BJ's Wholesale Club Workers Blog

BJ's beats expectations...will be sold for 2.8 billion in cash in 4Q

2011-08-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

Solid 2Q From BJ's Reinforces Favorable Views of Warehouse Clubs Amid Economic Uncertainty

BJ's continues to profit, was just sold, we're wondering if people throughout the country who are working for them are sharing in their successes? The industry seems recession proof...Here's the AP story on their "better-than-expected" profits, again....

(Reuters) - BJ's Wholesale Club Inc (BJ.N) posted a much better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by improved margins, gasoline sales and cost-cutting.

The company, which is being sold to private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners CVC.UL, earned $45.7 million, or 84 cents per share, in the second quarter, up from $35.8 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier. It had forecast a profit of $40.5 million to $42.5 million, or 74 cents to 78 cents per share.

Earnings from continuing operations were 85 cents per share, topping analysts' average forecast of 77 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

As previously reported, sales rose 11 percent to $2.98 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 7.8 percent and were up 3.8 percent excluding gasoline sales.

Visits to BJ's stores were essentially flat, while the average amount spent per transaction rose by about 3 percent.

Food sales rose about 5 percent. BJ's has been adding more fresh foods and prepared meals to entice shoppers to do more of their weekly grocery shopping at the club, which charges an annual membership fee.

BJ's agreed in June to be sold for $2.8 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

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BJ's Wholesale Club Sold for $2.8 billion

2011-07-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

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Stories broke on BJ's Wholesale Club's sale last week, and now there is an investor suing the company because the sale price of $2.8 billion is "grossly inadequate" Read it at Bloomberg.

BJ's Wholesale Club will be acquired by Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.8 billion. BJ's, which operates 190 warehouse clubs in 15 states, reported $10.6 billion in sales last year.

Under the terms of the agreement, BJ's shareholders will receive $51.25 per share, a 38 percent premium to the closing price June 2010, and a 7 percent premium to the closing price on June 28.

BJ's board of directors unanimously approved the merger agreement. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter.

"BJ's will benefit from the continued execution of our business plan and the significant retail expertise of our new partners at LGP and CVC, as well as from continued investments in our clubs, our people and technology, and the future of our business," says Laura Sen, president and chief executive officer. "Our members will continue to enjoy the top-quality merchandise, outstanding savings and great service that they've come to expect from BJ's on every visit."

Links: http://www.licensemag.com/licensemag/News/BJs-Wholesale-Club-to-be-Acquired/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/729435?contextCategoryId=33594

WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110629-711984.html

More Buyout Rumors for BJ's Wholesale Club

2011-06-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

What's going to happen to this company when it eventually gets bought out???

Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. rose Wednesday after a report that two private-equity investors are preparing a joint bid to buy the company.

Representatives for BJ's and Leonard Green did not return calls seeking comment. A spokeswoman for CVC declined to comment on the report.

Shares of BJ's rose $1, or 2 percent, to $48.70 in afternoon trading.

The New York Post also wrote about this rumor: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/bj_is_seeking_more_3kjfOFYrLKwKZTodp7I8TK

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Laura Sen took a 17% Pay Cut, still raked in $4M

2011-04-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. CEO Laura Sen’s pay package totaled $4 million in 2010, down more than 17 percent from the previous year.

The Westboro-based retailer disclosed in a regulatory filing today that total compensation for Sen included $982,693 in salary along with $697,811 in performance-based pay and stock awards valued at $2.2 million.

Read more: http://news.bostonherald.com/business/general/view/2011_0406bjs_ceo_sen_made_4m_in_2010_down_17_percent/srvc=home&position=recent

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UPDATE: Happy New Years from BJ's, Now You're Laid Off- BJ's to Cut 500 Jobs

2011-01-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

So here's a way nobody wanted to start off their 2011. Great, happy new years from BJ's everyone had a great holiday season and is enjoying the new year. Over the past few days we've been reading up on some interesting news involving BJ's start to 2011, and wanted to fill you in on the details. Five stores will be closing in the Southeast, which will shave 380 jobs, and another 114 corporate level employees will be cut.

"The Natick-based chain will close five underperforming stores, in Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina, which will result in the loss of 380 positions by the end of this month."

The stores are listed below, all with the closing date of January 17th.

Sunrise, Florida: 3469 North University Drive. - 99 Employees
Charlotte, North Carolina: No clear number of employees to be laid off has been announced, over 65
McDonough BJ’s Wholesale Club 1990 Jonesboro Rd. McDonough, GA 30253
Powder Springs BJ’s Wholesale Club 2435 East West Connector Austell, GA 30106
Norcross BJ’s Wholesale Club 6344 Cash Ct. Norcross, GA 30071

The way they're wording the closings? "BJ's announces Strategic Actions to Optimize Performance'" [Press Release]

Laura Sen has said that these clubs have underperformed. Though we just came across their December sale numbers which read that sales are up big and comparable sales are up 3.8%

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (BJ: News ), an operator of warehouse clubs, reported that sales for December 2010 grew 7.3% to $1.25 billion from $1.16 billion in December 2009.
The Natick, Massachusetts-based company's comparable club sales for December 2010 increased by 3.8%, including a contribution from sales of gasoline of 2.4%, compared to comparable club sales increase of 4.8% in December 2009.

Sales are great, the company is doing fine, this raises an eyebrow. Just as we previously noted, this is all a restructuring of "dead weight" (not our words) in order to sell the company.

"Management is trying to portray itself as having the ability to make the difficult decisions required to drive stronger earning growth perhaps to stay aboard under a new regime, while also displaying hidden value to would-be bidders,"- Brian Sozzi, Wall Street Strategies analyst.

Read more at: Boston.com Also: Boston Herald

Right now, it's all about selling this company, at least that's the way it looks to us. This flat out sucks, these 'strategic actions' are just the worst way to start the new year.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Up Sharp Today

2010-12-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

NY Post Reports a BJ's Possible Takeover:

BJ's Wholesale Club still isn't safe from the clutches of private equity.
Leonard Green & Partners -- a Los Angeles buyout firm that disclosed a 9.5 percent stake in the warehouse chain in July -- remains keen to acquire the retailer and may launch a hostile bid if an auction isn't initiated in the coming weeks, sources told The Post.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/buying_in_bulk_aP1mhywCsTzLrwANWYdZfI#ixzz19YI3r0DD

BJ's Wholesale Club may face a hostile bid from the takeover firm if the chain does not initiate an auction as planned, according to sources quoted in the New York Post. Reports are also saying that analysts at Jefferies estimate BJ's could be worth $50 to $55 a share. BJ is up more than 6 percent from yesterday's close.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year and we hope everyone has and is having a great holiday season! Fill us in on how you and your stores are being affected by the craziness of shoppers, rumors of the BJ's sale, and all the other dramatics working for BJ's provides-

See you in the new year!

Here's just a few stories to keep you updated with BJ's news:

$9.2 Million Construction Loan for BJ's in Western Massachusetts
"The new BJ's in Pittsfield will satisfy the demand for a warehouse club for much of the Berkshires, as the closest wholesale warehouse club is located 31 miles to the west in Albany, New York"

The Ithaca Journal: County Endorses Financing for BJ's in Lansing
The county approved a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes financing agreement to develop a site with a BJ's Wholesale Club store, senior housing and bird sanctuary in the Village of Lansing.

BJ's November Revenue Metric Up 5%
Revenue at its stores open at least a year rose 5 % in November with both food and general merchandise sales climbing.

PETA Urges BJ's to Adopt Less Cruel Method of Chicken Slaughter
PETA has submitted a shareholder resolution encouraging the Boston-based wholesale retailer to purchase all its turkeys from suppliers that use a less cruel method of poultry slaughter. "Bj's should be ashamed that it is lagging behind its competitors in improving conditions for the chickens and turkeys who end up on its shelves."

Is BJ's Wholesale Club For Sale?

2010-11-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Don't know if you all have been catching the rumors like we have in some clubs, but according to multiple reports, BJ's is apparently up for auction.

BJ's Wholesale Club is rumored to have hired Morgan Stanely to help sell the company after receiving an offer from private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners LP. Any deal would likely be with private-equity funds and not another retailer. BJ's cash doubled in the second quarter, making it attractive for a takeover. A buyout may be valued at as much as $2.75 billion, and the transaction would be the biggest in the sector since 2007. Leonard Green & Partners has holdings in such retailers as Whole Foods Market Inc., and Petco Animal Supplies Inc. " Month to month, BJ's has been under-performing, it seems like a good candidate for a going-private transaction."

Have any of you heard rumors in your stores? Has the environment changed at all?

Read the entire story @ Business Week

BJ's In the News: Ground Beef Recall

2010-09-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great summer, here is some BJ's news for the months of July and August:

CNN: Company Recalls Ground Beef After E. Coli Reports
The USDA says it believes certain BJ's Wholesale Club stores in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Virginia received the products.

Watch a video on the recall at: Ground Beef Recall

Development:
Taunton City Council Gives BJ's Addition the Go-Ahead
Taunton, MA-- The council voted unanimously to allow the completion of a new building adjacent to the existing BJ's Wholesale Club.

Delaware Business: BJ's Elsmere- Area Store On the Way
The Wholesale club opening is planned for December 2010.

BJ's May Close Store in Westboro
Westboro, MA-- After more than 20-year presence, BJ's may close next year, when the company opens a bigger store less than 2 miles away in Northboro.

BJ's Back in Business After Roof Collapse

Akron, OH-- A BJ's store reopened August 7th after being closed on July 23rd, when a storm damaged its roof.

Economy:
Price Competition Sinks BJ's Profits
Citing" an intense level of price competition" from discounters and supermarkets, BJ's invested more heavily than expected in its own prices during the second quarter, causing margins and earnings to fall below expectations.

BJ's Stems Profit Erosion Amid Slowing Sales in Q2
"Going into this year I thought the competitive environment would be a lot more severe as people were trying to gain sales based on the weak environment. But that has not been the case."- Laura Sen, chief executive officer

Downside Purchased on BJ's Wholesale (BJ)
Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. are lower on the session by 1.09%. The stock has been basing sideways for the past two months after a sharp pop higher.

BJ's Wholesale Club July Sales Increase
BJ's Wholesale Club sales for July 2010 increased 2.8% compared to decreased sales of 9.1% in July 2009.

Here are the results of the poll taken from our last post:

Question: What do you think of BJ's Star of the Year Program?

66% - Its strongly favoritism, I didn't like it
22%- Its legitimate, I love it
13%- It doesn't bother me, I have no opinion

It seems that the majority of you don't agree with the Star of the Year Program. Let us know how you were affected by the Ground Beef Recall by taking our new poll, just to the left of this months post.

All of the comments from our previous posts are greatly appreciated. We are still receiving feedback on the Wage and Hour Suit story we posted a few months ago:

Anonymous said that as long as the clubs " hit their numbers ", corporate will not care about day to day issues at the club level...

One anonymous person received a settlement check: FYI, I got my settlement check today. South Florida.

An anonymous post on the home office: "They don't care about the employees, they just want to run a store with the bare minimum. The more they save the larger the bonus, so sure exploit the few good workers that you do have. If the store was properly staffed, and they stop giving the overtime to a select few then maybe they can manage the building."

Anonymous thinks "In order for BJ's to be a better company, they need to start with the home office."

BJ's News: Month of June

2010-07-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

BJ's Wholesale Club Coming to Clermont in the Spring
Clermont, FL-- A BJ's Wholesale Club is scheduled to open next spring, showing that commercial growth in Clermont is not about to stop, even with a slow down in the construction of new homes.

Private Equity Takes Stake in BJ's
A private equity firm that has invested in several retailers has taken a 9.5 percent stake in BJ's Wholesale Club Inc and said it might propose taking the warehouse club operator private.

BJ's Wholesale Club Collects More Than 100,000 Letters for Deployed U.S. Service Members
BJ's partnered with nonprofit Operation Gratitude for month-long letter writing campaign.

Analysts Mixed on Taking BJ's Wholesale Private
Going private has the potential to prompt unprecedented growth for BJ's Wholesale Club, analysts said; however, taking that leap could also mean saddling the wholesale retailer with sizable debt as it tries to gain traction against its larger rivals.

Board Approves BJ's Wholesale Club Plans
PITTSFIELD-- Developers of the proposed BJ's Wholesale Club on Hubbard Avenue have cleared a major regulatory hurdle toward opening next spring.

Looking Back at Recent Earnings from BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's released its most recent earnings statement on May 19th. BJ's beat expectations with a non profit of 49 cents per share-- 6 cents above the analyst consensus of 43 cents per share.

BJ's Wholesale Club 1Q net income up on gas sales
1Q rose 7 percent, partly helped by gasoline sales. The wholesale club operator also lifted its full-year earnings guidance.

