BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including, without limitation, statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, transformation, strategic priorities and future progress, including expectations regarding deferred revenue, lease commencement dates, impact of infrastructure investments on our operating model and selling, general and administrative expenses, sales of gasoline and gross profit margin rates, and new club and gas station openings, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "could", "intend", "project", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "continue", "forecast", "would", or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are subject to a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including the factors described in Part I. "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and Part II. "Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

TRADEMARKS

BJ’s Wholesale Club^®, BJ’s^®, Wellsley Farms^®, Berkley Jensen^®, My BJ’s Perks^®, BJ’s Easy Renewal^®, BJ’s Gas^®, BJ’s Perks Elite^®, BJ’s Perks Plus^®, Inner Circle^® and BJ’s Perks Rewards^® are all registered trademarks of BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. Other trademarks, tradenames and service marks appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of their respective owners. We do not intend our use or display of those other parties’ trademarks, trade names or service marks to imply, and such use or display should not be construed to imply, a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other parties. Solely for convenience, trademarks, trade names and service marks referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may appear without the ^®, ™ or ^SM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks, trade names and service marks.

This section contains forward-looking statements. You should refer to the explanation of the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements beginning on page 3.

MARKET AND INDUSTRY DATA

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes estimates regarding market and industry data that we prepared based on our management’s knowledge and experience in the markets in which we operate, together with information obtained from various sources, including publicly available information, industry reports and publications, surveys, our customers, distributors, suppliers, trade and business organizations and other contacts in the markets in which we operate.

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we make reference to consistently offering 25% or more savings on a representative basket of manufacturer-branded groceries compared to typical supermarket competitors. The following is how we verify that we provide our members this value:

We will only include an item in the basket if it is carried by at least two of the four Supermarket Competitors. This means that over time we may replace items in the basket with different comparable items, if we are consistently unable to get prices for comparison on an item, to be sure we continue to offer the same relative savings.

We also use a rolling average of measured prices. At a minimum, we will use an average of two consecutive periodic or monthly measurements of prices at both BJ’s (using our chain average price) and the Supermarket Competitors. We may use up to 52 consecutive weeks, or 12 consecutive months, of price data for comparison. We make our savings claim using price data that are not more than 60 days old, as to the most recent price measurement in the data set.

The Supermarket Competitors do not include non-traditional sellers of groceries, such as drugstores, online sellers, superstores, convenience stores, other membership clubs or mass market retailers.

In presenting this information, we have made certain assumptions that we believe to be reasonable based on such data and other similar sources and on our knowledge of, and our experience to date in, the markets for the products we distribute. Market share data is subject to change and may be limited by the availability of raw data, the voluntary nature of the data gathering process and other limitations inherent in any statistical survey of market shares. In addition, customer preferences are subject to change. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such market share data. References herein to the markets in which we conduct our business refer to the geographic metropolitan areas in which our clubs are located.

DEFINED TERMS

As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless the context otherwise requires:

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

We report on the basis of a 52- or 53-week fiscal year, which ends on the Saturday closest to the last day of January. Accordingly, references herein to "fiscal year 2020" relate to the 52 weeks ended January 30, 2021, references herein to "fiscal year 2019" relate to the 52 weeks ended February 1, 2020 and references herein to "fiscal year 2018" relate to the 52 weeks ended February 2, 2019. In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless otherwise noted, when we compare a metric (such as comparable club sales) between one period and a "prior period," we are comparing it to the analogous period from the prior fiscal year.

PART I

Item 1. Business

General

BJ’s Wholesale Club is a leading warehouse club operator concentrated primarily on the east coast of the United States. We deliver significant value to our members, consistently offering 25% or more savings on a representative basket of manufacturer-branded groceries compared to traditional supermarket competitors. We provide a curated assortment focused on perishable products, continuously refreshed general merchandise, gasoline and other ancillary services to deliver a differentiated shopping experience that is further enhanced by our omnichannel capabilities.

