By most measures, 35-year-old Costco Wholesale is thriving.
Its sales and profits are surging. Traffic to its stores, an important indicator of the health of the business, grew 5.9 percent in the last quarter, the fastest clip in at least a decade. Costco members — whose annual fees make the company profitable — remain fiercely loyal, renewing at a rate of 87 percent even after fees were raised.
But will a new generation of shoppers accustomed to online buying and home delivery join their parents in the cavernous aisles?
The Issaquah-based company continues to build. It remains on pace to open 20 to 25 new stores a year, and is establishing toeholds in new international markets, including its first store in China, now under construction in Shanghai and scheduled to open in April 2019.
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