go out to eat. BJ's Wholesale Club has been about as big of a beneficiary as any.
The Westborough retailer said Thursday its store sales jumped 27% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, and operating income doubled. Net sales hit $3.7 billion, and net income spiked to $96 million.
The revenue reports for the three months ending May 2 show how much the company has benefited from major shifts in consumer behavior that have brought spikes in sales at grocery stores and other sellers of necessities. Operating income at BJ's doubled during the quarter, hitting nearly $144 million. Profits jumped from $36 million to $96 million.
Sales data didn't include gasoline sales.
BJ's, which has 218 stores, saw sales double at one point in March compared to a year ago, according to previously reported data by the industry tracker Earnest Research. Earnest's data showed sales spiking beginning in early March and continuing at at least a one-fourth increase over last year through late April.
Although sales were at record highs for the company, BJ's said distribution costs rose during the pandemic, and sales declined in its higher-margin apparel business. Higher-margin services businesses were also shut down.
BJ's enhanced worker benefits during the pandemic, including increasing all hourly workers' pay by $2 an hour and giving bonuses for managers and key personnel. It also instituted an emergency paid leave policy that pays up to 14 days when an employee is under mandatory quarantine, and provided personal protective equipment for all workers. Office workers at the Westborough headquarters have been able to work from home.
BJ's said Thursday it repurchased $4 million of company stock early in the first quarter. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $0.69.
BJ's stock jumped on the earnings report news Thursday, trending up from a $29 range on Wednesday to more than $32 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.
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