4 Weeks 48 Weeks
-------- --------
US 10% 6%
International 11% 15%
Total Company 10% 8%
======== ========
The U.S. comparable sales figure includes, among other things, the effect
of gasoline price inflation, with the average sales price per gallon of
gasoline up 41 percent, as compared to the year-earlier July. Excluding
gasoline price inflation, U.S. comparable sales would have been up 6
percent. In addition, foreign exchange rates, primarily in Canada,
positively impacted international comparable sales results. On a local
currency basis, international comparable sales increased 9 percent in July.
Costco currently operates 538 warehouses, including 393 in the United
States and Puerto Rico, 75 in Canada, 20 in the United Kingdom, six in
Korea, five in Taiwan, eight in Japan and 31 in Mexico. The Company also
operates Costco Online, an electronic commerce web site, at www.costco.com
and at www.costco.ca in Canada. The Company plans to open an additional six
new warehouses (including the relocation of one warehouse to a larger and
better-located facility) prior to the end of its 2008 fiscal year on August
31, 2008.
Additional discussion of these sales results is available on a pre-recorded
telephone message. You can access the recording by dialing 1-800-642-1687
(conference ID 47691507). This recorded message will be available today
through 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday, August 8, 2008.
Certain statements contained in this document and the pre-recorded
telephone message constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these
purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address
activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or
anticipates may occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or
performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and
international economic conditions, including exchange rates, the effects of
competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets,
consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, conditions
affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate,
actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (including
health care and workers' compensation costs), rising costs associated with
the acquisition of merchandise (including the direct and indirect effects
of the rising cost of petroleum-based products and fuel and energy costs),
geopolitical conditions and other risks identified from time to time in the
Company's public statements and reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Contact Information: CONTACTS: Costco Wholesale Corporation Richard Galanti 425/313-8203 Bob Nelson 425/313-8255 Jeff Elliott 425/313-8264