BJ's Leaning on Perishable Foods to Drive Traffic, Sales in 2010
BJ's is increasingly counting on its consumable offerings, specifically perishable goods, in 2010 and beyond to drive frequent customer traffic and transactions and grow its overall business.

Spire to BJ's Wholesale Club Supply Solar Energy System
BJ's announced that the Spire solar energy system enterprise completes BJ's Wholesale Club to sell the field in Winsconsin two solar energy system to install, starts to sell the field in Niuzexi state two install the solar energy system.

BJ's to Re-Launch E-Commerce Site This Summer
BJ's Wholesale Club's e-commerce site is still admittedly not a major contributor to its total business, but this summer, memebers and non- members can expect to see a revamped website.

BJ's In the News April 2010

2010-05-06T13:08:00.001-07:00

Haven't posted in a while, we'll post the month in comments later this week, but here's some recent BJ's news:

BJ's Wholesale Club to move headquarters to Westborough from Natick

A spokeswoman for BJ’s Wholesale Club said Thursday that the company is planning to move its corporate headquarters and nearly 1,000 employees from Natick to more spacious accommodations in Westborough early next year.

Quincy to BJ's: Get pretty or else

The city of Quincy got tough with BJ's Wholesale Club over the appearance of a new store, the Patriot Ledger reports.

Is BJ's Wholesale Club a great company, or what?

BJ's Wholesale Club is listed 232 on Fortunes 500 Annual Ranking of Americas Largest Corporations

Grocery Stores Going Hungry

A steady stream of shoppers looking for deals on necessities has helped the wholesale club operators Costco Wholesale Corp. and BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. deliver profit gainswhile many of their grocery competitors struggle....

BJ's Wholesale Club Reports That Sales Rise

BJ's a leading warehouse club operator in the United States , recently posted strong sales results for the five-week period ended April 3, 2010 driven by the shift in Easter holidays and better weather.

Memorial Day Letter Writing Campaign

BJ’s Wholesale Club will be hosting a Memorial Day Letter Writing Campaign from May 1st to May 31st to support our service members and celebrate Military Appreciation Month.

BJ's In the News April 2010

2010-05-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted in a while, we'll post the month in comments later this week, but here's some recent BJ's news:

BJ's Wholesale Club to move headquarters to Westborough from Natick

Quincy to BJ's: Get pretty or else

The city of Quincy got tough with BJ's Wholesale Club over the appearance of a new store, the Patriot Ledger reports.

Is BJ's Wholesale Club a great company, or what?

BJ's Wholesale Club is listed 232 on Fortunes 500 Annual Ranking of Americas Largest Corporations

Grocery Stores Going Hungry

BJ's Wholesale Club Reports That Sales Rise

Memorial Day Letter Writing Campaign

BJ’s Wholesale Club will be hosting a Memorial Day Letter Writing Campaign from May 1st to May 31st to support our service members and celebrate Military Appreciation Month.

BJ's Post 4Q Profit, Sales Climb admist Bad February Weather....

2010-03-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

Image by Getty Images Daylife via

Fourth Quarter:
BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. released their 4Q numbers on Wednesday, finding that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit climbed 5 percent and higher gasoline prices led to increased revenue.

But the third-largest warehouse club operator also gave a 2010 earnings forecast below analysts' predictions. .
BJ's profit increased to $55.1 million, or $1.01 per share. That compares with earnings of $52.7 million, or 91 cents per share, a year ago

From Chicago Sun Times:
Sales for the period ended Jan. 30 rose 9% to $2.8 billion from $2.56 billion on membership fee growth and increased net sales, beating the $2.79 billion forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Sales at stores open at least a year grew 4.6 percent, with a 2.3 percent benefit from gasoline sales. That figure is a key measure of a retailer's performance because it looks at the results of existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

The results are an improvement from the third quarter, when the sales figure fell 2.5 percent.
Earlier in the morning rival Costco Wholesale Corp. reported that its second-quarter profit rose 25 percent as strong overseas sales growth and increased gasoline prices lifted its revenue.

BJ's, based in Natick, Mass., has seen success during the recession as budget-minded shoppers have come to its stores for deals on food and other necessities.

The company's full-year profit slipped 2 percent to $132.1 million, or $2.42 per share, from $134.6 million, or $2.28 per share, in the prior year. Adjusted earnings were $2.48 per share.

Annual revenue increased 2 percent to $10.19 billion from $10.03 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.9 percent, with a 5.9 percent drag from lower overall gas prices. Taking out gas sales, the figure climbed 4 percent for the year.

BJ's forecast a profit between $2.54 and $2.64 for fiscal 2010, but that's short of the $2.71 per share that analysts are looking for. The company anticipates first-quarter earnings in a range of 40 cents to 45 cents per share. Wall Street predicts a quarterly profit of 43 cents per share.

February Sales:

BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. (NYSE:BJ): reported that sales for February 2010 increased by 12.8% to $755.2 million from $669.6 million in February 2009. Comparable club sales increased by 7.5% for the month of February 2010, including a contribution from sales of gasoline of 3.6%. Excluding gasoline sales, merchandise comparable club sales increased by 3.9%. A calendar shift in the timing of the Super Bowl from January last year to February this year had a positive impact on merchandise comparable club sales of approximately 2%. However, severe winter storms had a negative impact of 2-2.5%.

Four Weeks Ended    Four Weeks Ended 
                                     February 27, 2010   February 28, 2009 
----------------------------------  ------------------  ------------------ 
Merchandise comparable club sales          3.9%                8.2% 
----------------------------------  ------------------  ------------------ 
Impact of gasoline sales                   3.6%               (7.6%) 
----------------------------------  ------------------  ------------------ 
Comparable club sales                      7.5%                0.6% 
----------------------------------  ------------------  ------------------ 
 
 
     Sales Results for February 2010 
             ($ in thousands) 
 
     Four Weeks Ended          % Change 
February 27,  February 28,   Net    Comp. 
    2010          2009       Sales   Sales 
------------  ------------  ------  ------ 
 $ 755,241     $ 669,589    12.8%    7.5%

The Company provided the following additional information regarding comparable club sales for February 2010:

By week, the strongest sales increase was in week one, reflecting a calendar shift in the timing of the Super Bowl, and the smallest increase was in week four, reflecting severe snow storms in the Northeast.

By major region, the strongest increases were in the Southeast and Upstate New York. The smallest increases were in the Mid-Atlantic and Metro New York regions.

Excluding sales of gasoline, traffic increased by approximately 3% and the average transaction amount increased by approximately 1%.

Sales of food increased by approximately 7% and general merchandise sales decreased by about 1%.

Departments with the strongest sales increases compared to last year included bakery, breakfast foods, cigarettes, computers, dairy, deli, frozen foods, furniture, house wares, juices, produce, small appliances and snacks. Weaker departments versus last year included books, household chemicals, DVDs, televisions and trash bags.

BJ’s press releases and filings with the SEC are available on the Internet at www.bjs.com.

Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year-end Conference Call available for download: http://www.bjsinvestor.com/events.cfm.

The financial future of BJ's looks pretty stable and solid, thanks to all the great team members who make the entire machine run.

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Poll Results, Comments: Jan/Feb 2010: Star of Year, Lawsuit, Vacations, Oh My!

2010-03-01T09:48:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

Greetings everyone, thanks for the out pour of comments and emails the past two months!

The poll we had up has just closed, here are the results:

Question: Do you like the idea of BJ's creating more 85,000 sqft stores?

Yes: 81 (69%)

No: 35 (30%)

Looks like most of you do like the idea of smaller stores, check out our new poll to the left of this post. If you'd like to suggest an idea for a poll send us an email!

Okay, onward and upward, as most of you know BJ's 4Q numbers are being released this coming Wednesday, until then we thought we'd review this past post's comments and discussions that have been flooding our email accounts:

Lawsuit

Anonymous 'expects more Payroll cuts to offset this pay out [from wage and hour suit]...."

Anonymous says "Today's hourly wagers are not uneducated or dumb. HR would do well to see that respect is a two way street."

Anonymous said that 'Home Office has to realize that its the workers that make or break a business, and if they keep on doing the things they have been, there will not be a BJ's in the near future as today, there are many alternatives for the consumer...'

Anonymous said 'the Sad thing is, even with this lawsuit settled, there are Gms still running their clubs this way. They wont learn a lesson until the Labor board gets involved. The communication between management and hourly is atrocious.'

Anonymous wonders 'Why do you think there are so many Overnight Manager Positions listed on BJ's Employment site?'

One writer gives their first hand experience of the lawsuit

"This is not about Costco, or Sam's club, This is about BJ's and things that happen there. Nothing will ever improve if people just shut up and let things go on as is"

And one anonymous poster thinks if the club would become union, it would instantly become an under performing store and shut down.

One poster says remember you must pay union dues, while another says 'Oh big deal unions collect dues'

Star of year

Anonymous wonders how a cart-person can win SOY.

Anonymous tells us three things they look for in the SOY

Anonymous says "Its a favoritism thing. At our club, a part timer who is late a great deal, texts on his cell phone during work, etc got SOY but because he is a butt kisser, he gets on avg 45-50 hours a week"

Anonymous thinks the SOY program creates more disconnect and resentment than good.

Anonymous thinks SOY is completely arbitrary, while another thinks the award is well deserving to certain workers.

Vacation

Anonymous wants to know if anyone feels "the new system for paid Vacation and sick time is going to screw us?"

Anonymous thinks the new program is better than the old.

Anonymous says it "seems that we are losing three weeks vacation time under this new system."

Anonymous wonders if that is true [losing three weeks vacation] why aren't we seeking union protection?

Anonymous says that "Misinformation abounds. No one is losing vaca time"

And Anonymous says "The biggest obstacle to union organizing efforts is simply the high turnover among the rank-and-file of a typical retail store. In some places, 60 or 70 percent of the staff can change in a typical year."

We'll have more to speak about on Wednesday, until then let the discussions continue and thanks again.

BJ's Wage and Hour Suit destroys Q3 Numbers...Expansion details...

2009-12-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

We know this story has been re-published throughout the blog, just bringing it to everyone's attention. The story broke about three weeks ago...

We'll take you through the timetable:

BJ's has an abysmal Third Quarter. (Read the entire Q3 report at Yahoo!.)

Further research to BJ's Wholesale Club dissatisfying Q3 numbers has BJ's and investors scapegoating the $11.7 Million Dollar wage and hour lawsuit which was settled during the end of the quarter as the main contributer to the terrible Q3 numbers.

More on the Lawsuit:

Press Release: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2663574/

Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP has reached a $9.3 million settlement of an overtime pay class action lawsuit against BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE: BJ). The settlement, which is subject to Court approval, is intended to resolve claims that BJ's misclassified certain Mid Manager employees as exempt from receiving overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.

Plaintiffs claim that they were misclassified because their primary responsibilities included hourly duties such as loading and unloading materials, stocking shelves and other activities which are not exempt under federal and state overtime laws Under the settlement, approximately 1,500 current and former Mid Managers employed by BJ's since November 2007 will be entitled to make claims to share in the recovery, based on the number of weeks they were employed by the company.

From BJ's.com, quote: "The settlement of the lawsuit is not an admission on the part of the Company of any wrongdoing. "

What are your thoughts? Any company wrongdoing here? Lot's of people complain that they do work outside their job classification, which allows companies to take advantage of most workers, what are your thoughts?

As far as chain expansion in the coming months:

"Chain expansion, club renovation, our technology roadmap and team member training and development. Our preliminary expansion plans call for 79 new clubs, including two in Massachusetts, one in Metro New York, one in Orland, Maryland and a club relocation in Rhode Island."

Keep the emails and posts coming,

Another New BJ's Wholesale Club to open in Mass.

2009-11-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

Another plan for BJ's expansion was unveiled today when the company announced yet another 80,000 square foot new store to be opening in 2010.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Braintree developer has announced plans to construct a BJ's Wholesale Club on Hubbard Avenue. It would be the first BJ's in Berkshire County

The Berkrire Eagle says the store will be 88,000 square feet, and provide the community with 120 retail jobs.

BJ's in Quincy set to open in April

2009-10-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Image by wallyg via Flickr

So amidst any further delays the club in Quincy is set to open in April....The Patriot Ledger has more on the 85,000 sqft store.

Aside from the barrage of complaints we're received regarding the increased Club politics during the past few months (in metro NY) we'd like to hear from workers all over, are these politics affecting your work atmosphere as much as they are here in NY? Even the Long Island workers are saying things are "tightening up" more and more.

Let us know, keep the emails coming.

Another BJ's Wholesale Club for Brooklyn???