Since pioneering the warehouse club model in New England in 1984, we have grown our footprint to 221 large-format, high volume warehouse clubs spanning 17 states. In our core New England markets, which have high population density and generate a disproportionate part of U.S. gross domestic product ("GDP"), we operate almost three times the number of clubs of the next largest warehouse club competitor. In addition to shopping in our clubs, members are able to shop when and how they want through our website, www.bjs.com; our highly-rated mobile app; and our integrated Instacart same-day delivery offering.

  Over the last five years, we have made multiple senior management hires and changes, adding consumer packaged goods, digital and consulting experience to our leadership team. This leadership team has implemented significant cultural and operational changes to our business, including transforming how we use data to improve member experience, instilling a culture of cost discipline, adopting a more proactive approach to growing our membership base and building an omnichannel offering oriented towards making shopping at BJ's more convenient. These changes have delivered results rapidly, evidenced by income from continuing operations growth of 124%, consecutive quarter comparable club sales growth over the last three years and adjusted EBITDA growth of 61% over the last three years.

Our goal is to offer our members significant value and a meaningful return, in savings, on their annual membership fee. We have more than six million members paying annual fees to gain access to savings on groceries and general merchandise and services. The annual membership fee for our Inner Circle® membership is $55, and the annual membership fee for our BJ’s Perks Rewards® membership, which offers additional value-enhancing features, is $110. We believe that members can save over ten times their $55 Inner Circle membership fee versus what they would otherwise pay at traditional supermarket competitors when they spend $2,500 or more per year at BJ’s on manufacturer-branded groceries. In addition to providing significant savings on a representative basket of manufacturer-branded groceries, we accept all manufacturer coupons and also carry our own exclusive brands that enable members to save on price without compromising on quality. Our two private label brands, Wellsley Farms^® and Berkley Jensen^®, represent over $2.5 billion in annual sales, and are the largest brands we sell. Our customers recognize the relevance of our value proposition across economic environments, as demonstrated by over 20 consecutive years of membership fee income growth. Our membership fee income was $333.1 million for fiscal year 2020.

Our Clubs

As of January 30, 2021, we operated 221 clubs ranging in size from 63,000 square feet to 163,000 square feet. We aim to locate our larger clubs in high density, high traffic locations that are difficult to replicate. We design our smaller format clubs to serve markets whose population is not sufficient to support a larger club or that are in locations, such as urban areas, where there is inadequate real estate space for a larger club. Including space for parking, the amount of land required for a BJ’s club generally ranges from eight acres to approximately fourteen acres. The use of garage parking can, in some cases, reduce the amount of land necessary for a club. Our clubs are located in both free-standing locations and shopping centers.

We buy most of our merchandise directly from manufacturers and route it to cross-docking consolidation points (distribution centers) or directly to our clubs. Our company-operated and contracted distribution centers receive large shipments from manufacturers and quickly ship these goods to individual clubs. This process creates freight volume and handling efficiencies, eliminating many costs associated with traditional multiple-step distribution channels.

A summary of our club locations by market as of January 30, 2021 is set forth in the table below:

Industry Overview

Warehouse clubs offer a relatively narrow assortment of food and general merchandise items within a wide range of product categories. In order to achieve high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover, merchandise selections are generally limited to items that are brand name leaders in their categories alongside an assortment of private label brands. Since warehouse clubs sell a diversified selection of product categories, they attract customers from a wide range of other wholesale and retail distribution channels, such as supermarkets, supercenters, internet retailers, gasoline stations, hard discounters, department and specialty stores and operators selling a narrow range of merchandise. These higher cost distribution channels have traditionally been unable to match the low prices offered by warehouse clubs over long periods of time.

Warehouse clubs eliminate many of the merchandise handling costs associated with traditional multiple-step distribution channels by purchasing full truckloads of merchandise directly from manufacturers and by storing merchandise on the sales floor rather than in central warehouses. By operating no-frills, self-service warehouse facilities, warehouse clubs have fixturing and operating costs substantially below those of traditional retailers. Because of their higher sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover, warehouse clubs generate cash from the sale of a large portion of their inventory before they are required to pay merchandise vendors. As a result, a greater percentage of the inventory is financed through vendor payment terms than by working capital. Two broad groups of customers, individual households and small businesses, have been attracted to the savings made possible by the high sales volumes and operating efficiencies achieved by warehouse clubs. Customers at warehouse clubs are generally limited to members who pay an annual fee.

