Good morning,
BJ’s Wholesale Club is on a roll.
As a story in Supermarket News noted, the recent wave of closings of Walmart’s Sam’s Club membership stores appears to be tied to competition with BJ’s and Costco.
BJ’s, meanwhile, is inviting former Sam’s employees to apply for jobs. In all, more than 60 Sam’s stores are closing. The wholesale club is named after Walmart founder Sam Walton.
Sam’s is a long-time occupant of a store in Dover, but never expanded beyond the capital city. The store escaped the wave of closings and is the only membership warehouse store in a large chunk of Delaware
Costco, meanwhile, snapped up a prime site near Christiana Mall that has done well.
But it is BJ’s that has taken a liking to the First State.
After finding success with a store in the New Castle Farmer’s Market area, it has expanded to other blue collar areas south of Newark, and Elsmere.
The Massachusetts-based company also planted a flag in Sussex County with a. store in the rapidly growing Millsboro area.
As the Supermarket News story noted, BJ’s has done a good job of merchandising under a private equity owner that does not worry about quarterly financial reports.
Sam’s, meanwhile, has struggled to find the right mix for small business and consumer customers.
Have a great day. The newsletter returns on Friday. – Doug Rainey, publisher