2009-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Community Board 11 is reviewing the proposal but developer Joe Sitt, of Thor Equities has proposed to bring a BJ's Wholesale Club to Brooklyn's Shore Parkway.

Thor Equities Developer Joe Sitt is getting back to his retail roots and proposing construction of a new 214,000-square-foot shopping center at 1752 Shore Parkway.

The Amboy Bus Company is currently using the site to store its school buses.

Plans to construct space for a new BJ’s Wholesale Club and three other retail stores between 24th Avenue and Bay 37th Streetwill get a hearing at the Department of City Planning on October 29.

You can check out Thor Equities site on the development of 1752 Shore Parkway here. Let us know what you think!

BJ's begins laying foundation for new store in Mass.

2009-09-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend, workers began laying foundation for a new BJ's Wholesale Club in Quincy Massachusetts. The 85,000 sqft store is slated to be completed by April 2010.

Elsewhere, BJ's sales announced that its comparable club sales for August 2009 decreased by 6.0%, including a negative impact of 8.2% from lower gasoline prices and volumes. Excluding gasoline, merchandise comparable club sales increased by 2.2%.

In 2008, the Company reported a comparable club sales increase of 15.4% for August, including a contribution from sales of gasoline of 7.7%. Excluding the impact of gasoline, merchandise comparable club sales increased by 7.7%

BJ's Wholesale Club toys with a different store structure of 85,000 sqft

2009-08-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Last Wednesday BJ's CEO Laura Sen had a lot to mention regarding the 85,000 sqft prototype store in Pennsylvania. The store plans on serving a "less dense market", and allows the company to expand into area's which they wouldn't explore before. The city of Syracuse was listening to this closey, from Friday's Post Standard: 'With new size in mind BJ's could expand to Syracuse area'

Whether or not BJ's expands to Syracuse the fact is that BJ's is thinking, and thinking wisely we should add. As a 'big box' store, and a typical 100,000+ sqft operator they have seen the fruits of holding such an immense retail space, though they have also been held back on expanding to certain areas who craved a store like BJ's, but did not have the sufficient space for them.

In 2008, Wal-Mart also toyed with the idea of a smaller format in order to take on neighborhood stores they wouldn't usually compete with their usual supercenters. The 'Marketside' test hasn't worked out the way Wal-Mart planned, as the Wal-Mart hierarchy has put a halt on expansion citing the struggling economy. We'll see if BJ's will take the same turn, downsizing to comply to an area they aren't accustom to serving.

The question on our mind though is what the new 'prototype' stores will do for jobs at BJ's?, both current and future. Will there be an infrastructure change? Will there be a different benefit package? Will there be different job descriptions? Will there be more controversial promotions?

Only time will tell, but we'd like to know what you think now...

BJ's to report Second Quarter Earnings Wednesday

2009-08-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Image by djlah via Flickr

The New York Times previews BJ's Wholesale Club's second quarter earnings, after J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock yesterday. Earnings aren't expected to be too strong, we've heard that the mood has been a little tense in the stores because of this.

Yet another new BJ's Wholesale Club in the works?!?

2009-07-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

Massachusetts: A Seyon Street site that was once slated for a Lowe’s home improvement store will now be home to a BJ’s Wholesale Club, according to a spokeswoman for the developer of the property.

Diana Pisciotta, spokeswoman for Boston-based Samuels and Associates, said an 117,000-square-foot BJ’s is planned for the 20 Seyon St. location., which the developer will build “by right.”

Read the article here. Construction is planned to be finished by the fall of 2010.

More at Boston.com: BJ's to move into former Raytheon site.

What a month for BJ's, if I'm counting right, that brings the July count of new BJ's developments up to four, and the sixth announcement of new projects since March...What recession??

Oh and they've also just inked a new 5-year contract with Wirpo Bags.

Another BJ's development in Jersey spurts up, inches away from approval

2009-07-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

BJ's continues to acquire more and more retail space during a recession, and set their sights on potential areas for growth.

This time they're inches away from approval in Howell, New Jersey.

Plans for the nearly 45-acre site include the 117,925-square-foot BJ's Wholesale Club with a gas station and tire sale and service area.

So as they continue to expand during a recession, do the excuses of being hurt in a bad economy warrent the complaints we recieve on not getting enough hours? Let us know...

BJ's Strategy: Take business from Supermarkets

2009-07-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

BJ's aims to take business from supermarkets during recession:

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. , the No. 3 U.S. warehouse club operator, is focused on taking business from grocery stores as consumers look to save money on food in the recession.

BJ's Sales Down Again...

2009-07-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Another month, another dip in sales. For consecutive months BJ's sales are down, via Barron's.com

BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) comparable-store sales have lost momentum for the second month in a row and the first time in several quarters as the company reported a below plan and below consensus comp store sales gain of 2.7%. The company believes bad weather may have pressured sales by 1%-2%. Despite a relatively low enterprise value/earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization multiple of about 5 times, we are maintaining our Hold rating given our concerns around a deceleration in sales and difficult comparisons ahead as other retailers face easier comparisons.

Thanks and keep sending in the emails on how these sales are affecting your working conditions.

Tough Month for BJ's....How is it affecting you??

2009-06-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. reported Thursday a 6.8% decline in same store sales for the month of May, hurt chiefly by lower gasoline prices and volume.

BJ's said that sales for May dipped by 4.7% to $783.4 million from $822 million a year ago.

It's been a tough go for retailers, but BJ's has been doing a decent job during this recession, some say that BJ's stock will dip under $30.00 a share...We're wondering how it's affecting workers, from what we've heard on the street is that the recession has cut hours, and put most employees under tremendous pressure...What's your thoughts?

Here's what some top news agencies had to say:

BJ's down 6.8%

Marketwatch: BJ's DOWN.

BJ's same store sales down, Boston Globe reports.

BJ's Briefs...an inked deal in Flushing, a lawsuit, and more...

2009-04-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Here's some recent press BJ's has gotten in the past week:

BJ's Wholesale Club inks another lease in the NYC Metro area.

BJ's to take 170,000 sqft in Canarsie, Brooklyn.

An 89 year old widow is suing BJ's Wholesale Club in an age biased firing.

BJ's eyes are still on Pittsburgh.

Another BJ's to Brooklyn

2009-03-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

A release surfaced last week saying BJ's just inked a deal to anchor a new shopping center in Canarsie Brooklyn. The company continues to expand in a struggling economy and to areas which lack shopping options.

Obama: "We will pass the Employee Free Choice Act," Meanwhile BJ's continues to profit, what's this all add up to?

2009-03-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal ran a story which said that President Barack Obama told AFL-CIO union leaders Tuesday in a videotaped address that the controversial Employee Free Choice Act will pass, "signaling his full backing for legislation that makes union organizing easier..."

"We will pass the Employee Free Choice Act," President Obama told more than 100 top labor officials in a closed-door meeting at the labor federation's winter gathering in Miami, according to people at the meeting.

If you'd like read the entire article at the Wall Street Journal

The real question is if you think this could be good for BJ's? Take the poll to your left, leave your comments below, The UFCW has a site on the Employee Free Choice Act for further reference also

Meanwhile, BJ's continues to grow, they reported further growth in the 4th quarter,

Earnings climbed to $52.7 million, or 91 cents per share, from $50.2 million, or 80 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Read the analysis of BJ's profit's here.

What's this mean to you also?

Back to Basics at BJ's?

2009-02-10T08:34:00.000-08:00

From www.boston.com

An interview with Laura Sen on the future of BJ's...

How does it feel to take over during one of the worst economic crises?
We are fortunately in a business model that is well-positioned in a bad economy or a good economy. There's been a migration toward value in the retail world over the years. The value players are the winners. Do I have concerns about what the future may bring or what may happen to us? Sure, but we're very well positioned to not only survive but to grow.
Do you foresee any cuts in BJ's workforce or store closings?
For the moment, we're creating jobs. We just opened a club in Revere. But we're always looking for new efficiencies in our supply chain and club processes. We do not expect any job cuts at this time. That being said, we're very cautious about increased spending.
How long do you think the recession will last?
I wish I had a crystal ball. My guess is all of 2009 will be a tough year. We might see some light in a year from now. A lot rests on the administration and what kind of stimulus they can get that will reignite employment, housing, and the credit markets.
What is the best way to jump-start the economy - a spending stimulus, tax cuts, rebate checks?
A rebate check to somebody who is unemployed helps them for a very short time. What needs to happen - and it's the same approach we use here - is we need long-term sustainable measures that will create fertilizer for the ground so things can grow. We need systemic efforts - focusing on infrastructure improvements that will create jobs, education, and social programs that will help create jobs, and some of the tax measures will help create spending.

Another BJ's Executive to another Retail Board...

2009-02-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

Perry Kramer, vice president of sales operations, corporate and distributed solutions at BJ’s Wholesale Club, Natick, Mass., has been elected co-chair of the board of directors of the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), the standards division of the National Retail Federation in Washington. Read it here.

On Wednesday

Wednesday BJ's Wholesale Club will release fourth-quarter financial results....Rumor has it they will report a net income of 86 cents a share, compared with 81 cents last year, continuing to blossom.

Enjoy the Holidays

2008-12-24T08:11:00.000-08:00

We hope you enjoy your holidays, we'll be back next week and unveil our new 2009 plans.

Until then we hope the recent gains by BJ's [BJ's Wholesale Club - up 11.5%] are being reflected upon you, the workers who deserve the credit.

Happy Holidays!

An interview with the new CEO, A new member to the board of directors....

2008-12-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

Image by Road Fun via FlickrHere's an interview with the new CEO of BJ's Wholesale Club, Laura Sen.

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. has elected Picis president and c.e.o. Christine Cournoyer, to its board of directors. The Wakefield, Mass.-based company is a worldwide provider of software solutions for automating resource-intensive hospital documentation and business practices...

It's been said throughout this blog that the company needs change.

Anonymous 12/17/2008: "...All we can hope for is CHANGE"

Anonymous 12/17/2008: "But when January comes they'll forget all about how many hours we worked and will think nothing of cutting all of our hours. Apparently we all need the money and we still need it in January..."

Anonymous 12/10/2008: "The ONLY thing your GM is interested in is keeping his job with the salary and bonus. He knows in todays market, new jobs are tough to find."

With all these new appointments and hires, where's the change for the real people who run the company? We'll have a monthly wrap up of the comments next week...until then, Happy Holidays!

A new CEO for BJ's Wholesale Club

2008-12-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

BJ's Wholesale Club on Thursday named its president, Laura Sen, to serve as chief executive officer, succeeding Herb Zarkin in a widely expected management change...

Previous reports of Herb Zarkin's retirement were denounced, as he will continue to serve as chairman and will stand for re-election to the board when his term expires in May of 2010.

Read more here at Business Week.

BJ's announces new store opening in Florida...

2008-12-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

Image by Ditch the Kitsch!! via Flickr
The hard economic times do not seem to be on retailers like BJ's & Wal-Mart, who are taking advantage of the struggling economy by offering lower prices than competitors, question is though are their employees seeing any of these benefits?

CLERMONT - A BJ's Wholesale Club is scheduled to open next spring, showing that commercial growth in Clermont is not about to stop, even with a slowdown in the construction of new homes.

Read the entire article here [Orlando Sentinel]

Has BJ's cited tough economic times to regarding to your wages?

Tough Economy??? Not for BJ's, reports say sales continue to rise..

2008-12-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

mage by Getty Images via Daylife
BJ's Wholesale Club continues to gain.

Here's a link to their press release reporting strong sales.

Wal-Mart sales also were up. Both retailers continue to make money in this economy

Forecasts are up for BJ's

2008-11-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

Once again, investing websites are predicting sunny skies for BJ's Wholesale Club:

The company’s efforts to improve its merchandise and increase store traffic continue to drive its sales. The difficult macro-economic conditions are also pushing customers into discount stores and wholesale clubs, which offer a better value compared to supermarkets. We maintain our Hold rating, and our target price of $38.

Retailers like BJ's Wholesale Club & Wal-Mart are set to thrive in tough economic times.

Here's another investment blog saying BJ's will benefit in this economy.

BJ's sales up

2008-11-06T06:40:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia
BJ's said Thursday that its October sales at stores open at least one year rose 10.2%, with a contribution from gasoline sales of 3.6%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to rise 6.3%, according to Thomson Reuters. Total sales for the four weeks ended November 1 rose 11.6% to $738.8 million.

Mouse found baked in bread sold at BJ's...

2008-10-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

A man in North Carolina has found a mouse baked inside a package of Hot Dog buns sold at BJ's Wholesale Club.

BJ’s Wholesale Club has pulled thousands of bread products from 44 stores in three states after we called the company to inform them of what a customer believes he found when he went to make dinner.