Merchandising

We service our existing members and attract new members by providing a broad range of high quality, brand name and private label merchandise at prices that are consistently lower than the prices of traditional retailers, including discount retailers, supermarkets, supercenters and specialty retail operations. We limit the items offered in each product line to fast selling styles, sizes and colors, carrying approximately 7,200 core active stock keeping units ("SKUs"). We may add additional temporary SKUs from time to time to keep up with demand, such as that created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By contrast, supermarkets normally carry an average of 40,000 SKUs, and supercenters may stock 100,000 SKUs or more. We work closely with manufacturers to develop packaging and sizes that are best suited for selling through the warehouse club format in order to minimize handling costs and ensure value to our members.

We group our merchandise offerings into two divisions: grocery and general merchandise and services.

BJ’s consumer-focused private label products, sold under Wellsley Farms^® and Berkley Jensen^® brands, comprised approximately 21% of total merchandise sales in fiscal year 2020, compared to 10% of total merchandise sales in fiscal year 2012. These products are primarily premium quality and generally are priced below the branded competing product. We focus both on a group of core private label products that compete with national brands that have among the highest market share and yield high margins and on differentiated products that drive member loyalty.

We also offer a number of specialty services that are designed to enable members to complete more of their shopping at our clubs and to encourage more frequent trips to the clubs. Many of these services are provided by outside operators under license from us. Specialty services include full-service optical centers; tire installation services; a propane tank filling service; home improvement services; travel services; a car rental service; cell phone kiosks; and product protection plans.

As of January 30, 2021, we had 150 gasoline stations in operation at or near our clubs. The gas stations are generally self-service, with some locations accepting cash. We generally maintain our gas prices below the average prices in each market as a means of illustrating a favorable price image to existing and prospective members.

Omnichannel Offering

We have built a robust digital portfolio which consists of BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, Wellsleyfarms.com, Delivery.bjs.com as well as the BJ’s mobile app.  We have made it easier for members to purchase, review products and digitally add coupons to their membership card. BJs.com showcases our club assortment available with members along with review ratings and coupons for added savings.  The above digital portfolio offers our members convenient ways to shop, including same day delivery, free curbside pickup and in-club pickup. Our app delivers personalized promotions, improved shopping experiences, and an efficient gateway to our fulfillment options. Our members appreciate the convenience of the BJ’s mobile app, as evidenced by over five million downloads since fiscal year 2019. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, we began the rollout of a multi-phase plan to enable our members to use Electronic Benefit Transfer ("EBT") payment when shopping on BJs.com.

Membership

Paid membership is an essential element of the warehouse club concept. In addition to providing a source of revenue which permits us to offer low prices, membership reinforces customer loyalty. We have a large base of more than six million paid memberships as of January 30, 2021. Our target customers care about value, quality and convenience and shop at warehouse clubs for their family needs. Our target customers are a price sensitive demographic with large household sizes, representing the largest segment of warehouse club shoppers in BJ’s trade areas, with 9 million households and $7 billion of annual club channel grocery spend.

We offer two core types of memberships: Inner Circle^® memberships and business memberships. We generally charge $55 per year for a primary Inner Circle membership that includes one additional card for a household member. Primary members may purchase up to three supplemental memberships for $30 each. A primary business membership costs $55 per year and includes one free supplemental membership. Business members may purchase up to eight additional supplemental business memberships at $30 each. U.S. military personnel—active and veteran—who enroll at a BJ’s club location can do so for a reduced membership fee.

BJ’s Perks Rewards^®, our higher tier of membership, offers members the opportunity to earn 2% cash back on most in-club and www.bjs.com purchases. The annual fee for a BJ’s Perks Rewards membership is $110 per year. We also offer our co-branded My BJ’s Perks^® Mastercard^® credit cards. These cards provide members with the opportunity to earn up to 5% cash back on purchases made at our clubs or online at www.bjs.com and a 10-cent per gallon discount on gasoline when paying with a My BJ’s Perks Mastercard^® at our BJ’s Gas locations. Since fiscal year 2014, we have grown co-branded Mastercard^® holders by 650%. In fiscal year 2020, BJ’s Perks Rewards members and co-branded Mastercard^® members accounted for 31% of members and 41% of spend, compared to 28% of members and 43% of spend in fiscal year 2019.

