Costco stands out over the holidays
Heavy discounting and slow traffic weighed on retailers’ December sales results, but Costco Wholesale Corp. ( COST ) was among the few that bucked the trend.
The wholesale club reported sales at stores open at least a year rose 5% for the month, topping expectations for a 2.6% increase. Among the stronger performing categories were garden, automotive, apparel, small appliances and home furnishings. The consumer electronics category posted improvement from recent months, but the metric still declined slightly.