We were glad to see that Wal-Mart [Stores] executives appeared on your recent list of the 50 most powerful industry people [SN, July 26, 2004]. However, we think readers may have gotten a skewed look at the warehouse club industry in that issue from your profile of Costco CEO Jim Sinegal, one of your Power 50.
ustry in operating profit -- a key metric ignored in your overview. In fact, for the six months ended July 31, Sam's had operating profit of $619 million, an increase of 20.7% over the previous year.
We attribute this success to our ongoing commitment to serve our core members: small businesses. Our goal is to help them succeed. We're constantly working to provide the best products and services to them at the everyday low costs they expect from us.