Grocery, Easter Sales Pace Wal-Mart Gain

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — U.S. sales at Wal-Mart Stores here increased by 5% in April, ahead of its own forecast, as consumers sought value in shopping for Easter items and groceries. The results included a 5.9% comparable-store sales increase at Wal-Mart stores and a 0.3% comp increase at the Sam’s Club warehouse division.

“We gained new customers, improved our market share position and found that when customers had more money to spend, they spent it more often at Wal-Mart,” Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Wal-Mart, said in a statement.

Other retailers reporting monthly sales Thursday provided “a mixed bag of lukewarm successes and more moderate failings than in early 2009,” according to a statement from Brian Gildenberg, chief knowledge officer of MVI, a Cambridge, Mass.-based retail consultancy.

Warehouse club Costco, Issaquah, Wash., posted an 8% monthly comp decline as compared to last year, while BJ’s Wholesale Club, Natick, Mass., said its comps improved 5.5% excluding fuel. “BJ's, as befits an operator with more of a traditional grocery profile, continues to perform well in this environment,” Gildenberg said.

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