Advertising and Public Relations

We promote customer awareness of our clubs primarily through social media, direct mail, public relations efforts, radio advertising, community involvement, new club marketing programs and various publications sent to our members periodically throughout the year. These methods result in low marketing expenses compared to typical retailers.

Club Operations

Our ability to achieve profitable operations depends upon high sales volumes and the efficient operation of our warehouse clubs. We buy most of our merchandise from manufacturers for shipment either to a BJ’s cross-dock facility or directly to our clubs. This eliminates many of the costs associated with traditional multiple-step distribution channels, including distributors’ commissions and the costs of storing merchandise in central distribution facilities.

We route the majority of our purchases through cross-dock facilities which break down truckload quantity shipments from manufacturers and reallocates these goods for shipment to individual clubs, generally within 24 hours. Our efficient distribution systems result in reduced freight expenses and lower handling costs compared to other retailers. We contract with a third party that operates three perishables distribution centers for us.

We work closely with manufacturers to minimize the amount of handling required once merchandise is received at a club. Merchandise for sale is generally displayed on pallets containing large quantities of each item, thereby reducing labor required for handling, stocking and restocking. Back-up merchandise is generally stored in steel racks above the sales floor.

Information Systems

We strive to use information systems and technology to improve the control and the efficiency of our business model. We completed an implementation of SAP enterprise resource planning software in fiscal year 2015 and are focused on leveraging the efficiency benefits of SAP, as well as implementing new checkout technologies to improve member convenience, including our digitally enabled shopping capabilities.

Competition

We compete with a wide range of national, regional and local retailers and wholesalers selling food and/or general merchandise in our markets, including supermarkets, supercenters, general merchandise chains, specialty chains, gasoline stations and other warehouse clubs, some of which have significantly greater financial and marketing resources than BJ’s. Major competitors that operate warehouse clubs include Costco Wholesale Corporation and Sam’s Clubs (a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.), both of which operate on a multi-national basis.

We believe price is the major competitive factor in the markets in which we compete. Other competitive factors include club location, merchandise selection, member services and name recognition. We believe our efficient, low-cost form of distribution gives us a significant competitive advantage over more traditional channels of retail distribution.

Intellectual Property

We believe that, to varying degrees, our trademarks, trade names, copyrights, proprietary processes, trade secrets, patents, trade dress, domain names and similar intellectual property add significant value to our business and are important to our success. We have invested significantly in the development and protection of our well-recognized brands, including our private label brands, Wellsley Farms^® and Berkley Jensen^®. We believe that products sold under our private label brands are high quality, offered to our members at prices that are generally lower than those for comparable national brand products and help lower costs, differentiate our merchandise offerings from other retailers and generally earn higher margins. We expect to continue to increase the sales penetration of our private label items.

We rely on trademark and copyright laws, trade-secret protection, and confidentiality, license and other agreements with our suppliers, employees and others to protect our intellectual property rights. The availability and duration of trademark registrations vary by country. However, trademarks are generally valid and may be renewed indefinitely as long as they are in use and their registrations are properly maintained.

Government Regulation

Compliance with various governmental regulations has an impact on our business, including our capital expenditures, earnings and competitive position, which can be material. We incur costs to monitor, and take actions to comply with, governmental regulations that are applicable to our business, which include, among others, federal securities laws and regulations, applicable to exchange requirements, labor and employment laws, laws governing truth-in-advertising, privacy laws, environmental laws, safety regulations and other laws, including consumer protection regulations that regulate retailers and govern the promotion and sale of merchandise and the operation of clubs, warehouses and Company-operated and contracted distribution center facilities.

