Costco is thriving during the coronavirus pandemic: It just posted a $14 billion jump in annual sales

• Costco’s revenues were $167 billion in the year to August — up almost 10% on the previous year, it said on Thursday.
• Online sales for the year were up 50%, driven by purchases during the pandemic. Online sales more than doubled in both May and August compared to the same months in 2019.
• The warehouse chain posted a net profit for the year of just over $4 billion.
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Costco appears to have avoided the COVID-19 woes hurting other retailers: Its sales jumped by nearly $14 billion, or nearly 10%, in the year to August compared to the previous year, it said on Thursday.

The membership-only warehouse chain, which has nearly 800 branches worldwide, recorded a revenue of nearly $167 billion in the year to August 30.

This was mainly driven by a rise in sales, but Costco also earned slightly more in membership fees too, it said in its annual earnings.

And online sales for the year were up 50%. They peaked in May, when Costco made more than twice as much through online sales than in May 2019.

This slowed down slightly after lockdown restrictions were eased, and online sales in June and July showed year-on-year increases of 85% and 75%, but then jumped back to more than double the previous year in August.

In August, each of its US, Canada, and international divisions made at least 12% more in sales than the same time last year, it said.

The company posted an operating profit of $5.4 billion and a net profit of just over $4 billion for the year — up 14.7% and 9.4% respectively.

More than 30 large retailers and restaurant companies have filed for bankruptcy in the US so far this year.

Department store chain JCPenney filed for bankruptcy in May, saying in court documents that pandemic-related disruptions pushed it over the edge, but on September 9 it announced it had reached a tentative deal to save it from liquidation.

Off-price retailers Stein Mart and Century 21, home goods retailer Pier 1, and Modell’s Sporting Goods have all filed for bankruptcy and said they would close all stores.