A spokeswoman for BJ’s also sent a statement, it reads, “BJ’s first priority is the health and safety of our members. We deeply regret Mr. Van Dyne’s experience as he described it to us. The Arnold Potato Hot Dog Rolls come to us prepackaged from George Weston Bakeries and are placed directly on our shelves by George Weston employees. We have contacted George Weston Bakeries and they are investigating this matter. George Weston has informed us that the product under investigation was manufactured at their facility in Plant City, Florida. As a precaution, we are removing all potentially effected products made by the George Weston Plant City, Florida facility.”

Read the entire story here

NBC carried the story here

And the Charlotte Observer here.

BJ's Store Closings...

2008-10-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

From the State, South Carolina

From staff reports
South Carolina's only BJ’s Wholesale Club will close today in Greenville.
The Massachusetts-based chain announced last week that it will close the store on Woodruff Road for failing to meet sales expectations, company spokeswoman Maria Fruci told The Greenville News.
BJ's operates 178 wholesale clubs in 16 states. The Greenville store opened in 2000 and employs about 60.
Fruci told the Greenville paper the company has no plans to close any additional clubs.
BJ's members in the Greenville area will receive pro-rated membership fee refunds

What are your thoughts? We've gotten a few email's asking if we've heard any rumors that would affect the NY/NJ area, we'll keep everyone posted. But what's the feeling around the clubs?

Here's an article regarding the development that will overtake once BJ's vacates.

BJ's shuts down store in Mass...Jose Reyes shopping at BJ's....

2008-10-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

BJ's Wholesale Club of Massachusetts says it will close its store in Greenville, putting about 60 people out of work.

Here's a story on Jose Reyes shopping at BJ's.

Management, More thoughts on BJ's in Brooklyn, Comments

2008-08-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

So that article we spoke about in yesterdays blog (regarding healthy, affordable food for community residents and sustainable quality jobs for the community) is getting a lot of press throughout the blog world.

Two popular local blogs picked up the BJ's story asking readers if they felt BJ's was right for their community....Queens Crap.....and The Gothamist.

What's all your thoughts on Management promotions?
There's been a lot of comments and talk with employees regarding the wrong people in the wrong positions at the clubs.
One blogger said:

"What are Rich and Michele thinking by making Angela a manager. She will NOT be able to handle it."

Comment from yesterday noted one of a great idea from an employee...

"What corporate should do is contact former employees (hourlies and management) to find out the what REALLY happens at the clubs."

What are your independent thoughts?

New York City Supermarkets evaporating, BJ's isn't the answer...

2008-08-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

In Today's NY Daily News, Albor Ruiz highlights the effect of 'Big Box' stores, specifically BJ's Warehouse Club's who require shoppers to bay a 'membership fee' in an urban environment. These stores cannot be the solution to this growing problem of Food Access that New Yorkers continue to face. New Yorkers need a supermarket, not a Warehouse club. We need Good Food+ Good Jobs, which will lead to Good Health. Here's an excerpt from the article:

"One of our issues with the warehouse club stores is also an issue with the mayor," said Grocery Workers Union organizer Pat Purcell. "The city did a study and determined that we need at least 100 supermarkets in the city, not more BJ's."

It is precisely in Verderosso's neighborhood where the latest episode of this "Big Fish Eats Little Fish" reality series is developing right now.

Two giant BJ's Warehouse Club stores are planned for Brooklyn - one off the Belt Parkway in Bensonhurst, and the other at the site of the old Key Food Warehouse at the Brooklyn Terminal Market in Canarsie.

"I have lived here all my life, and I know that many people are on tight budgets. They - especially the elderly - need a supermarket in their neighborhood," said the Brooklyn-born Verderosso, who has three children.

"These club stores put everybody out of business. When they are no longer profitable, they close, leaving behind an empty building and a neighborhood in decay."

According to the Neighborhood Retail Alliance, BJ's stores gross more than a million dollars a week in sales and attract around 7,000 cars a day. Their impact on the existing supermarkets would be nothing short of devastating.

Read the entire story here.

We'd love to hear what you all think...

BJ's biggest problem....Management

2008-08-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

Whether you work in Massachusettes, Maryland or anywhere in between, every BJ's worker we speak to shares a common issue...poor management. It seems as though if you're in the good graces of a DM, GM or any manager you can advance and do well at BJ's. If for some reason you are not a favorite of your local management than you will experience a loss of hours, a change in job descrition or an icreased workload...regardless of your seniority.

South Jersey seems especially hard hit by this problem. As one anonymous NJ worker put it

"I don't know if the powers that be are just clueless... Do they take this into account when coming up with the clubs' payroll or are they just keeping it at an unreachable goal" (posted 7/13/08)

Is the management just trained improperly or is this behavior encouraged by BJ's at the corporate level? Or are top managers so interested in keeping payroll down that they ask the impossible of workers? Either way there is clearly a problem at BJ's that runs from the top down!

Hopefully the company will take steps to address this issue...but you probably shouldn't hold your breath.

UFCW to BJ's "expect a fight"

2008-08-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

From the Neighborhood Retail Alliance.

As Crain's Insider is reporting there's a move afoot to stop the proliferation of BJs Warehouse Clubs in Brooklyn. As Crain's points out: "United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 is gearing up to stop two BJ’s Wholesale Club locations from opening in Brooklyn. One project, in Bensonhurst, requires City Council approval. UFCW is counting on Councilman Domenic RecchiaBJ’s won’t be a tenant. Recchia is a friend of labor but also of developer Joe Sitt. UFCW’s Pat Purcell says BJ’s pays poorly and shuns low-income customers by charging a membership fee and not accepting food stamps. The union is also trying to keep BJ’s out of the Brooklyn Terminal Market in Canarsie. “We will spare no expense,” Purcell vows."

What the UFCW is trying to do is to prevent the further erosion of neighborhood supermarkets. In a two mile radius of the Brooklyn Terminal Market there are 26 local stores that will be put at risk by the box store. At the same time that the mayor, and his able aide Ben Thomasses, are talking about supermarket preservation, there's no effort to curtail the box stores that will put these stores at greater risk. Something needs to be done, and the Alliance will be part of this effort. to ensure that

BJ's Shares Fall 9%

2008-07-25T07:27:00.001-07:00

An analyst downgraded shares of BJ's Wholesale Club on Wednesday after rival Costco Wholesale Corp. offered an earnings outlook below Wall Street expectations, citing rising energy costs and plans to refrain from raising prices.Shares of BJ's fell $3.86, or 9.5 percent, to $36.89, while rival Costco declined $8.57, or 11.9 percent, to $63.43.

BJ's in the news...

2008-07-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

NJ-Local officials have given their initial approval for a 280,000-sf shopping center at the intersection of Route 9 and Lanes Mill Road here. Proposed by YCC Development Inc., a locally based group, the project named Tropicana Commercial Center would be anchored by an 118,000-sf BJ's Wholesale Club.

A BJs employee triggered a dry chemical at a BJs Gas pump.

Beef at BJ's Wholesale Club Recalled...

2008-05-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Fairbank Farms, a national ground beef producer has issued a voluntary beef recall for some of their products produced in its Ashville, NY facility.
Some of the beef includes ones sold at Bj's Wholesale Club and Wilson Farms.
Fairbank Farms decided to recall the products after some customers complained about the beef containing small pieces of plastic.

The recall includes:
--BJ's Ground Beef Patty - 85% Lean and 15% fat (16 Count) 5.3 pound with a sell by date 5/15/08.

Read the entire story here.

Legal Notice to all Current and Former BJ's Managers

2008-05-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

********

URGENT LEGAL NOTICE TO ALL CURRENT AND FORMER BJ'S WHOLESALE CLUB
OVERNIGHT MANAGERS AND DEPARTMENT MANAGERS

YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE BACK PAY FOR UNPAID OVERTIME WAGES

The Levin Law Firm, a class action law firm, requests
all current and former BJ's Wholesale Club
Overnight Managers and Department Managers
to contact the Firm immediately
as it seeks to recover unpaid overtime wages for these managers.

If you are currently, or were recently, a BJ's Overnight or Department Manager
please contact the Levin Law Firm at 1-877-677-4529 or info@levinclients.com.

********

Earnings, is that all BJ's cares about?

2008-05-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

BJs Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) will release the first quarter earnings for 2008 on Wednesday, May 21. A conference call will be held on that day. The time of the call is still to be determined. A live webcast of the presentation will be available at bjsinvestor.com/medialist.cfm.

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (BJ's) is a warehouse club operator in the eastern United States. As of February 2, 2008, the Company operated 177 warehouse clubs in 16 states, 100 of which operated gasoline stations.

BJ's revenues are derived from the sale of a range of food and general merchandise items, the sale of gasoline and from membership fees. During the fiscal year ended February 2, 2008 (fiscal 2007), food accounted for approximately 61% of BJ’s total food and general merchandise sales. The remaining 39% consisted of a variety of general merchandise items.

That's a lot of Stock....BJ's CFO Sells 55,930 Shares of Stock

2008-03-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

BJ's CFO Sells 55,930 Shares of Stock

BJ's Wholesale Club's Chief Financial Officer Frank D. Forward Sells 55,930 Shares of Stock

March 13, 2008: 11:59 AM EST

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - The chief financial officer of BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. exercised options for 50,00 shares of common stock and then sold 55,930 shares, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday.

In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, Frank D. Forward reported he exercised options for $15.01 apiece Tuesday and then sold the shares for $34.27 to $35 apiece the same day.

The stock sale was conducted under a prearranged 10b5-1 trading plan which allows a company insider to set up a program in advance for such transactions and proceed with them even if he or she comes into possession of material non-public information.

Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies' shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction.

BJ's Wholesale Club is a Natick, Mass.-based discount warehouse club.

BJ's Wholesale Club to Announce Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year-End Results on March 5, 2008

2008-03-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

NATICK, Mass., Feb 25, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) plans to announce financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended February 2, 2008 on March 5, 2008 at approximately 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Also on March 5, 2008, BJ's management plans to hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the fourth quarter and fiscal year-end results and the outlook for 2008. The dial-in number for the conference call is 913-312-1474. There will be no dial-in replay.

To access a webcast of the conference call, visit www.bjsinvestor.com/medialist.cfm. An archive of the webcast will remain available for approximately 90 days.

BJ's introduced the wholesale club concept to New England in 1984, and has since expanded to become a leading warehouse chain in the eastern United States. The Company currently operates 177 BJ's Wholesale Clubs in 16 states. BJ's press releases and filings with the SEC are available on the Internet at www.bjsinvestor.com.

SOURCE: BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.
Cathy Maloney, 508-651-6650
Vice President, Investor Relations
cmaloney@bjs.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008

**********************************************************************

As of Thursday, 02-21-2008 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend® Alert,
an automated pattern recognition system, indicated an UPTREND on
01-23-2008 for BJ @ $29.85.

For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data
provider or go to www.mysmartrend.com

SmarTrend is a registered trademark of Comtex News Network, Inc.
Copyright © 2004-2008 Comtex News Network, Inc. All rights reserved.

How was the first month of 2008?

2008-01-29T11:16:00.001-08:00

We've been getting emails from a lot of Queens (NY) BJ's members regarding their treatment. We'd like to hear from everyone (even New England where we'll be coming soon!) to see if 2008 has brought any big changes. Let us know, and keep the emails coming! We need to hear about your issues so we can help!

BJ's Wholesale names Sen president, COO

2008-01-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

Will things get better or worse for employees at BJ's in 2008? Our guess, worse...

NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - BJ's Wholesale Club Inc (BJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday that it named Laura Sen its president and chief operating officer, and elected her to the company's board of directors.

The No. 3 U.S. warehouse club operator said Sen, who was most recently its executive vice president of merchandising and logistics, will be responsible for all day-to-day operations.

The retailer said Herb Zarkin, its chairman and CEO, will retain "a number of key responsibilities," including leading its strategic planning, management succession and expansion efforts. (Reporting by Nicole Maestri; Editing by Derek Caney)

BJ’s Stock Falls on Eve of Analysts’ Meeting

2007-10-16T08:24:00.001-07:00

BJ’s Stock Falls on Eve of Analysts’ Meeting

Oct 16, 2007 8:00 AM

NATICK, Mass. — The stock of BJ’s Wholesale Club here fell about 4% yesterday after an analyst downgraded the company, citing slowing traffic at the chain. Bank of America Securities downgraded BJ’s to “sell,” from “neutral,” according to reports, a day ahead of today’s scheduled analysts’ meeting, at which the company is expected to introduce its new management team and outline its merchandising strategies going forward. BJ’s stock closed at $35.91, down $1.53.

