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BJ’s readies for big membership push

Warehouse club to spotlight online services, grocery

Russell Redman

October 12, 2018

3 Min Read
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Next week, BJ’s Wholesale Club plans to kick off an extended membership drive that will open up its stores to all shoppers.

Dubbed “Welcome One and All,” the event — running Oct. 15 to Nov. 4 — will enable consumers to “experience the convenient perks of a BJ’s membership” without having to pay a membership fee, the Westborough, Mass.-based warehouse club chain said.

BJ’s noted that the promotion will give it an opportunity to showcase its enhanced product assortment and array of online shopping options, including its same-day home delivery and Shop BJs.com – Pick Up in Club services, Add-to-Card digital coupon capability and the BJ's mobile app. Non-members also will be able to take advantage of discounted fuel prices at BJ’s Gas stations, located at more than half of its club locations.

During the Welcome One and All event, first-time BJs shoppers can sign up for a free, three-month trial membership or join for $25 for 12 months — $30 off the regular annual membership fee — via the BJ’s Easy Renewal program. Those enrolling for a membership in-club through the promotion will get one free same-day delivery on a BJs.com order.

BJ’s also plans to highlight its everyday grocery pricing, which the company said saves customers 25% on national brands versus supermarkets; its Berkley Jensen and Wellsley Farms private labels; and its variety of fresh food, which the retailer said eclipses that of other clubs. For example, BJ’s noted that it’s the only major warehouse club with a full-service deli counter. Members, too, can ask BJ’s butchers to cut fresh meat cut to their specifications and have it repackaged at no additional charge.

Related:BJ’s Wholesale Club notches Q2 gains following IPO

“We’ve transformed our clubs with convenient new services and great products, giving members more ways to save time and money,” Lee Delaney, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at BJ’s, said in a statement. “We’re proud to showcase the new BJ’s Wholesale Club, and we welcome all shoppers to experience what a BJ’s membership has to offer.”

Serving primarily the East Coast, BJ’s operates 215 clubs and 136 fuel stations in 16 states.

BJ’s is eyeing growth after recently becoming a public company again. On June 28, the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange after a nearly a seven-year absence following a $2.8 billion buyout by investment firms Leonard Green & Partners and CVS Capital Partners in September 2011.

The initial public offering of $17 per common share was completed on July 2, in which BJ’s sold 43.1 million shares for net proceeds of $691 million. Most of the IPO funds were used to pay down debt. Then in late September, the company priced a follow-on public offering by stockholders of 28 million shares at $26.

Related:BJ’s adds PayPal online payment

For the first half of fiscal 2018, ended Aug. 4, BJ’s saw sales rise 3.3% to $6.2 billion. Membership fee income gained 8.4% to $138.4 million. Same-store sales in the 26-week period were up 4.2%, with comparable merchandise sales registering a 2% uptick.

Still, at a recent Supermarket News roundtable, food retail analysts agreed that BJ’s has its work cut out amid the intensifying competition in the grocery space.

“The challenge is they are cheaper, but that value equation has been known in the Northeast for a really long time. So the question is, can the management team improve the merchandise?” Wolfe Research analyst Scott Mushkin said, adding that BJ’s array of merchandise and services pales in comparison to that of rival Costco Wholesale Corp. “It’s basically a food warehouse,” he noted about BJ’s.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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