Costco Q3 comp sales (ex. gas & f/x) +20.6% / U.S. +18.2% / Canada +32.3% / Other Int'l +22.9% / Ecom +41.2% Press release   ...Costco says free samples and food courts will fully return by June at USA Today. "About 170 of Costco's approximately 550 locations will bring back full sampling by the first week of June, with the rest of locations returning to full sampling by the end of June." Read more   ...Costco earnings call transcript Seeking Alpha   Gap Q1 comp sales +28% vs. 2020 and +13% vs. 2019 Press release   ...Gap CEO says [...]

  Best Buy Q1 enterprise comp sales +37.2% Press release   Dollar Tree Q1 comp sales: Enterprise +0.8% / Dollar Tree +4.7% / Family Dollar -2.8% Press release   Dollar General Q1 comp sales decreased 4.6% Press release   Burlington Stores Inc. comp sales +20% vs. 2019 Press release   Gap expands into home under new partnership with Walmart at AP. "The collection of more than 400 items is Gap’s first venture into the home category and it’s selling everything from bedding and bath goods to home decor. The collection will appear on Walmart’s site on June 24. They will [...]

  AutoZone 3rd Quarter comp sales increase 28.9% "As of May 8, 2021, the Company had 5,975 stores in the U.S., 635 in Mexico and 47 in Brazil for a total store count of 6,657." Press release   Deodorant, Teeth Whitener Fly Off the Shelves at Wall Street Journal. "Beauty products and teeth whiteners were big sellers during the most recent quarter at Walmart Inc., finance chief Brett Biggs said in an interview. “You can tell that the masks are coming off,” he said. Alarm clock sales doubled in April versus the same month last year at the country’s largest [...]

  Foot Locker Q1 comp sales +80.3% Press release   Ross Stores Q1 comp sales +13% vs. 2019 Press release   The Buckle Q1 net sales +48.6% vs. 2019 Press release   Amazon internal messages show the FTC is prodding the tech giant to punish fake-review schemers at Recode. "Communications between Amazon employees viewed by Recode also appear to expose an inconsistent punishment system in which employees need special approval for suspending certain sellers because of their sales numbers, while some merchants are able to keep selling products to Amazon customers despite multiple policy violations and warnings." Read more   [...]

  Petco Q1 comp sales +28% Press release   ...FURRY ANNUITY - Petco swings to a profit and boosts forecast, citing customer growth at CNBC. "You might get a Peloton once, you might redo your garage once, but once you have a new furry friend they are going to need to be fed, they are going to need to be groomed, they are going to need to be vaccinated for a decade or more,” Coughlin said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “We call it the furry annuity.” Read more   BJ's Wholesale Club Q1 comp sales (ex-gas) down 5% [...]

  Target Q1 comp sales +22.9% "Store comparable sales increased 18.0 percent...Digital comparable sales grew 50 percent...Same-day services (Order Pickup, Drive Up and Shipt) grew more than 90 percent...More than 95 percent of Target's first quarter sales were fulfilled by its stores." Press release   ...Target forecasts rising sales after bumper quarter as more Americans return to stores at Reuters. "Target's focus in building its private label brands, including designer dress collection and activewear line All in Motion, is paying off, with sales from the business rising 36% in the first quarter, their best growth so far. That also helped drive [...]

  Walmart US Q1 comp sales +6.0% / Sam's Club comp sales +7.2% Press release   ...Pent-up demand, stimulus power Walmart's 'optimism' for the year at Reuters. "Our optimism is higher than it was at the beginning of the year. In the U.S., customers clearly want to get out and shop," Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said in a statement. "We anticipate continued pent-up demand throughout 2021." Read more   Home Depot Q1 comp sales +31% Press release   ...Home Depot crushes Q1 estimates at CNBC. "For the company’s first quarter this year, it reported 447.2 million customer transactions, up [...]

  Target ends mask requirement for fully vaccinated customers at USA Today. "Given the CDC’s updated guidance last week, Target will no longer require fully vaccinated guests and team members to wear face coverings in our stores, except where it’s required by local ordinances," the retailer said in a statement Monday." Read more   Walmart says fully vaccinated employees can go without masks starting Tuesday at NY Post. Read more   China says retail sales grew 17.7% in April, missing expectations at CNBC. "That missed expectations of 24.9% growth in April, according to analysts polled by Reuters." Read more   [...]