BJ's Veteran named to new post

2007-09-04T06:08:00.000-07:00

BJ's Veteran named to new post Boston Business Journal - August 30, 2007

by Naomi Kooker

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. announced Thursday that Edward F. Gillooly was promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president, chief marketing officer.

Gillooly had been senior vice president, director of marketing.

Gillooly, whose career at BJ's began in 1991, brings more than 20 years of marketing experience to his new position.

He began at BJ's as assistant vice president, marketing director. A year later he was promoted to vice president in that department. He was promoted again, but retired in September 2002. He returned to BJ's in January 2007 to lead the marketing department.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJS), based in Natick, Mass., operates 175 clubs and 99 gas stations in 16 eastern states.

Ahead of the Bell: BJ's Wholesale Club

2007-08-29T05:48:00.001-07:00

Aug. 22, 2007, 8:13AM
Ahead of the Bell: BJ's Wholesale Club

NEW YORK — A JPMorgan analyst on Wednesday reiterated his "Overweight" rating on BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. and said the warehouse-club operator's turnaround efforts were on track.

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. on Tuesday said net income rose 37 percent, ahead of analyst expectations, helped by strong sales of perishable foods. The news sent its shares up 3 percent on Tuesday.

Analyst Charles Grom said in a note to investors on Wednesday that initiatives begun by Chief Executive Herb Zarkin, who took the post in November, appear to be paying off. The overall number of products on shelves, or stock keeping units, and the number of private label brands have been reduced, Grom said.

Among other things, Zarkin has sought to cut the number of brands and sizes BJ's carries to open up shelf space for additional product lines.

"It appears that the turnaround effort at BJ's remains on track (if not ahead of plan)," Grom wrote.

BJ's Sees 37 Percent Profit Jump in Q2; Launches BJ's Visa Card

2007-08-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

BJ's Sees 37 Percent Profit Jump in Q2; Launches BJ's Visa Card

AUGUST 22, 2007 -- NATICK, Mass. -- Warehouse club operator BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. yesterday posted a 37 percent increase in profit for the second quarter, citing strong sales of perishable foods like cheese and produce.

Its net income was $36.3 million, compared to $26.4 million in the second quarter of 2006.

Separately, the company announced a new partnership with Barclays to launch the BJ's Visa Card, which will be accepted as a customer's BJ's Membership Card.

Results for the second quarter of 2007 included income of $2.4 million post-tax from the disposition of a lease on one of the two ProFoods Restaurant Supply locations closed by the company in January 2007, as well as income of $3.6 million post-tax from favorable income tax audit settlements.

Total sales for the second quarter jumped 8.0 percent to $2.25 billion, compared with $2.08 billion for the second quarter of 2006. Comparable club sales increased by 3.7 percent for the latest period, including a contribution from sales of gasoline of 0.7 percent and a detriment from lack of pharmacy sales vs. last year worth approximately 0.4 percent.

BJ's said its new Visa Card will offer cardholders the following perks:
-- Two points for every dollar spent on eligible BJ's purchases
-- One point for every dollar spent on all other purchases
-- 1,000 bonus points after their initial purchase
-- For every 2,000 points accumulated, the cardholder automatically will receive with their monthly statement a $20 BJ's Bucks check, which can be used for BJ's purchases
-- The option to use their BJ's Visa Card as their BJ's Membership Card
-- Fast checkout with Visa payWave, Visa's contactless technology

Via Visa payWave technology, consumers will be able to pay for purchases by waving their contactless-enabled card within two inches of a secure card reader.

"Members shop at BJ's Wholesale Clubs for the quality products, selection, convenience, and overall value that a BJ's Membership brings to their lives, and we wanted to deliver that same brand experience with our BJ's Visa Card," said Ed Gillooly, e.v.p., chief marketing officer, BJ's Wholesale Club, in a statement.

Barclays said it plans to issue a business credit card for BJ's business members beginning in January 2008.

BJ's operates 175 BJ's Wholesale Clubs in 16 states.

Links referenced within this article

Find this article at:
http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003628883

Even With 'Continued Strength in Food,' BJ's Sees Lower July Comps

2007-08-10T08:01:00.002-07:00

Even With 'Continued Strength in Food,' BJ's Sees Lower July Comps AUGUST 10, 2007 -- NATICK, Mass. -- Spurred by solid sales of bakery, cheese, dairy, frozen, meat, and produce items, BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. yesterday posted July 2007 sales of $650.5 million, a 6.0 percent increase from July 2006's $613.9 million. July comparable-club sales rose 1.5 percent, including a negative impact of 0.6 percent from gasoline sales and a negative impact of 0.4 percent from the absence of pharmacy sales vs. last year. Last year the retailer reported a July comparable-club sales rise of 1.9 percent, including a 1.1 percent contribution from gas sales. Comparable-club food sales for the month increased about 5 percent, particularly in the perishables categories noted above. A dip in general merchandise of about 1 percent reflected a considerable decline in air conditioners sales compared with last year, in addition to a decrease furniture and toy sales, partially offset by strong sales of books (particularly the recently released "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"), televisions and video game hardware. For the second quarter ended Aug. 4, 2007, total sales grew 8.2 percent, to $2.25 billion and comparable-club sales went up 3.7 percent, including a 0.7 percent contribution from gas sales and a negative effect from the absence of pharmacy sales vs. last year of 0.4 percent. For the year-ago period BJ's posted a total sales increase of 5.7 percent and comparable-club sales growth of 1.8 percent, including a 1.9 percent contribution from gas sales. "There were a number of factors impacting July comparable-club sales results, which decelerated from the 4 percent and 5 percent increases we reported in May and June," explained BJ's chairman, president and c.e.o. Herb Zarkin in a statement. "First, we were up against a significantly higher level of coupon distribution as well as very strong air conditioner sales in July 2006. Additionally, last July we offered 90-day trial memberships throughout the month as part of our Annual Spring Trial Membership Program. This year the cut-off for trial membership signups was July 9. And finally, gasoline had a negative impact of approximately 0.6 percent in July, vs. a contribution of approximately 1 percent in both May and June. Taking these factors into account, together with our continued strength in food, we are pleased with our sales results for July 2007." As for the second quarter, "comparable-club sales results were consistent with our guidance and showed positive momentum from the first quarter," noted Zarkin "Comparable-club sales of food increased by approximately 5 percent, and general merchandise sales increased by approximately 0.5 percent." For the 26-week period ended Aug. 4, 2007, total sales rose 7.4 percent and comparable-club sales grew 3.0 percent, including a 1.1 percent contribution from gas sales and a negative impact from the absence of pharmacy sales vs. last year of 0.4 percent. By region, the highest sales increases were in Metro New York and the Mid-Atlantic. Sales went down in the Southeast region, which, according to the company has been experiencing a higher level of competition and self-cannibalization than locations in other parts of the country. BJ's operates 175 BJ's clubs in 16 states.

Workers picket BJ's construction site

2007-08-10T08:01:00.001-07:00

UNION: We were left out of biddingCOMPANY REP: Process was fair

Workers picket BJ's construction site

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 08/9/07

BY MATT PAIS
MANAHAWKIN BUREAU

Post Comment

STAFFORD — They've been fighting the heat and humidity of the dog days of August for weeks, and say they won't let up until their voices are heard.

A collection of union workers are making their displeasure at the site of a future BJ's Wholesale Club known on a daily basis, picketing the job site at the corner of Martin Truex Jr. Boulevard and McKinley Avenue.

Members of carpenters union local 2018 and electrical workers local 400 claim they were unfairly excluded from the bidding to work on the project that will bring the first wholesale club to southern Ocean County.

"This contractor is non-union, and he doesn't pay area standard wages or health care," said Seymour Kahn, business agent for the carpenters union.

Kahn said he organized the picket as a way for union members to voice their displeasure with being excluded from taking part in the latest in a series of commercial developments along the McKinley Avenue corridor.

"This is a standard informational picket. We are the public, and we want the public to know (this job) is non-union," he said.

Julie Somers, a spokeswoman for BJ's Wholesale, said the company does not conduct the bidding process for construction. That job is left to the independent contractor hired to do the work.

She declined to identify the contractor being used in Stafford, as did workers at the job site.

"We hire these contractors because they have a proven track record. They execute quality work in a timely, cost-effective manner. They are looking for people who do the same," Somers said.

Somers disputes Kahn's claim that union workers were excluded from bidding.

"The bidding process is a competitive one. The contractor for Manahawkin did in fact include union labor in the bidding process," she said. "BJ's does not have a preference as to whether it's union or non-union labor. In a competitive marketplace, we want our contractors to choose the best labor for the job."

Kahn, however, disputes that claim, and says the union-standard price tag of $54.13 an hour including benefits was too pricey for the national chain.

"The bottom line is money," he said. "BJ's says it was competitive and (awarded to) the lowest bid. We're just making the statement that we were never given an opportunity."

Matt Pais: (609) 978-4582 or mpais@app.com

BJ's success documented everywhere

2007-07-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Keeping Up with the Big Boys

Articles, Analysts, and Executives continue to brag about how well BJ's Wholesale Club is doing...

I believe rising gas and food prices will play to BJ's strengths. It is able to offer these at discounts to traditional grocers and gas stations. Doing this increases store traffic, and customers also may spend more on other items, like big-screen televisions. This could in turn increase margins, which is one ingredient the company is missing today.

Are you seeing a change at your job? Don't let the company continue to take advantage of you while they only reap the benefits. Stand up for your hard work. Contact us if you've had enough of being treated like this.

Sales rise $80 Million...do you deserve more?

2007-07-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

BJ's Wholesale Club June Comp Sales Up 5.3%....Are you seeing any of this profit???

BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) said June same-store sales rose 5.3% from a year earlier, including a contribution from sales of gasoline of 1.4% and a negative impact of 0.4% from the absence of pharmacy sales.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected, on average, a 3.3% same- store sales rise.
Total sales rose 9.8% to $886.8 million from $807.3 million a year ago.

BJ's Wholesale Club sales rose nearly $80 Million dollars from a year ago... Have things in your working environment changed from a year ago? Is BJ's giving Health Care to all employees now? Are you getting all the hours that you were promised? Did you get that raise you were promised??? With all the leg work you do for BJ's Wholesale Club you'd think they would show some appreciation sometime.

2007-07-06T09:04:00.001-07:00

BJ's Wholesale 1Q Profit Declines...

2007-05-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=111&sid=1147047

BJ's Wholesale 1Q Profit Declines

May 22, 2007 - 10:14am

By MARK JEWELL
AP Business Writer

BOSTON (AP) - BJ's Wholesale Club Inc.'s profit fell 11 percent in the first full quarter since a leadership change returned Herb Zarkin to the retail warehouse club's top job.

Despite the lower profit, Zarkin said he expects his efforts to revamp merchandise and pricing at Natick-based BJ's to yield improved earnings by late this year.

Net income for the three-month period ended May 5 declined to $13.7 million, or 21 cents per share, from $15.4 million, or 23 cents per share, a year ago.

The latest quarter included income of a penny per share from the sale of pharmacy assets following Zarkin's Jan. 4 announcement of plans to close 46 unprofitable in-store pharmacies.

Not counting one-time gains and expenses, the latest quarter's profit would have totaled 20 cents, compared with 22 cents previously, matching the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Revenue, including membership fees, grew to $2.06 billion from $1.91 billion last year. Net sales rose 8 percent to $2.01 billion from $1.87 billion a year earlier, as sales at clubs open at least a year increased 2.3 percent, including a contribution from gasoline sales of 1.4 percent.

Shares of BJ's rose $1.09 cents, or 3.1 percent, in morning trading Tuesday to $36.60.

Although the first-quarter profit fell 11 percent, the performance was an improvement from the fourth quarter, when net income plunged 77 percent following slow sales heading into the holiday shopping season _ a trend that led to the abrupt resignation of Mike Wedge on Nov. 22, when Zarkin was named interim chief executive. On March 1, BJ's named Zarkin president and CEO on a permanent basis, and he stayed on as board chairman.

Zarkin told analysts in a conference call that he was "encouraged by the early signs" from his steps to turn around the company, and expects to see the efforts yield profit gains starting late this year.

"We feel we made considerable progress in the first quarter," said Zarkin, despite poor April weather in the Northeast that hurt sales.

Among other things, Zarkin plans to cut the number of brands and sizes BJ's carries to open up shelf space for additional product lines. He also plans to eliminate certain BJ's-branded private label items, offer more competitive pricing, and refocus marketing and merchandise presentation.

BJ's, with more than 20,000 employees, operates 173 warehouse clubs in 16 states, stretching from Maine to Florida, with the heaviest concentration in the Northeast. BJ's is dwarfed by larger rivals Costco Wholesale Corp. and Wal-Mart Inc.'s Sam's Club.

