Costco Raises Member Fees

ISSAQAH, Sash. – Costco Wholesale Corp. has said it plans to increase annual membership fees.

Richard A. Galanti, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said Costco believes "the enhanced value of... membership far exceeds the modest $5 and $10 increases in the fee level and will continue to allow us to bring our members even greater value on everything we offer."

Fees will be raised $5, to $55, for individual members and U.S. and Canadian business members; and $10, to $110, for executive members in the U.S. and Canada.

"It is a relatively small increase, and we don't take it lightly," Galanti said. "But we recognize modest increases are part of what we have done historically over 25 years, [and] every time we have done it, we take a hard look at ourselves and feel we have continued to enhance the value of that membership by a lot more than [the increase]."

The company disclosed plans for the fee increases at the same time it announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Aug. 28.

Net income for the 16-week quarter rose 10.7 percent to $478 million, with sales increasing 16.9 percent to $27.6 billion and comparable-store sales, excluding gasoline and foreign exchange rates, up 7 percent. For the year, net income was up 12.2 percent to $1.5 billion, while sales increased 14.2 percent to $87.1 billion and comps, excluding gas and foreign exchange rates, were up 6 percent.

The strongest comps came from the Southeast, the Midwest and California, "though all regions were fairly good," Galanti told industry analysts.

He said Costco plans to spend between $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion on capital expenditures in fiscal 2012 to open 20 new stores — the same number it opened in fiscal 2011. The company expects to increase capital spending in the two following fiscal years, Galanti added.

Asked about price increases, Galanti said, "Ultimately you have got to pass the increases on.” But despite "the gloom and doom we read about every day," he added, "we see pretty good stuff at our place, and we're reminded every day that the key is the value proposition and being out there and showing it every day."

Many Tanks! Retailers' Gas Deals

You can sit and cry about gas prices, or you can get moving and find ways to save.

In fact, a number of businesses, from gas stations to cereal brands, are dangling some enticing offers.

"Many major retailers are taking steps to cut costs for disgruntled drivers," said consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch. Woroch shared her tips on how to find those local gas bargains with Your Money.

Hit the supermarket: Check out Stop&Shop's Gas Rewards Program. For every dollar you spend at Stop & Shop using your Stop & Shop Card, you earn a point.

Earn 100 points and you will save 10 cents per gallon on gas at Stop & Shop gas stations or at participating Shell stations. You can redeem up to $2.20/gallon in a single fill-up.

"Stop & Shop shoppers can accelerate their gas savings by buying specific 'gas rewards' products in the supermarket that are marked with a special symbol," Woroch added.

Check out secondhandgift card websites: Discounted cards for popular gas stations like Shell can be bought at gift card sites like GiftCardGranny.com.

Supermarket Notes

Supermarket Notes

BLOOM LAUNCHES ONLINE SHOPPING

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bloom, the tech-savvy Food Lion banner, has launched a single-store test of an online ordering service here, dubbed "Groceries to Go." Customers can place their orders at ShopBloom.com and pick them up at the store, which is located at 2226 Park Road in Charlotte. In a statement on the chain's website, Bloom indicated that the service could expand to additional locations in the future. "Be on the lookout for Groceries to Go to arrive at your store in the future!" the website, which is powered by MyWebGrocer, states. The groceries are delivered to the customer's car by a store employee who is a "trained personal shopper." The service was offered at no charge through December.

MEATS GET NUTRITION LABELS: USDA

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said last week that it will require 40 of the most popular cuts of meat and poultry products to feature nutrition facts panels on their package labels by Jan. 1, 2012. The panels will include the number of calories in each product, as well as grams of total fat and saturated fat. Products that include a lean percentage statement, such as "76% lean," will also be required to list fat percentage, to help consumers better understand the amount of lean protein and fat in a product. Products that would be required to carry the new labels, including whole or boneless chicken breasts, ground turkey, beef whole cuts such as brisket or tenderloin steaks and ground hamburger.

WEGMANS PROMOTES FROZEN FRUIT

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Wegmans Food Markets is featuring frozen products in its pharmacies. Instead of moving frozen cases to the section, the retailer has added empty bags of Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Just Picked frozen fruits to this month's "eat well, live well" pharmacy display. The table is part of a new program showcasing foods that contribute to good health. "The latest one is designed to help you find affordable, healthy options to help balance family budgets strained with taxes and seasonal purchases coming home to haunt you," said Mary Ellen Burris, senior vice president of consumer affairs for Wegmans, in a column. Just Picked fruits have no sugar added and are free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, according to Burris. "They're harvested, cleaned and quickly frozen to maintain their flavor and texture. Great in smoothies, salsa and over cereal, each package contains about 3 cups of fruit," she said.