Our clubs are also subject to various local, state and federal laws, regulations and administrative practices affecting our business. We must comply with provisions regulating health and sanitation standards, food labeling, equal employment, minimum wages, environmental protection, licensing for the sale of food and, in many clubs, licensing for beer and wine or other alcoholic beverages. Our operations, including the manufacturing, processing, formulating, packaging, labeling and advertising of products are subject to regulation by various federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA"), the Federal Trade Commission (the "FTC"), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the "USDA"), the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency. We rely on contractual provisions to ensure compliance by our vendors.

See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for a discussion of material risks to us, including, to the extent material, to our competitive position, relating to governmental regulations, and see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto for a discussion of material information relevant to an assessment of our financial condition and results of operations, including, to the extent material, the effects that compliance with governmental regulations may have upon our capital expenditures and earnings.

Food

The FDA has comprehensive authority to regulate the safety of food and food ingredients (other than meat, poultry, catfish and certain egg products), as well as dietary supplements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the "FDCA"). Similarly, the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service is the public health agency responsible for ensuring that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, catfish and certain egg products is safe, wholesome and correctly labeled and packaged under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act.

Congress amended the FDCA in 2011 through passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act (the "FSMA"), which greatly expanded the FDA’s regulatory obligations over all actors in the supply chain. Industry actors continue to determine the best pathways to implement FSMA’s regulatory mandates and the FDA’s promulgating regulations throughout supply chains, as most requirements are now in effect. Such regulations mandate that risk-based preventive controls be observed by the majority of food producers. This authority applies to all domestic food facilities and, by way of imported food supplier verification requirements, to all foreign facilities that supply food products.

The FDA also exercises broad jurisdiction over the labeling and promotion of food. Labeling is a broad concept that, under certain circumstances, extends to product-related claims and representations made on a company’s website or similar printed or graphic medium. All foods, including dietary supplements, must bear labeling that provides consumers with essential information with respect to standards of identity, net quantity, nutrition facts labeling, ingredient statement and allergen disclosures. The FDA also regulates the use of structure/function claims, health claims and nutrient content claims.

Dietary Supplements

The FDA has comprehensive authority to regulate the safety of dietary supplements, dietary ingredients, labeling and current good manufacturing practices. Congress amended the FDCA in 1994 through passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (the "DSHEA"), which greatly expanded the FDA’s regulatory authority over dietary supplements. Through DSHEA, dietary supplements became their own regulated commodity while also allowing structure/function claims on products. However, no statement on a dietary supplement may expressly or implicitly represent that it will diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent a disease.

Food and Dietary Supplement Advertising

The FTC exercises jurisdiction over the advertising of foods and dietary supplements. The FTC has the power to institute monetary sanctions and the imposition of consent decrees and penalties that can severely limit a company’s business practices. In recent years, the FTC has instituted numerous enforcement actions against dietary supplement companies for failure to have adequate substantiation for claims made in advertising or for the use of false or misleading advertising claims.

Compliance

As is common in our industry, we rely on our suppliers and contract manufacturers, including those of our private label products, to ensure that the products they manufacture and sell to us comply with all applicable regulatory and legislative requirements. We do not directly manufacture any goods. In general, we seek certifications of compliance, representations and warranties, indemnification or insurance from our suppliers and contract manufacturers. However, even with adequate insurance and indemnification, any claims of non-compliance could significantly damage our reputation and consumer confidence in products we sell. In addition, the failure of such products to comply with applicable regulatory and legislative requirements could prevent us from marketing the products or require us to recall or remove such products from our clubs. In order to comply with applicable statutes and regulations, our suppliers and contract manufacturers have from time to time reformulated, eliminated or relabeled certain of their products, and we have revised certain provisions of our sales and marketing program.

We monitor changes in these laws and believe that we are in material compliance with applicable laws.

Seasonality

Our business is moderately seasonal in nature. Historically, our business has realized a slightly higher portion of net sales, operating income and cash flows from operations in the second and fourth fiscal quarters, attributable primarily to the impact of the summer and year-end holiday season, respectively. Our quarterly results have been and will continue to be affected by the timing of new club openings and their associated pre-opening expenses. As a result of these factors, our financial results for any single quarter or for periods of less than a year are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for a full fiscal year.