From 1993 to 1997, Zarkin was president and CEO of Waban Inc., which then operated BJ's and well as HomeBase, another warehouse club.

By MARK JEWELL
AP Business Writer

BOSTON (AP) - BJ's Wholesale Club Inc.'s profit fell 11 percent in the first full quarter since a leadership change returned Herb Zarkin to the retail warehouse club's top job.

Despite the lower profit, Zarkin said he expects his efforts to revamp merchandise and pricing at Natick-based BJ's to yield improved earnings by late this year.

Net income for the three-month period ended May 5 declined to $13.7 million, or 21 cents per share, from $15.4 million, or 23 cents per share, a year ago.

The latest quarter included income of a penny per share from the sale of pharmacy assets following Zarkin's Jan. 4 announcement of plans to close 46 unprofitable in-store pharmacies.

Shares of BJ's rose $1.09 cents, or 3.1 percent, in morning trading Tuesday to $36.60.

"We feel we made considerable progress in the first quarter," said Zarkin, despite poor April weather in the Northeast that hurt sales.

From 1993 to 1997, Zarkin was president and CEO of Waban Inc., which then operated BJ's and well as HomeBase, another warehouse club.

Rumors at Club 138

2007-05-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

Typical BJ's situations at BJ's Club 138. Workers continue to tell us how the situation is worsening...

Constant harrasment by male managers.
Absolutley no respect toward team members
One member calls the situation "disturbing" and says they "have absolutley no idea what's going to happen when they get to work"

The situation is growing worse and we're here to help, we'll be contacting our lead members there to let everyone know when the next meeting is. BJ's can't get away with this.

BJ's and Privacy

2007-05-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

Here are a few articles on BJ's Wholesale Club and their privacy problems...These articles are from 2005.
------------------------------
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164900859

The Federal Trade Commission's recent announcement of a proposed settlement with BJ's Wholesale Club is just the latest privacy-enforcement action to send the message that application security matters--a lot.

The FTC's complaint against BJ's gives new clarity to the line between reasonable and unreasonable security practices. Some of the criticized practices fall in the network-security, access-controls, and incident-response categories: insufficient measures to detect unauthorized access and conduct security investigations, insecure wireless network access, and use of commonly known default user IDs and passwords. But other practices listed in the complaint fall squarely in the category of application controls to protect sensitive information, such as failure to encrypt sensitive information while in transit or in network storage and unduly long data retention.

----------------------------------------------------

Press Release on the agreement

Massachusetts: Hunger seen a growing problem in area and BJ's isn't helping

2007-04-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

This article comes from the Sun Chronicle, highlighting hunger problems throughout Massachusetts. It notes that wealthy retailers like BJ's Wholesale Club aren't doing much to solve the problem, we think they should stop charging membership fees and start accepting food stamps.

Hunger seen a growing problem in area

BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Friday, April 13, 2007 1:14 AM EDT

U.S. Rep. James McGovern speaks to the Community Coalition of Greater Attleboro Thursday morning at the Attleboro Arts Museum. (Staff photo by KEITH NORDSTROM)

ATTLEBORO - Hunger in the Attleboro area has grown beyond the poor and is now common among working class families, social service providers and U.S. Rep. James McGovern said Thursday.

They said more families than ever are utilizing free food pantries because they cannot make ends meet due to the high cost of food, housing, gasoline, health care and heating fuel.

"There are a lot of hungry people right here," McGovern, D-Worcester, told a breakfast meeting of the Area Community Coalition of Greater Attleboro.

He said hunger in America goes beyond the stereotype of the poor, homeless person and is now found in working class families and the elderly.

Hospital emergency rooms are treating more elderly patients who have damaged their stomachs by taking medication without eating because they cannot afford both medicine and food, McGovern said.

Janice Godfrey of the Rehoboth Council on Aging said she volunteers at a charity food pantry on Easter Sundays.

Last year she sat around eating jelly beans because so few people took advantage of the pantry on Easter.

This year, she said, so many people came for free food that "I never worked so hard."

She said a big problem is the rising price of milk. A gallon has hit $4 in some stores and is expected to keep rising throughout the year.

McGovern said it might sound odd, but obesity can be related to hunger.

He said poor families give their children soda and junk food because they cannot afford milk and fresh vegetables.

The congressman said there is some help available, but Massachusetts has one of the lowest rates for applying for food stamps in the country.

He said he supports a proposal to provide a breakfast to school children at their desk first thing in the morning and another to extend school lunch programs for the poor throughout the summer.

Mary Ellen Goodwin of Beta Community Services proposed another way of helping hungry families.

She said the debit cards the food stamp program gives to families are not accepted at some discount stores, such as BJ's Wholesale Club.

If the cards were accepted by the discount stores, poor families could save $1 on every gallon of milk and get other food for less to make their food stamp allotment stretch farther, she said.

The meeting touched on a variety of issues affecting social services.

Speakers said workers have not received raises in years, affordable housing is disappearing in the Attleboro area and a federal fuel assistance program is inadequate.

A few speakers said the United States could afford to take care of its needy citizens if it was not spending so much money on the war in Iraq.

McGovern said that since Democrats took over Congress, there has been a renewed emphasis on the poor and next year will increase funding for many social services.

Later, he explained that to pay for the extra spending on social services, other areas of the budget will have to be cut, or tax decreases passed years ago will be allowed to expire.

The budget resolution passed by the House rejected President Bush's proposal to cut food stamps by 280,000 families and home meals for 500,000 senior citizens.

It also increases funding for agriculture programs that support nutrition by $20 billion, according to McGovern's Washington office.

What a Great Response!

2007-04-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who has been posting and visiting the site, last week we promoted the site so much and it looks like its paying off. We'll be scheduling more meetings this week we've also put up a poll, so go vote! Thanks again and remember to shoot us an email at BJSBLOG@aol.com.

Things stirring up in Queens....

2007-03-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

We've been meeting with tons of workers from the BJ's Queens locations, most workers are begining to bring us more and more unsatisfied workers from BJ's. We know most workers are still scared to post on the blog but leave us some comments on how you think our campaign is going or how you think we can improve it...We love hearing from everyone and are looking forward to hearing and seeing everyone at our next meeting in Queens!

BJ’s Wholesale Elects Zarkin President and CEO

2007-03-02T06:57:00.001-08:00

NATICK, Mass. — Herb Zarkin has been elected president and chief executive officer of BJ’s Wholesale Club, the company said yesterday. He had served as interim CEO since November 2006 and will continue as chairman of the company’s board of directors. Zarkin has served as a director since November 1996 and as chairman since 1997. From 1993 to 1997, he was president, CEO and a director at Waban Inc., which operated BJ’s Wholesale Club as well as HomeBase, another warehouse merchandising business. Tom Shields, BJ’s presiding director, said, “The board’s decision is a vote of confidence in Herb’s ability to lead the company. He has done an outstanding job as CEO in recent months, and we are confident that his continued leadership will benefit all BJ’s stakeholders.”

CNN Uncovers E-COLI at BJ'S

2007-02-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

(Taken From CNN.com)

BJ's recalls mushrooms on E. coli suspicion

Warehouse club operator pulls items from shelves after routine testing finds possible presence of deadly bacteria.

February 20 2007: 7:30 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. said Tuesday it was recalling packages of fresh mushrooms after it a routine inspection revealed the possible presence of the deadly bacteria E. coli.

The warehouse club operator said the products affected were Wellsley Farms brand fresh mushrooms purchased between February 11 and February 19, 2007.

Video

BJ's recalls mushrooms on E. coli suspicion

2007-02-21T06:34:00.000-08:00

BJ's recalls mushrooms on E. coli suspicion

(Taken From The Marler Blog)

According to CNN Money: Warehouse club operator pulls items from shelves after routine testing

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. said Tuesday it was recalling packages of fresh mushrooms after it a routine inspection revealed the possible presence of the deadly bacteria E. coli. The warehouse club operator said the products affected were Wellsley Farms brand fresh mushrooms purchased between February 11 and February 19, 2007. The company, which had not received any reports of illness, said it had removed all the potentially affected products from its shelves as a precaution.

Tags: Case News, coli BJ's, e.

BJ's out Home Depot in

2007-02-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

The city is allowing Home Depot to build a 135,000 square foot store in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx. There was no major outcry from citizens, politicians, labor activists, religious, or community leaders. Why, When a year ago all of these groups came out against a proposed BJ's Wholesale Club? Well, first and foremost as Councilmember Annabel Palma said, "Home Depot is accustomed to paying a living wage". The implication that BJ's does not is deafening. This decision really reflects the importance that corporate responsibility is taking in the decisions that the city and the citizens make about their neighborhood. BJ's is notorious for not paying their employees a living wage. Finally, people from all sectors of the populace are standing up and saying that if, as company policy, you treat your employees poorly, if you do not provide benefits, and you do not recognize their right to organize a union, then you are not welcome in our neighborhood. We see this trend happening all over the place, like Staten Island keeping Wal-Mart from building stores, to the rally at Albee Square in Brooklyn last week, where Wal-Mart again was blocked from opening a store. Maybe BJ's will learn from this rebuff (most likely not) and begin to treat their workers with respect. We understand that it is now time to make work pay. By denying BJ's expansion into the Bronx, it lets them know that they will not be able to make money in New York City without recognizing their employees right to MAKE WORK PAY.

Discontent in Middle Village...Workers Not Happy

2007-02-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

We're hearing rumblings again... Workers in Middle Village are not happy. Constant complaints over cut hours, and even workers being repremanded for asking about the sale of the company... For the abundant amount of complaints and response we continue to get in Middle Village we know that we're on the right path for bringing help to BJ's Workers. With the support of former BJ's employees we have a message for BJ's workers in Middle Village: "Help is On the Way!"

BJ's Flyer

2007-01-29T10:49:00.000-08:00

We've been getting a lot of emails requesting to put the flyer up on the site...We're in the process of creating a new one but feel free to print these out at your homes!

BJ's Wholesale Club: Buyout Rumors Still Buzzing

2007-01-22T08:18:00.000-08:00

Taken from the Motley Fool: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/01/09/bjs-wholesale-club-buyout-rumors-still-buzzing.aspx

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) has been a popular target for buyout rumors. And with good reason, since the company has the kind of things that private equity firms look for: strong cash flows, minimal long-term debt, and valuable assets, such as its real estate holdings.

Well, last week, investors got more information to trade on. In fact, the last few months have been busy for the company. So let's see how the events might affect a potential buyout.

Perhaps the most encouraging piece of information was the resignation of the CEO in November (yes, investors can be harsh). Basically, the board is open to new approaches, which likely means evaluating a buyout transaction.

Interestingly enough, BJ's continued its management shakeup last week. Laura Sen is the company's new executive vice president of merchandising and logistics, whereas Ed Gillooly has been appointed the senior vice president of marketing and membership. The company's CFO, Frank Forward, has also agreed to stay with the company for another three years.

Next, the company is still showing weakness in sales. In December, same-store sales were a measly 0.06%. Moreover, the forecast is 1% to 3% growth in January.

So how does this play into the buyout analysis? It means that the company will need to take some tough actions, which may be more easily done as a private company.

We're not finished yet. BJ's is going to shut down two ProFoods Restaurant Supply locations, as well as 46 in-club pharmacies. As a result, there will be a restructuring charge of $0.42 to $0.48 per share. This means a fourth-quarter earnings forecast of $0.17 to $0.25 per share.

There's no doubt that BJ's needs to find ways to compete effectively against its much larger and more powerful competitors, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Costco (Nasdaq: COST). For example, the company is looking to price merchandise more aggressively, as well as improve the merchandising mix. And these recent changes may provide new ideas to do so.

Might these changes scare away potential buyers? I don't think they will. Private equity firms have bought a variety of smaller retailers, such as The Sports Authority, Good Guys, and Brookstone. Even Toys R Us was able to do a buyout despite the intense competition from Wal-Mart.

So even with the recent operational and management changes, the rumors should not go away. However, betting on a buyout can be particularly dangerous for Foolish investors. If anything, management may want some time to restructure the company before selling out.

Further Foolishness:

BJ's Wholesale Club upgraded to "buy"

2007-01-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK, January 16 (newratings.com) - In a research note published yesterday, analysts at FTN Midwest upgrade BJ's Wholesale Club Inc (BJ.NYS) from "neutral" to "buy."

What is next for our company???

