Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2017 Operating Results and September Sales Results

Last week we issued an urgent appeal to help fund a suit we hope to file against the state of Massachusetts and its outrageous “cookie nexus” regulation. The full appeal is below, but in a nutshell, we can only file this action with your help. Some have already stepped up with pledges and we thank you for that. To all others, we need your help. This will become a national standard if not opposed. If you are with a high profile company, review our appeal below. Then please let us know we can count on you by clicking on the auto-reply email below. Also this week, the Boston Herald ran an article on the topic in case you missed it... Help Thwart Massachusetts’s Cookie Nexus Law Industry Must Fund Legal Challenge Or Face Consequences Dear Catalog & E-commerce Industry Members: Place a cookie or provide an app that is downloaded by a Massachusetts resident and you have just created a physical presence in the state, according to a new regulation being promulgated. The State Department of Revenue introduced this approach once before, only to have it struck down in court following an ACMA/NetChoice lawsuit. But after correcting the defects pointed out by us, MA is back with a new approach that flies in the face of both the Quill presence and the Internet Tax Freedom Act. This dangerous expansion of state powers will be quickly replicated elsewhere if uncontested. Recall how quickly the click-thru nexus laws expanded? New York promoted this new approach unopposed, which then spread to 20 other states almost overnight. Click Read More below for additional detail.

For the third quarter ended October 28, 2023, net sales decreased 6.8 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2022. Gross merchandise value ("GMV") decreased 7.1 percent. Third quarter net sales include a 270 basis point negative impact from the wind-down of Canadian operations. Anniversary Sale timing, with one week shifting from the second quarter to the third quarter, had a positive impact of approximately 200 basis points on net sales compared with 2022. Excluding the impacts of the Canadian wind-down and Anniversary Sale timing shift, net sales would have been down approximately 6 percent. During the quarter, Nordstrom banner net sales decreased 9.4 percent and GMV decreased 9.8 percent. Net sales for Nordstrom Rack decreased 1.8 percent. During the third quarter, active grew by double-digits, and beauty and accessories were up by low single-digits, versus 2022.

Two weeklies based in Colorado Springs are set for relaunch only a couple of months after being closed. Business partners J.W. Roth and Kevin O’Neil have acquired the rights to publish the Colorado Springs Independent and Colorado Springs Business Journal. The partners have formed a for-profit business, Pikes Peak Media Company, to produce the titles.