News Briefs

Costco Wholesale Corp. continued its momentum in August as its value proposition continues to attract bargain-focused shoppers.

The membership-based warehouse club’s net sales rose 7.1% to $19.83 billion for the four weeks ended September 1, up from $18.51 billion last year. Total comparable sales for the period rose 5%, rising 4.7% in the U.S. and 4.5% in Canada. International comps rose 7.5%.  

E-commerce comp sales surged 22.9%.

Total comparable sales excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange rose 7.1%, rising 6.7% in the U.S. and 5.8% in Canada. International comps rose 10.8%.  E-commerce comp sales increased 23.3%.

At the beginning of September, and for the first time since June 2017, Costco raised its membership fees in the U.S. and Canada. The hike brings the annual fee to $65 from $60. 

Costco currently operates 890 warehouses, including 614 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 108 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 35 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 19 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, four in Spain, two in France, and one each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden. 

The company also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

Developer Daniel McCahan, who spent nearly the last 14 years at Madison Marquette, has been named the president of Peterson Companies, the forward-thinking development company that created National Harbor in the nation’s capital and the newly renamed Rio Lakefront in Gaithersburg, Md.

"Dan brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success in both the commercial and residential real estate sectors,” said Peterson CEO Jon Peterson. “His expertise and perspective will be instrumental as we continue to build on our strong legacy and embark on the next phase of our journey.”

As COO at Madison Marquette, McCahan was responsible for providing oversight for the company’s corporate support functions, integrated services platform, investment management and portfolio goals. He previously served as the director of development at Archstone and development manager of Urban Atlantic.

At Peterson, he will be responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of the company’s multi-product commercial real estate portfolio. 

“I am looking forward to this next chapter in my career,” McCahan said. “Having long admired Peterson Companies’ commitment to excellence and its impact on the Washington, D.C. region, I am eager to work alongside this talented team to build on the firm’s strong foundation and drive future success.”

McCahan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Fossil Group Inc. has ended its search for a new chief executive.

The company has appointed Franco Fogliato as CEO and a member of the board of directors. He succeeds Jeffrey Boyer, Fossil’s interim CEO, who will resume his previous role as COO and step down from the board. The changes are effective Sept. 18.

Earlier this year, in March, Kosta N. Kartsotis stepped down after leading the company for nearly 25 years. His departure was announced in Fossil’s fourth-quarter earnings report in which it reported that full-year sales fell 16% to $1.4 billion and net losses totaled $157 million. The company also said it was understaking a strategic review.

Fogliato joins Fossil from Salomon, a sports equipment and apparel manufacturer owned by Amer Sports Inc., where he has served as president and CEO since November 2021. At Salomon, Fogliato led a successful turnaround of the business, streamlining operations, creating a refreshed brand identity and platform and driving robust revenue and profit growth. 

Prior to Salomon, Fogliato spent eight years at Columbia Sportswear Company, most recently serving as executive VP of global omnichannel. He previously spent eight years as CEO Europe at Billabong Group. Earlier in his career, Fogliato held executive roles at The North Face. 

“Franco brings over 25 years of consumer industry expertise, along with focus, leadership acumen, and disruptive vision, to this role,” said Kevin Mansell, chairman, Fossil. “We are extremely confident that his experience stewarding great brands and driving transformation will lead Fossil to its next chapter.”

Eyemart Express has named a new chief financial officer.

The optical retailer has added Aaron Cho to its C-suite, who joins the company from medical equipment provider Synapse Health, where he was responsible for building scalable infrastructure and overseeing all funding, liquidity and capital management.

"Aaron will be a key player in enhancing our growth trajectory with his extensive leadership experience in finance and a proven track record of driving results throughout the health care sector," says Mike Nuzzo, Eyemart Express CEO. "His deep understanding of corporate development, operations, and risk management will be invaluable to our leadership team and eye doctor partners at Eyemart Express."

Cho previously held executive financial roles at several eyewear and health-related companies, including Eyecare Services Partners, Access Dental Services (a subsidiary of Guardian Life Insurance) and Surgical Care Affiliates. Cho has also worked for business consultancy firms Capco and Ernst & Young.

"Joining Eyemart Express as CFO is a true privilege, and I'm looking forward to collaborating with Mike and the talented Eyemart Express team to strengthen the company's 34-year legacy and drive the innovative business forward," said Cho.

[READ MORE: Optical retailer taps Sleep Number leader for C-suite role]

Eyemart Express was founded in 1990 and operates a family of stores including Vision 4 Less, Visionmart Express and Eyewear Express. Based in Farmers Branch, Texas, Eyemart Express has 251 stores across 42 states.

Political affiliations of brands might not have as much influence on purchasing decisions as some may think.

The majority (62%) of consumers care very little about a brand’s political affiliation, with 32% of them saying political stances don’t influence purchasing decisions at all, according to a survey by Sitejabber, a destination for customer reviews of businesses. Thirty-percent of consumers have boycotted a brand over political reasons in the past 12 months.

Importantly, as the 2024 election approaches, 41% of buyers prefer that companies keep their political positions private.

“At a time when our country feels so divided, it’s refreshing to see that political sentiments might not have as much impact on purchasing decisions as the media would lead us to believe,” said Michael Lai, CEO and co-founder of Sitejabber. 

Other key findings from the report include: 

•Consumers generally refrain from writing politically motivated reviews. The majority (80%) say they have never left a public review or comment about a product or service specifically because of the company’s political stance, and 78% report they are unlikely to mention a company’s political affiliation when writing a review. 

•Many customers believe they are savvy enough to remain impartial when reading politically-motivated reviews, with 44% being aware of the practice of “review bombing” and 34% reporting that a sudden influx of negative company reviews would not affect their purchasing decision. 

Review bombing is a coordinated assault on a brand, often fueled by disgruntled customers, competitors or even online trolls for various reasons, including political motivations. In recent years, this form of attack has become an increasingly challenging issue for businesses across industries, noted SiteJabber. It can be devastating to a business’s online reputation. 

MarketSight conducted the survey, which included 1,000 online responses from consumers aged 21+ across the United States.

A new study hopes to serve as a “wake-up call” to the fashion industry by highlighting the disparity between the sizing of American women and what they’re being advertised and sold.

The majority (54.4%) of American women are considered "plus-size" (wearing a size 14 or above), according to new data from social-commerce platform Mys Tyler. Yet only 0.8% of the looks at New York Fashion Week AW24 were plus-size, despite the majority of women falling into this category. 

“Despite making up a significant portion of the population, 'plus-size' women are still overlooked by most brands, and even in 2024, size-inclusive representation is heavily lacking on runways and in advertising,” said Mys Tyler founder Sarah Neill. “Our community continues to shares with us the challenges they face when shopping in-store and online.”

According to “Mys Tyler Insights – U.S. Edition 2024,” the most common dress size in America is size 16. Also, the average American woman has a height of 5'4" and the majority of American women (58.3%) wear a D cup or larger.

Underrepresentation in the fashion industry not only has a negative impact on how women feel about their bodies, but it directly translates to an inefficient shopping experience, poor fit and high return rates — negatively impacting profits and environmental sustainability, according to Neill.

“We hope the industry sees this data and uses it as a call to action to help increase representation and size-inclusivity,” she said.

Mys Tyler is a body-positive fashion app designed to help women buy clothes online. A proprietary FIT Algorithm matches shoppers with fashion creators who are most relevant (similar height, shape, size, age and coloring) so they can see clothes on a body like theirs.