Rumors concerning the sale of BJ's

2007-01-12T09:15:00.000-08:00

We hear rumors everyday about the sale of BJ's, but TheStreet.com contributor Scott Rothbort has an interesting articles discussing 5 business hookup we might see. He gives reasons why the deals make sense and also reasons why they my not happen. Link

1. Sears Holdings (Nasdaq: SHLD) to buy BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ)
2. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to acquire Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) orT Rowe Price (Nasdaq: TROW)
3. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) to acquire Palm (Nasdaq: PALM)
4. General Electric (NYSE: GE) to acquire Alcoa (NYSE: AA)
5. Boeing (NYSE: BA) to merger with Ford (NYSE: F)

Heres what Scott Rothbort had to say about BJ's....
All too often, the media and investors merely speculate about potential takeovers and start rumors. I, on the other hand, prefer to contemplate what would make a nice corporate match in a Yenta the Matchmaker-type way.

Here is my list of five mergers and acquisitions that make sense to me -- with the reasons why, and the reasons why they might not happen:

1. Sears Holdings (SHLD - commentary - Cramer's Take - Rating) to acquire warehouse retailer BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ - commentary - Cramer's Take - Rating).

Why it makes sense: Sears still has underperforming stories -- or Kmart-Sears stores that are cannabilizing one another -- and it's in the process of transforming them into new concepts or selling off their real estate. BJ is dwarfed by Costco (COST - commentary - Cramer's Take - Rating). Sears can buy BJ and expand BJ, utilizing those superfluous Kmart-and-Sears stores to capture more of the fast-growing warehouse business from Costco and Wal-Mart's (WMT - commentary - Cramer's Take - Rating) Sam's Club. Currently, BJ's market cap is just under $2 billion. Sears has the cash and stock currency to easily pay a 20% premium to BJ shareholders and still make an accretive acquisition.

Why it might not happen: Sears' Eddie Lampert is focused on improving the merchandising in existing Sears stores and continues to experiment with new concepts such as in the Gwinnett Place Mall.

Analysts: "There's a very legitimate case for it being sold -- they're not big enough to compete with the Sam's and Costcos,"

2007-01-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

BJ's Getting Out of Pharmacy Biz

By George Anderson

BJ's Wholesale Club has decided to close all of its pharmacies.

The decision to get out of the pharmacy business was made, according to interim CEO Herb Zarkin, for a number of reasons. These included the company getting into pharmacy at a later stage (2002) than its primary competitors and not having conveniently located stores (46 of BJ's 171 stores have a pharmacy) to make it easier for consumers to pick up their prescription medicines.

"We haven't seen the [prescriptions] grow on a regular basis," Zarkin said. "It just didn't make a lot of sense for us to keep on putting the investment in."

BJ's has also felt the effect of increased price competition, which started when Wal-Mart began pricing some older generics at $4, as well as dealing with reduced reimbursement rates from Medicare.

The announcement BJ's is shuttering its pharmacies is likely to increase speculation of a company sale.

"There's a very legitimate case for it being sold -- they're not big enough to compete with the Sam's and Costcos," David Strasser, an analyst with Bank of America Securities, told the Boston Globe.

A BJ's spokeswoman said the company would not comment on the decision to disband the pharmacy. But in a conference call with investors last week, interim CEO Herb Zarkin said BJ's prescription business wasn't growing.

"It just didn't make a lot of sense for us to keep putting the investment in," he said.

Zarkin replaced Michael Wedge, the architect of BJ's plan to build pharmaceutical sales by offering a variety of medications at prices up to 20 percent lower than drug stores.

BJ's also entered the e-commerce fray in December, allowing nonmembers to shop online for such goods as plasma televisions and electronics. BJ's publicized the effort by offering a 41-carat diamond necklace, priced at $250,000.

But jewelry sales failed to dazzle in the fourth quarter, which Zarkin attributed to poor staff training.

"You just can't put a body there," he said. "You have to train them."

BJ's operates 171 stores in 17 states, 46 of them with pharmacies. In addition to Deptford and Voorhees, the retailer also operates stores in Maple Shade, Mays Landing and Vineland. We don't know what's exactly in store for BJ's, but we do know that the workers should keep their eyes and ears open for anything, this is a very trying time for BJ's Wholesale Club...

BJ's Wholesale Club to public: Expect Changes

2007-01-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

BJ'S Wholesale Club has been all over the news lately, nationally and internationally... Here are many of their miscues from last week alone that you the workers may not be aware about... New interim CEO Herb Zarkin said yesterday that the company lost market share to both Kroger and Wal-Mart "by not offering the right products at the right price." If the prescription drug business had anything to do with that, then the picture could get worse for BJ's in 2007... "The situation is a mess..." said one manager when asked about the pharmacies being cut and the future "simply I just don't know what is going to happen..." Keep coming back to find out more on this "mess" of a situation BJ's is in.

BJ's Wholesale Cuts Profit Outlook
Houston Chronicle - Houston,TX,USA
BOSTON — BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. on Thursday cut its profit forecast amid sluggish sales and said it will close 46 in-store pharmacies and two restaurant ...

BJ's Wholesale cuts profit outlook, will ...
Boston Online - BOSTON -- BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. on Thursday cut its profit forecast amid sluggish sales and said it will close 46 in-store pharmacies and two restaurant supply locations, moves announced less than two months after the ...

Warehouse club BJ's Wholesale cuts profit outlook, will close 46 ...
BOSTON: BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. on Thursday cut its profit forecast amid sluggish sales and said it will close 46 in-store pharmacies and two restaurant ...

Sector Snap: Big Box Retailers
Houston Chronicle - Houston,TX,USA
NEW YORK — Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. sank Thursday under slow same-store sales in December, but other big box retailers got a boost from an ...

BJ's Wholesale Club makes management shifts
Worcester Business Journal - Worcester,MA,USA
Forward was part of the original team that formed BJ's Wholesale Club as a development stage business in 1984. Forward previously served as executive vice ...

BJ's Wholesale Club will attempt to regroup - Orlando Sentinel
BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., the third-largest US warehouse retailer, ... Warehouse club BJ's Wholesale cuts profit outlook, will close 46 … International Herald Tribune BJ’s Wholesale Club Reports December Sales Results; Announces … ...

BJ's Wholesale, on the rebound again...

2007-01-07T06:38:00.000-08:00

Kroger and Wal-Mart beat up on BJ's Wholesale

BJ's Wholesale(NYSE:BJ), the nation's third-largest wholesale store chain behind leaders Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) and Sam's Club, has not had anything enlightening to say in prior quarters. It continues to lose sales to competitor Wal-Mart, Inc. (NYSE:WMT),which runs Sam's Clubs, and to even the nation's largest retail (not wholesale) grocery retailer Kroger (NYSE:K).

BJ's Wholesale even cut its profit forecast after lower-than-expected holiday sales were announced. The company will be closing 46 in-store pharmacies and two restaurant-supply locations. 46 pharmacies, you say? Has the recent move by Wal-Mart into the prescription drug "discount bin" pricing approach that was just launched in the last calendar quarter of 2006 had anything to do with this move by BJ's Wholesale?

In response to Wal-Mart's move into the $4 prescription drug business, both competitors Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) and Kroger said they would respond with the same pricing in an effort to not lose customers to Wal-Mart. But retail drug chains like CVS (NYSE:CVS) and Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) did not follow suit (nor could they).

BJ's interim CEO Herb Zarkin said yesterday that the company lost market share to both Kroger and Wal-Mart "by not offering the right products at the right price." If the prescription drug business had anything to do with that, then the picture could get worse for BJ's in 2007.

BJ’s to Shut Pharmacies, ProFoods

2007-01-05T06:02:00.000-08:00

BJ’s to Shut Pharmacies, ProFoods

January 5th, 2007

NATICK, Mass. — BJ’s Wholesale Club here said yesterday it would close all 46 of its in-store pharmacies, as well as its two ProFoods restaurant supply stores, as part of a restructuring under interim Chief Executive Officer Herb Zarkin. Citing “self-inflicted” struggles for sales and membership growth, Zarkin said BJ’s would reduce SKU selection, sharpen pricing, curb new club growth, and improve marketing and merchandising. The announcements, which also included the return of former executives Laura Sen, named executive vice president of merchandising and logistics, and Ed Gillooly, senior vice president of marketing and membership, came after BJ’s said tepid sales of general merchandise and winter gear slowed comparable sales in December to 0.6%, including a 1% gain from gasoline sales. Charges related to closure costs, as well as the effect of lower-than-expected sales, will result in quarterly earnings of 17- 25 cents a share, down from previous estimates of 83-87 cents per share, the retailer said.

Did your store let you know??? What other changes will the interim CEO Herb Zarkin make??!? This is an important time for BJ's Workers to come together and stand up for their rights.

Breaking the Wall

2006-12-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who has been coming out to our meetings and discussing their personal problems with BJ's...They've been a great success, we're learning so much but at the same time there is a common theme... All the problems seem to be the same, no matter what store location we're speaking to workers at it's the same thing. Managers taking advantage of their workers, by changing hours, cutting hours, verbal abuse, etc... We'll keep you all posted on the latest news as usual including a special piece we're developing now for later this week, and we all hope your holidays are better than the treatment at the club...

All I want for Christmas is...."More Hours!"

2006-12-15T10:52:00.000-08:00

Talking to many workers recently we've discovered that workers are constantly annoyed about their hours being cut. "At every BJ's I've ever been in I get at least 4 workers complaining to me about cut hours" says a former BJ's employee... Are your hours being cut? Let us know...

BJ's Wholesale Club: Providing customers with diamonds; Providing employees with minimum wages

2006-12-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

We've already seen massive diamonds sold through stores like Costco and Sam's Club. Now BJ's Wholesale Club has created an online store they decided to make a splash by putting an expensive dazzler on sale. They are selling a 41-total-carat-weight diamond necklace for $249,999.99. The online store has items that are not available in stores and for a limited time non-members can shop the site at member prices. At this price it'd take a BJ's Worker 31,250 hours of work...or working 1302 straight days to purchase this necklace, and that's without factoring in what BJ's Workers pay for Health Care. Anyone else see a problem here??? Why is it the BJ's Customers get a deal and workers continue to get the short end of the stick???

Thousands and thousands shop at BJ's especially around this time of year for the holiday's, and BJ's continues to provide great deals for the consumers, but when will BJ's start helping the people who make their company what it is?

Things need to be changed at BJ's Wholesale Club now. BJ's workers work too hard for this sort of treatment.

BJ's Land a Buyout Lure

2006-12-01T08:41:00.000-08:00

Retail
BJ's Land a Buyout Lure
By Nicholas Yulico
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
11/30/2006 7:04 AM EST
URL: http://www.thestreet.com/newsanalysis/retail/10325034.html

Imagine buying a retail stock and getting $750 million of real estate value for free. That's essentially the deal that investors are getting at BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) -- and it is one reason why buyout firms may be circling. With the recent departure of the company's chief executive, talk of a possible leveraged buyout for BJ's is heating up. Much of the interest has to do with "hidden real estate value," a retailing play made famous by Ed Lampert's successful merger of Kmart and Sears in 2004, which resulted in the giant now known as Sears Holding (SHLD) . BJ's has long been tossed around as a buyout candidate because it has the qualities that private equity loves. The company owns more than a third of its properties, has just $11 million of long-term debt, and should post $300 million of annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) next year.

Moreover, BJ's real estate alone is worth at least $750 million, according to an estimate calculated by TheStreet.com. The abrupt departure of BJ's CEO Mike Wedge last Wednesday, just 48 hours before Black Friday, was "too odd to ignore," wrote JP Morgan analyst Charles Grom in a research note last week. The stock bounced 10% on the news that Wedge was leaving. The departure "leads us to believe that the company's Board of Directors may be beginning to think strategically, including a potential sale of the company or other recapitalization alternatives, including real estate divestitures," Grom wrote.

BJ's stock, currently at around $32, has an enterprise value of $2.1 billion, which is 7.4 times trailing twelve-month EBITDA. Costco (COST) , the largest U.S. wholesale club operator, has a $53 stock that trades at 9.6 times trailing EBITDA. BJ's deserves to trade at some sort of discount to Costco because it has posted slower earnings growth in recent years and faces more challenges as the country's third-largest wholesale club operator. Sam's Club, which is owned by Wal-Mart (WMT) , is the second-largest discount club. However, even if you apply a slight discount to the Costco multiple and add to that a bottoms-up analysis of the real estate, you get a big number for BJ's stock value, says one large investor in the stock who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "This makes for the perfect going-private transaction," the investor says. Another large owner of the stock believes that BJ's is worth at least $38 in an LBO and estimates the real estate is worth about $1 billion.

