COSTCO

SEATTLE — A ballot initiative in Washington to deregulate liquor sales has failed, while another appears to be headed in the same direction, according to published reports.

The Seattle Times reported Wednesday that Initiative-1105, which would abolish state liquor taxes and require retailers to buy liquor from distributors, failed with less than 37% of the vote. A second initiative, I-1100, which mass merchandiser Costco had strongly promoted, had around 48% of the vote with more than half the votes counted, according to the Times.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco had a big pickup in sales during fourth quarter 2010 and the fiscal year as a whole, according to an earnings report released Wednesday.

The membership-based mass-merchandise retailer reported fourth-quarter sales of $23.59 billion, an 8% increase over $21.89 billion in last year's fourth quarter. Sales for the entire fiscal year were $76.25 billion, a 9% increase over $69.89 billion in fiscal year 2009.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Club-based mass merchandiser Costco had a slight increase in sales last month, compared with the same period last year.

Costco said Thursday that sales for July were $5.86 billion, an 8% increase over the $5.42 billion in sales it had in July 2009.

Sales for the 48-week period ending Sunday were $70.37 billion, compared with $64.44 billion during the same period last year.

NEW YORK — Costco was scheduled to open another store in New York on Thursday at the Rego Park shopping center in Queens.

The store is the warehouse chain’s fifth location in the city and features such amenities as a pharmacy and a photo-processing department, according to published reports.

The chain operates another store in Queens, one in Brooklyn, one in Staten Island and one in Manhattan, which opened late last year in Spanish Harlem and showcases a scaled-down format.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Mass merchandiser Costco is adding information kiosks to its 25 pharmacies in Canada’s Ontario province.

Aisle7, the U.S.-based company that makes the kiosks, said the kiosks would make customer self-care education on generic and branded drugs, as well as drug information, available through an interactive kiosk-based display.