Employees and Human Capital Resources

As of January 30, 2021, we had approximately 32,000 full-time and part-time employees, whom we refer to as "team members." None of our team members is represented by a union. We consider our relations with our team members to be good.

Team Member Engagement. We provide all team members with the opportunity to share their opinions and feedback on our culture through a survey that is generally performed every year. Results of the survey are measured and analyzed to enhance the team member experience, promote retention of team members, drive change, and leverage the overall success of our Company.

Diversity. We strive to foster a work environment that includes and embraces diversity of background and perspective, including, but not limited to, with respect to age, gender, race, place of residence and specialized experience. As of the end of fiscal year 2020, 45% of our total workforce were women and 49% were minorities. During fiscal year 2020, 42% of our new hires were women and 54% of our new hires were minorities. We have a zero-tolerance policy on discrimination and harassment and have several systems under which employees can report incidents confidentially or anonymously and without fear of reprisal.

Total Rewards. We believe our team members are the key to our success and we offer competitive programs to meet the needs of our colleagues and their families. Our programs include annual bonuses, 401(k) plans, stock awards, an employee stock purchase plan, paid time off, flexible work schedules, family leave, team member assistance programs, and more, based on eligibility criteria.  We take the health and wellness of our team members seriously.  We provide our team members with access to a variety of innovative, flexible and convenient health and wellness programs. Additionally, the Home Office provides resources, such as an onsite chiropractor, a medical professional and a fitness center for team members. Such programs are designed to support team members' physical and mental health by providing tools and resources to help them improve or maintain their health status and encourage engagement in healthy behaviors. The Company also provides team members with comprehensive medical benefits, dental, and behavioral and mental wellness benefits.

Team Member Development. Training and development programs for our team members help retain and advance them into future roles with the company.  We provide on-line and on-the-job training through innovative delivery tools which are easy to use and focused on the core skills needed to be successful at BJ’s Wholesale Club. We provide several management and leadership programs that develop and educate our leaders so they can provide the best work environment and growth opportunities to all our team members. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has further reinforced the importance of a safe and healthy workforce. In response to the pandemic, the Company implemented safeguards to protect our essential team members, including increased frequency of cleaning and disinfecting, social distancing practices, face coverings, temperature screening and other measures consistent with specific regulatory requirements and guidance from health authorities. We also instituted travel restrictions and remote work for team members who were able to work from home.

Community Involvement. We have a long and proud history of investing in the communities where we live and work. BJ’s Charitable Foundation was established with the mission to enrich every community BJ’s Wholesale Club serves. The Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that primarily benefit the underprivileged in the areas of hunger prevention and education. Throughout the year, the Foundation makes multiple direct donations from the Company to support food banks and pantry programs in communities that our clubs serve.

Segments

Our club retail operations, which represent substantially all of our consolidated total revenues, are our only reportable segment. All of our identifiable assets are located in the United States. We do not have significant sales outside the United States, nor does any customer represent more than 10% of total revenues for any period presented.

Corporate Information

Our principal operating subsidiary is BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc., which was previously an independent publicly traded corporation until its acquisition on September 30, 2011 by a subsidiary of Beacon Holding Inc., a company incorporated on June 24, 2011 by the Sponsors for the purpose of the acquisition. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. changed its name from Beacon Holding Inc. on February 23, 2018. On July 2, 2018, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. became a publicly traded entity in connection with its IPO and listing on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the ticker symbol "BJ."

Available Information

We make available on our website (http://www.bjs.com), or through a link posted on our website, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). In addition, the SEC maintains an internet site that contains these reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC (http://www.sec.gov).

The information on our website or that can be accessed through our website is not incorporated by reference and should not be considered to be a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Set forth below are the risks that we believe are material to our investors and they should be carefully considered. These risks are not all of the risks that we face and other factors not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or stock price if they occur. This section contains forward-looking statements. You should refer to the explanation of the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements beginning on page 3.

