Costco Comps Slip 2% in January

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $5.10 billion for the month of January, down 0.2% from $5.11 billion for the same period last year. Comparable store sales for the month declined 2.0% after an increase of 7.0% last year. For the first twenty-two weeks of its reporting period ended February 1, 2009, the company reported net sales of $30.02 billion, an increase of 1.3% from $29.64 billion during the similar period last year.

Comparable sales for the four-week and twenty-two-week periods ended February 1, 2009, were as follows:

                                           4 Weeks   22 Weeks

                                          ———  ———

                U.S.                          0%        +1%

                International                -9%        -9%

                Total Company                -2%        -1%

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Comparable sales for the four-week and twenty-two-week periods, excluding the negative impacts from gasoline deflation and foreign exchange (primarily in CN, UK and Korea), were as follows:

                                           4 Weeks   22 Weeks

                                          ———  ———

                U.S. (w/o gas deflation)     +4%        +3%

                International (w/o Fx)       +9%        +8%

                Total                        +5%        +4%

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