Costco’s sales up more than 7% for second quarter
Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco Wholesale will raise it’s starting wages to $15 and $15.50 per hour from $14 and $14.50 per hour in the United States and Canada after reporting a higher than anticipated quarterly report, according to a report from CNBC.
Net sales for the second quarter increased 7.3 percent to $34.63 billion from $32.28 billion last year. Net sales for the first 24 weeks increased 8.7 percent, to $68.94 billion from $63.40 billion last year.
Costco is best known for its private label, Kirkland Signature, which last year raked in nearly $40 billion, an 11 percent increase from 2017.
"Kirkland is a brand in its own right," said Karen Short, retail analyst at Barclays in a CNN interview. "It is one of the reasons people go to Costco. That's not necessarily something you can say about many private labels."