Real Estate Value Unrealized

According to the company's annual report, BJ's had 165 warehouse club locations as of January, of which 48 are owned and 11 locations are ground leases (where the company owns the building, but leases the underlying land). The remaining stores are leased. BJ's doesn't specify which specific locations are owned, and a company spokeswoman declined to provide this information. The Natick, Mass.-based company's stores are spread across the Eastern seaboard, with a little more than half in New York, Florida, Massachusetts and New Jersey -- all desirable locations from a retail and real estate perspective Strong buyer demand for such properties has driven down cap rates, or initial rates of return, boosting real estate values to all-time-high levels. The demand is coming from real estate investment trusts, 1031 tax-exchange buyers, and high-net-worth individuals looking for tax shelters, industry experts says. CB Richard Ellis, a leading commercial real estate firm, is currently marketing for sale a rather typical BJ's Wholesale Club in Cutler Bay, Fla., just south of Miami. The seller is a private real estate investment trust. The cap rate is 6.75%, with initial rents of $8.40 per square foot per year. The 108,000 square foot property is being sold for $13.4 million. Jeffrey Thomas, the CB Richard Ellis broker who is marketing this listing, believes a 7% cap rate is a conservative number to apply to BJ's national portfolio of 48 owned stores. In fact, the true cap rate could be closer to 6.5%, he says. For the 11 sites where BJ's has a ground lease but owns the building, a higher cap rate of 8.25% to 8.5% should be used, he says. Using these cap rates and CB Richard Ellis data, TheStreet.com came up with a value of about $750 million for the 59 stores that BJ's owns -- and that's likely a conservative estimate. This analysis uses a relatively low annual rent of $8.50 per square foot. CB Richard Ellis broker Greg Dalton says rents for new warehouse clubs typically range in the $10 to $15 per-square-foot range, per year. Old stores might see rents in the $7 to $9 range, he says. Higher rents would result in higher property valuations. BJ's balance sheet lists the value of its land and buildings at $584 million before accumulated depreciation. (The company doesn't specifically break out the depreciation charges for the land and buildings, so it's hard to decipher the book value of these assets, which would be lower). The company's stock isn't reflecting the true value of the company's real estate. On a sum-of-the-parts analysis, the company's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) estimate for next year would be $245 million after the sale of all real estate. That estimate subtracts additional annual rental expenses. Over the past eight years, companies paid an average 10 times EBITDA on the 32 large merger and LBO transactions among retail stocks, according to A.G. Edwards. Applying a seven-times multiple to that adjusted EBITDA stream (roughly where the stock is currently trading now) and adding back the approximate $750 million of real estate, the stock is worth at least $37.

Value-Creating Moves Needed

There are several ways the company can realize this real estate value. BJ's could sell the entire real estate portfolio in a sale-leaseback transaction and then distribute the profits to shareholders in the form of a special dividend or share buybacks. The company also could recapitalize itself by keeping the real estate, then levering up the balance sheet to buy back shares -- a method that CBRL Group (CBRL) , owner of the Cracker Barrel stores, pursued last year. Cathy Maloney, a BJ's spokeswoman, declined to comment on these potential scenarios or a possible company buyout. She says the company's board had previously looked at doing a sale-leaseback, but they "have a bias against doing that." "They want to maintain an investment grade rating. We wouldn't want to put that into risk by taking on more lease obligations," Maloney says. BJ's has about $130 million of minimum lease payments due next year, excluding the 10 new stores expected to open this year. It's questionable whether doing a sale-leaseback would hurt the company's expansion efforts, as Maloney suggests. "Companies like Best Buy (BBY) and CVS (CVS) own virtually no real estate assets and have great credit ratings," says Christopher Volk, CEO of Spirit Finance (SFC) , a REIT that specializes in sale-leasebacks. A better case can be made that the real estate the company owns is going to waste right now, since it has absolutely no value in the stock market. Unless the company wakes up to this fact, the quickest and easiest way for shareholder value to be restored looks to be an outright sale of the company. And a buyout of at least $37 sure could be reasonable.

What's Next for BJ's??

2006-11-29T06:38:00.000-08:00

CEO Resigns: What's next for BJ's? (Taken from RetailwireNews)

By George Anderson

BJ's Wholesale Club has been the subject of takeover rumors for some time now and the speculation surrounding the company has only increased with last week's sudden resignation of Mike Wedge, the company's president and CEO.

A company release issued by Mr. Wedge and Herb Zarkin, chairman of the board for BJ's, said, "While the company has made great strides in its efforts to improve general merchandise sales and customer traffic, overall progress has not come as quickly as we had hoped and expected."

Bear Stearns analyst Christine Augustine expressed some surprise over the timing of the announcement given that the holiday sales season has just begun.

Another analyst, Neil Currie of UBS, said Mr. Wedge's departure "may increase the speculation of BJ's as a potential takeover prospect" and that "past comments from Mr. Wedge indicated that he would not welcome such an approach."

BJ's was quick to dismiss rumors of a takeover by private equity firm or another retailer. Company spokesperson Amy Russ, told The Associated Press, Mr. Wedge's resignation was "not a signal to the market that the company is for sale."

Despite some weaknesses, BJ's is seen as an attractive acquisition target because it has a solid cash flow and balance sheet.

Discussion Questions: What does BJ's Wholesale Club need to do if it is to successfully address its customer traffic and general merchandise sales issues? Would the company be well advised to pursue strategic alternatives including a possible sale?

BJ's CEO Resigns...Is there a hidden message??

2006-11-28T07:11:00.000-08:00

The top executive at BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. resigned Wednesday amid disappointing sales at the nation's No. 3 retail warehouse club, fueling speculation that the company could be ripe for a takeover during the busy holiday shopping season.

The company said it wasn't for sale.

BJ's shares jumped 10 percent after the company announced that Mike Wedge was stepping aside immediately as president and CEO, positions the 18-year veteran had held for four years.

BJ's 68-year-old chairman, Herb Zarkin, will serve as interim CEO until the company's board finds a permanent successor for Wedge, 53.

Wall Street analysts said the move came in response to recent disappointing sales at the chain of 171 warehouse clubs _ a topic the company touched on in a joint statement by Wedge and Zarkin.

"While the company has made great strides in its efforts to improve general merchandise sales and customer traffic, overall progress has not come as quickly as we had hoped and expected," Wedge and Zarkin said. "We agree that the company's leadership team will benefit from a fresh perspective at this time."

After some analysts issued research notes suggesting the personnel move could be the precursor to a takeover _ a rumor that had been circulating even before Wednesday's announcement _ BJ's sought to squelch such talk.

"Today's announcement is not a signal to the market that the company is for sale," BJ's spokeswoman Amy Russ said.

Shares of BJ's soared $2.95 or 10 percent to close at $32.48 in very heavy volume on the New York Stock Exchange, where the stock has traded between $25.18 to $33.07 in the past 52 weeks.

UBS analyst Neil Currie said in a research note that the move "may increase the speculation of BJ's as a potential takeover prospect." The company's strong cash flow and conservative balance sheet make it a good candidate for private equity investors, he wrote.

"Past comments from Mr. Wedge indicated that he would not welcome such an approach," Currie said.

Other analysts speculated Wedge was forced out.

"We believe the board requested Wedge's resignation based on disappointing financial performance, and in particular the continued challenges of negative traffic trends and lackluster general merchandise sales," Bear Stearns analyst Christine Augustine wrote.

The move's timing also led to concern about a disruption in the company's management during a crucial sales period.

"We're surprised about the timing of this resignation given that it is the start of the holiday season," Augustine wrote, noting that the company typically generates 40 percent of its annual profits in the year's final quarter.

The announcement of Wedge's departure came nearly two weeks after BJ's reported its third-quarter profit fell 34 percent as costs edged higher along with sales. Net income fell to $18.3 million from $27.8 million in the year-ago period.

BJ's, with more than 20,000 employees and nearly $8 billion in revenue last year, runs 94 gas stations in addition to its membership warehouse clubs, which stretch across 16 states from Maine to Florida, with the heaviest concentration in the Northeast, particularly New England. About one-quarter of BJ's locations have in-store pharmacies.

BJ's is No. 3 in the wholesale club business behind Wal-Mart Inc.'s Sam's Club, which has 570 U.S. clubs, and Costco Wholesale Corp., with 364 U.S. locations.

BJ's Wholesale Club Pays 233 Employees $320,000 in Overtime Back Wages Following U.S. Labor Department Investigation

2006-11-26T23:34:00.000-08:00

BJ's Wholesale Club Pays 233 Employees $320,000 in Overtime Back Wages Following U.S. Labor Department Investigation

BOSTON -- BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., based in Natick, Mass., has paid $320,000 in back wages to 233 employees for uncompensated overtime work revealed during a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

"Both this investigation and our new Overtime Security rules reflect our commitment to protecting the overtime rights of workers," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "In this case, Club Personnel Managers weren't receiving their rightful overtime pay, and this Administration took action and restored $320,000 in back wages to 233 employees. Workers' overtime rights are further strengthened by our new Overtime Security rules, which increase protections for millions of workers by updating and clarifying the old regulations."

The investigation by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division covered the period between Oct. 6, 2001 and Oct. 4, 2003 and found that one position in the company - that of Club Personnel Manager - was improperly classified by the employer as being exempt from overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Under the FLSA, covered workers are entitled to the minimum wage and overtime pay at one and one-half times the regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek.

The company owns and operates a chain of retail "club" establishments with 140 locations throughout the Northeast. A self-audit done by BJ's subsequent to the Labor Department investigation revealed that the firm employed 233 individuals in the position of Club Personnel Manager during the period covered by the investigation. It was also shown that each of these employees worked approximately five hours of overtime per week during the period.

BJ's management agreed that the 233 Club Personnel Managers were due $320,000 in overtime-back wages, and to complete the back wage payments by June 30, 2004.

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recovered more than $212 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2003, a 21 percent increase over the record-setting amount of FY 2002. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in FY 2003 from 129 days to 108 days. WHD assessed employers nearly $10 million in civil money penalties in FY 2003.

For more information about the provisions of the FLSA, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243), or contact the Boston office at (617) 624-6700 or the Hartford office at (860) 240-4160. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

BJ's Wholesale Club agreed to pay $11 million

2006-11-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

BJ's Wholesale Club agreed to pay $11 million

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. and a meat supplier last week agreed to pay $ 11 million to the family of a New York girl who became ill after eating contaminated hamburgers.

Attorneys for Katelyn Koesterer, who suffered life-threatening injuries including hemolytic ueremic syndrome, sued the store for selling adulterated meat that was found to contain E. coli O157:H7. The Koesterer family bought the 90% ground beef at the West Nyack, N.Y., store in May 2002. The family of another girl, Christinia Graff, also sued the retailer after she became ill from eating contaminated hamburgers served at the Koesterer house.

Koesterer's attorney William Marler also represents a young boy whose family bought tainted hamburger from another BJ's Wholesale Club store. That family's meat matched the genetic profile of the meat bought at the West Nyack store.
The boy's lawsuit is still ongoing, said Marler, who refrained from commenting on the $ 11 million settlement due to a court-imposed confidentiality agreement. However, he did add that the amount "is never enough to make it right," since the 8-year-old girl will have "life-long" health problems as a result of her injuries.

The family's lawsuit has triggered others down the meat-handling supply chain. BJ's Wholesale Club sued meat distributor C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., which then sued its meat supplier, Taylor Packing Co., Inc. and Moyer Packing. C&S also charged the meat supplier with failing to obtain insurance to cover these types of claims. Moyer argued that the meat was contaminated after it left its control.

BJ's Wholesale Club Sued For Alleged Racial Slurs

2006-10-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

(CBS4) NATICK The federal government is suing Natick-based BJ's Wholesale Club for allegedly discriminating against African-American and Hispanic workers at it's store in Homestead, Florida. The lawsuit claims the workers were subjected to racial slurs and epithets.

According to the lawsuit filed Monday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a manager at the store allegedly made racial and ethnic slurs and insults against at least one Hispanic employee and several African-American workers.

The EEOC claims the slurs created a hostile work environment, a violation of the US Civil Rights act.

The EEOC says it decided to file the lawsuit after trying to reach an agreement with BJ's. When efforts to resolve the complaint failed, the decision was made to sue for money damages and changes in the company's employment policies. The EEOC is also seeking punitive damages.

In a statement released by the EEOC, Delner Franklin-Thomas, regional attorney for the Miami District Office, said, "Many families shop at BJ's and would be shocked to discover it treats its employees this way. All employees are entitled to a workplace free from racism and bigotry."

BJ's e-mailed the following statement to cbs4boston.com Monday afternoon responding to the lawsuit.

"BJ's Wholesale Club takes any allegation of discrimination very seriously and does not tolerate discriminatory behavior of any kind against any Team Member. As this matter is in active litigation, we cannot comment on the specifics of the EEOC's claims."

"We value diversity in our organization, and we are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination. We will continue to work with the EEOC to resolve this matter as expeditiously as possible."

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UNION: We were left out of biddingCOMPANY REP: Process was fair

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BJ's Wholesale 1Q Profit Declines

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