COSTCO

WASHINGTON — A call to make 2014 a year of action and for the government to work on behalf of Americans was the underlying theme of President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

During his remarks, Obama touched upon a string of topics ranging from immigration reform, to education, to job creation. He also called for the raising of minimum wage and urged businesses to do what they can to raise employees’ wages, citing Costco as an example.

WASHINGTON — Following his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama is scheduled to stop by a Costco store in Maryland on Wednesday, according to news reports.

During his stop at the Costco in Lanham, which is located about 15 miles from the White House, Obama is expected to deliver remarks on the economy, the USA Today reported.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. – Costco Wholesale Corp.'s sales increased by 6% in the month of December and the first few days of January compared with December 2012, the club retailer said Thursday.

The Issaquah, Wash.-based company reported sales of $11.53 billion during the five weeks that ended Sunday, compared with $10.87 billion during the same period last year. Comps increased by 5% at the company's U.S. stores.

NEW YORK — The semi-retired CEO of Costco Wholesale has been named as the recipient of the top award from the National Retail Federation at the trade group's upcoming trade show this month, the NRF said Wednesday.

Jim Sinegal, who stepped down as president CEO of the Issaquah, Wash.-based club retailer in 2012, after 29 years, but still plays an active role in the company and is a member of its board of directors, is scheduled to accept the NRF's Gold Medal Award for 2014 at Retail's BIG Show, which takes place from Jan. 12-15 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — A national gay-rights organization has given Walgreens top marks for its practices related to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

In its 2014 Corporate Equality Index, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation gave the Deerfield, Ill.-based retail pharmacy chain a "perfect" score of 100. 2014 is the ninth year that Walgreens has won a perfect score.

NEW YORK — Club retailers like Costco and Sam's Club may have some competition from Amazon.com, according to published reports.

USA Today reported Thursday that the Seattle-based online retailer was creating a new business called Pantry that would allow members of its Amazon Prime premium service to buy consumer packaged goods in large quantities in a box of a pre-set size. Members will be able to put in as many items as the box can fit, up to a certain weight limit, and Amazon will ship the box for a small fee, as long as everything fits and isn't too heavy.

NEW YORK — A company that helps people shop for groceries is expanding into another city after a successful run in two others, according to published reports.

TechCrunch reported that Instacart had launched in Boston. The company already operates in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago, and it plans to serve the entire Boston area in the next few months.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco Wholesale Corp. had sales of $24.47 billion in first quarter 2014, the club retailer said.

The results, announced Wednesday, were an increase from the $23.20 billion reported in first quarter 2013 and produced a profit of $425 million, compared with the $416 profit last year.

Same-store sales for the quarter increased by 3%, including 3% in the United States and 1% in stores abroad.

While profits increased over the last quarter, the company's earnings per share of 96 cents fell short of the $1.03 expected by analysts.