PriceSmart On Track To Open More Warehouse Clubs As Revenues Rise

Warehouse club operator PriceSmart, which runs 47 locations in 12 nations and one U.S. territory, said that total revenues for its third quarter increased by approximately 12 percent to about $895 million.

For the three months ending on May 31, 2021, the San Diego-based company said that net merchandise sales increased by approximately 12 percent to approximately $858 million from about $768 million in the same quarter the previous fiscal year.

Comparable net merchandise sales for the 45 warehouse locations that have been open for more than 13.5 calendar months climbed by approximately 9 percent for the quarter from the same period the past year.

“Our investments in technology and our omni-channel initiatives have enabled us to further enhance services, benefits, and convenience for our Members, among other things. Our trailing 12-month Membership renewal rate is 87.6 percent — higher than its pre-COVID level — and our Membership base is rapidly approaching its peak pre-COVID level,” CEO Sherry S. Bahrambeygui said in the announcement.

However, the executive noted that the firm keeps contending with “significant challenges in several of our markets, including rising COVID cases, club closures and restrictions, social unrest and economic pressures.”

Even so, Bahrambeygui said that the firm is on pace with its plan to bring new warehouse clubs to Portmore, Jamaica in spring of 2022, along with Bucaramanga, Colombia and Guatemala City, Guatemala in the autumn of this year.

The news comes after PriceSmart reported that total revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 increased by 3.4 percent.

At the time, the firm reported that comparable net merchandise sales for the 45 locations that had been open for more than 13.5 calendar months climbed by 1.1 percent for the 13 weeks ending on Feb. 28, 2021 from the comparable timeframe of the past year.

“PriceSmart achieved solid results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2021, with continued focus on strengthening our company as a trusted part of our members’ lives,” Bahrambeygui said in April.