Dive Brief:
- BJ’s Wholesale Club is preparing to hold a grand opening for a location in Forney, Texas, on Friday that will be the company’s first location in the state.
- The club retailer also said last week that it plans to open stores in Waxahachie, Southwest Fort Worth and Grand Prairie, Texas, “in the coming weeks.”
- BJ’s is putting down roots in Texas during a period when club retailers have recorded strong sales and added new locations at a brisk pace.
Dive Insight:
BJ’s is entering its 22nd state as the company prospers in an economic environment well-suited to its core strengths as a value-focused retailer with a robust grocery assortment.
The location in Forney, a city about 20 miles east of Dallas, will be the Massachusetts-based retailer’s 264th location. BJ’s last put down roots in a new state in January 2025, when it opened a location in Louisville, Kentucky.
The retailer is leveraging the recent spike in gas prices to draw attention to the Forney location ahead of its debut. On Wednesday, the company will offer regular gas for $2 per gallon at the store’s fuel station, which began operating on April 17.
BJ’s perishables, grocery and sundries business has recently performed especially well, growing 2.3% during its recent quarter, Robert Eddy, the company’s president, CEO and chairman, said during an earnings call last month. The performance reflects “a real lasting shift in how our members shop with us [and] these results reinforce the importance of our core consumables franchise, which continues to demonstrate consistency, even in a volatile operating environment,” Eddy said.
BJ’s recorded just under $21 billion in net sales during fiscal 2025, up 4.6% compared with the prior year. Comparable-store sales excluding fuel rose 2.6% during the year, which ended Jan. 31.
BJ’s opened 14 clubs in eight states in fiscal 2025, representing the largest number of new locations it has added in a single year, Eddy said during the earnings call. The company is on track to open 25 to 30 new clubs during 2025 and 2026, he said.
