Costco’s organic sales double, still growing
Costco’s organic sales double, still growing
Costco Wholesale Corp.’s sales of organic produce have seen tremendous growth recently. In 2014, the company’s organics were approaching $3 billion in sales, which Richard Galanti, chief financial officer, said was more than twice what the company did two years earlier.
"It's growing fast,” he said in a conference call discussing Costco's operating results for the first half of fiscal 2015. "I don't know if it's 50 percent a year, but it's certainly growing at a high... number. And it's great for us, because we show even a better value on that stuff than some of the things that it replaces."
Galanti noted that there is still plenty of room for growth: "It's still a small percentage of Costco. It's a rising — but it's a fast-growing area, as it is with a lot of other retailers as well. You're going to see more and more of it.”
While Costco’s organic products are more robust in some areas of the country, developments in the supply situation may change that in the future.
Part of the challenge, he said, is availability. "We — and everybody else — could sell a lot more if there was more out there,” Galanti said. "I think we're doing a pretty good job of lining up our sourcing.”
Costco currently operates 671 warehouses, including 474 in the United States and Puerto Rico.