WEIS MARKETS LAUNCHES MOBILE SITE

SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets has announced the launch of a mobile version of weismarkets.com, offering customers access to its weekly circular, online ordering options for gift cards and party platters, prescription refills and a new Healthy Living section. The mobile version of the Weis website offers smartphone users improved access and is optimized for fast browsing and downloading, the retailer said. Shoppers using the mobile site can access localized versions of the Weis sales flier, sign up for email specials and online coupons, and develop shopping lists tailored to specific health or dietary needs.

ALDI OPENS IN THE BIG APPLE

BATAVIA, III. — Aldi's first store in New York City was expected to open Feb. 18, the retailer said. The store, located in the Rego Park section of Queens, had been in the planning stages for more than two years. The opening was to be one of an expected 80 to 100 new store openings for Aldi in the U.S. this year, a published report said.

MEIJER DEBUTS NEW GROCERY WEBSITE

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer Inc. has launched a new e-commerce site offering a range of dry grocery and HBC items for postal delivery. The new site, MeijerDoor-stepGrocer.com, is the retailer's first effort to sell non-bulk groceries online and is also the retailer's first foray into international online sales. The site offers more than 5,000 items, including national- and Meijer-brand grocery and beverage products, baby supplies, pet food, cleaning supplies, laundry products, health food and HBC items. More than 3,000 of the items are available as individual-size products, while the rest are available as multi-pack or bulk items. Shipping costs a minimum of $7.95, with the price scaled up based on the size of the order. International delivery carries an additional charge. For a limited time, Meijer is offering a 10% discount for orders exceeding $100.

Campbell's Expands School Labels Project

CAMDEN, N.J. � Campbell Soup Co. is expanding its Labels for Education program by partnering with other consumer packaged goods companies for the first time.

More than 30 items in Diamond Foods � Pop Secret micro-wavable popcorn line and about 100 BIC items � including pens, pencils and markers � are included in the program that started in August. Campbell is in discussions with other CPG companies as well.

Labels for Education awards points to schools for qualifying product purchases. Points can be redeemed for school items ranging from scissors to gymnastic beams. To accumulate points, shoppers remove UPC labels from participating products and mail them in for redemption. BIC products count as 1, 5 and 10 points, depending on the item and package size. Pop Secret products � including 100-calorie and multipack SKUs � count as 5 or 10 points.

The brands were chosen because they are strong iconic consumer brands and complementary to Campbell ��s brands, according to Geoff Jackson, Campbell ��s integrated shopper-marketing director. Additionally, they have high penetrations in households with kids, and a strong commitment to education and cause marketing, Jackson added.

Both brands will provide merchandising and marketing support, and distribute LFE points. The new items join hundreds of Campbell ��s products already in the program. These include Campbell ��s soups; Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers; Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse sandwich breads; V8 V-Fusion juices; V8 Splash juice drinks; Prego Italian sauces; Campbell s SpaghettiOs pasta; and Campbell ��s Select Harvest soups.

Along with the traditional program, Campbell runs an electronic version of LFE in Kroger, Safeway and ShopRite. �E-Labels for Education � simplifies the redemption process because shoppers simply enter their loyalty card number and designated school at elabelsforeducation.com. Each time a participating item is purchased, the school automatically receives points.

A Brief History of Coupons

Coupons have been around since the turn of the century �the 19^th century! In 1894, druggist Asa Candler, owner of the Coca-Cola formula, issued handwritten tickets for free glasses of his soon-to-be-famous soft drink. Technically, however, the first ��cents-off coupons � surfaced one year later in 1895, when C.W. Post started using coupons to advertise one-cent off his new healthy cereal brand known as Grape Nuts. Since those humble beginnings, coupon use has risen and is still a vital part of the current consumer mindset.

Although coupons were used in small measure in the 1890s, it wasn't until the Great Depression that coupons really began to make an impression on Americans. Prompted by the downward economic spiral of the 1930s, people throughout the country (mostly women at this time) began using these cents-off coupons on their weekly grocery bills. As the next decade wore on and the economy began to swing in the other direction, the habit of coupon using, rather than fading away, continued to thrive. At the same time, the form of the American grocery store began to change as larger supermarkets and chain stores replaced the old Mom&Pop shops. These larger corporations had more revenue to spend on things like sales and coupons, so as the demand for coupons increased, so did the supply.

By the mid-1960s, more than one-half of the nation was using coupons at least on occasion, and coupons were being distributed at a more rapid pace than ever before. Thankfully, less than a decade earlier, in 1957, the Nielsen Coupon Clearing House was established to assist in the redemption of this massive quantity of coupons. The next several decades saw a constant growth in both coupon distribution and redemption. The number of households using coupons was over 80% by the late 1990s, and by this time, both men and women were taking advantage of the savings.

With the advent and spread of the internet, coupon use skyrocketed. In the mid-90s, retailers began offering printable coupons that could be downloaded and brought into the store. Shortly thereafter, these same retailers, joined by dozens more, introduced online coupon codes which could be used to knock cents off of purchases. Now, i-Phone applications and other technological advances are making coupon use even more accessible to the everyday consumer, and the use of coupons continues to grow.

The Digital Age

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