Connected Home Category Thriving Via BJ’s ‘Optimization’: New CEO
BJ’s Wholesale Club had “elevated consumer spending” in fiscal Q1 ended May 1, retained its 2020 market share gains “and enjoyed benefits from government stimulus payments,” said CEO Bob Eddy on a quarterly call Thursday. Same-store sales grew 22% in…
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the quarter on a two-year “stacked” basis, he said. Connected home is among categories “performing well” under the strategy, he said. “Digitally enabled sales” grew 31% in the quarter, and 380% on a two-year stacked basis, said Eddy. Members have downloaded the BJ’s app more than 5 million times, and about a third use it “regularly,” he said. Eddy was leading his first such call as CEO after the unexpected death April 8 of Lee Delaney (see 2104090009). Delaney’s “legacy remains ingrained in our culture and in how we will run our business,” said Eddy. The stock closed 5% lower Thursday at $46.16 after falling 9.4% earlier in the day when Chief Financial Officer Laura Felice said BJ's would refrain from giving "formal" 2021 "guidance." FY 2021 "remains difficult to forecast, given the number of uncertainties, most notably related to the timing and size of the shift of our consumer behavior away from food at home," as people return to dining out, she said. "We would expect comps for the remainder of the fiscal year to be in the negative 10% range," suggesting a ripple effect in same-store sales as consumers eat in restaurants.