Top 10 Retail Companies To Watch For 2015

Top 10 Retail Companies To Watch For 2015: Costco Wholesale Corporation(COST)

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouses that offer a selection of branded and private label products in a range of merchandise categories in no-frills, self-service warehouse facilities. The company's product categories include candy, snack foods, tobacco, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and cleaning and institutional supplies; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, office supplies, garden and patio, sporting goods, toys, seasonal items, and automotive supplies; dry and institutionally packaged foods; apparel, domestics, jewelry, house wares, media, home furnishings, cameras, and small appliances; meat, bakery, deli, and produce; and gas stations, pharmacy, food court, optical, one-hour photo, hearing aid, and travel. It also provides business and gold star (individual) membership services. As of April 26, 2011, the company operated 581 warehouses, including 425 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 80 in Canada, 22 in the Uni ted Kingdom, 7 in Korea, 6 in Taiwan, 8 in Japan, 1 in Australia, and 32 in Mexico. It also has Costco Online, an electronic commerce Web site, at costco.com in the United States and at costco.ca in Canada. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By patokehoe]

  The purchase of Harris Teeter is part of Krogers strategy to fend off rival discounters, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT), Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) and Target Corp (TGT). The firm intends to lower prices on items such as bread and milk, in order to attract more customers to the high-end products Harris Teeter has to offer. Thus, it will seek to drive traffic to its stores by using food as a loss leader, much the same way rivals operate. Reduced margins ! are expected, yet Kroger is still the best positioned traditional grocer to deal with the competition arising from non-traditional grocers. The firms 2,400 stores and $100 billion in annual sales, generate a scale which enables it to leverage fixed costs and thus compete with large rivals.

• [By Renu Singh]

  Costco's (NASDAQ: COST  ) performance this year has been patchy with shares down 5%. The company's second-quarter numbers slightly missed consensus expectations as heavy discounting during the holiday period ate into its margins. Weak sales, deflation in gas prices, and forex fluctuations also affected its second-quarter results. Moreover, with competition rising from big box retailers such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) and competitive pricing from dollar stores such as Dollar General (NYSE: DG  ) , is the membership warehouse retailer in for troubled times ahead?

• [By David Hanson]

  If done correctly, establishing or increasing a fee can avoid public outrage and be a great thing for shareholders. In late 2011, the beloved retailer Costco (NASDAQ: COST  ) clearly communicated to its member its intention to increase its annual membership fee by 10%, and in 2012, the company saw its highest annual membership renewal rate -- nearly 90% in the United States.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Costco (NASDAQ: COST  ) was also suffering today as the warehouse retailer fell 3% after reporting its quarterly earnings. Deep discounting was again the culprit, as profits dropped from $1.10 a share to $1.05, missing estimates at $1.17. Sales were also off the mark, up 6%, to $25.8 billion, but below estimates at $26.7 billion. Comps were solid, improving 3% or 5% when fuel and foreign-exchange effects are excluded, and new membership sign-ups rose 13%. Like many retailers, Costco cited bad weather as part of the reason for the slow quarter, and the report should remind investors that even the strongest ret! ailers ar! en't impervious to industry trends such as the deep discounting during the holidays. At a P/E of 24, the stock is also much pricier than its peers.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-retail-companies-to-watch-for-2015.html