Costco said price declines, particularly in big-ticket categories like consumer electronics, impacted comp store sales in its first fiscal quarter.
On an earnings call, chief financial officer Richard Galanti cited price deflation as a chief culprit behind flat hardline comps during the three-month period ended Nov. 20.
By way of example he pointed to TVs, whose November sales were up 2 percent in dollars and 17 percent in units.
“There’s been quite a bit of deflation in big-ticket items,” he said.
As a result in part, total comps for the quarter edged up 1 percent, and net sales rose 3 percent, to $27.5 billion.
But net income for the No. 1 warehouse club, which is largely derived from membership fees, was up 13.5 percent to $545 million, Galanti reported.