Risks Relating to Our Business

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has caused, and could continue to cause, severe disruptions in the United States, regional and global economies and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to the United States, regional and global economies and has contributed to significant volatility and negative pressure in financial markets.  The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been rapidly evolving and many U.S. states and cities, including where our clubs and distribution centers are located, have imposed measures intended to control its spread, such as instituting shelter-in-place orders and restrictions on the types of businesses that may continue to operate and the manner in which they may do so. Generally, under these orders, our operations have been deemed "essential" by U.S. federal, state and local authorities, which have allowed our clubs and distribution centers to remain open. However, many of these orders and other government regulations have resulted in reduced operating hours and limited access for our members, including limits on the number of people that can be in a club at a time, and member traffic may decline if more severe restrictions are implemented or if members opt to shop less frequently or use other online outlets and delivery systems in order to reduce their risk of potential exposure to COVID-19. Further, any alleged failure to comply with governmental orders or regulations, which vary across states and localities, could result in costly litigation, enforcement actions and penalties.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic, or the future outbreak of any other highly infectious or contagious disease, affects our business, operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the scope, severity and duration of such pandemic, the actions taken to contain the pandemic or mitigate its impact, including the adoption of available COVID-19 vaccines, or the impact of relaxing or revoking such existing restrictions too quickly, and the direct and indirect economic effects of the pandemic and containment measures, among others. The rapid development and fluidity of this situation precludes any prediction as to the full adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, and may have the effect of heightening many of the risks described in this "Risk Factors" section, including:

Our business may be affected by issues that affect consumer spending.

Our results of operations are affected by the level of consumer spending and, therefore, by changes in the economic factors that impact consumer spending. Certain economic conditions or events, such as a contraction in the financial markets; high rates of inflation or deflation; high unemployment levels; decreases in consumer disposable income; unavailability of consumer credit; higher consumer debt levels; higher tax rates and other changes in tax laws; higher interest rates; higher fuel, energy and other commodity costs; weakness in the housing market; higher insurance and health care costs; and product cost increases resulting from an increase in commodity prices, could reduce or shift consumer spending generally, which could cause our customers to spend less or to shift their spending to our competitors. Reduced consumer spending may result in reduced demand for our items and may also require increased selling and promotional expenses. Issues or trends that affect consumer spending broadly could affect spending by our members disproportionately. A reduction or shift in consumer spending could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We depend on having a large and loyal membership, and any harm to our relationship with our members could have a material adverse effect on our business, net sales and results of operations.

We depend on having a large and loyal membership. The extent to which we achieve growth in our membership base and sustain high renewal rates materially influences our profitability. Further, our net sales are directly affected by the number of our members, the number of BJ’s Perks Rewards^® members and holders of our My BJ’s Perks^® Mastercard^® credit cards, the frequency with which our members shop at our clubs and the amount they spend on those trips, which means the loyalty and enthusiasm of our members directly impacts our net sales and operating income. Accordingly, anything that would harm our relationship with our members and lead to lower membership renewal rates or lower spending by members in our clubs could materially adversely affect our net sales, membership fee income and results of operations. 

Factors that could adversely affect our relationship with our members include: our failure to remain competitive in our pricing relative to our competitors; our failure to provide the expected quality of merchandise; our failure to offer the mix of products that our members want to purchase; events that harm our reputation or the reputation of our private brands; our failure to provide the convenience that our members may expect over time, including with respect to technology, delivery and physical location of our clubs; increases to our membership fees; and increased competition from stores, clubs or internet retailers that have a more attractive mix of price, quality and convenience. In addition, we constantly need to attract new members to replace our members who fail to renew and to grow our membership base. If we fail to attract new members, our membership fee income and net sales could suffer.

Our business plan and operating results depend on our ability to procure the merchandise we sell at the best possible prices.

Our business plan depends on our ability to procure the merchandise we sell at the best possible prices. Because we price our merchandise aggressively, the difference between the price at which we sell a given item and the cost at which we purchase it is often much smaller than it would be for our non-club competitors. Further, it is often not possible for us to reflect increases in our cost of goods by increasing our prices to members. Accordingly, small changes in the prices at which we purchase our goods for resale can have a substantial impact on our operating profits. If we are unable to purchase goods at attractive prices relative to our competitors, our growth could suffer. If the prices we pay for goods increase, our operating profit and results of operations could suffer, and if we are forced to increase our prices to our members, our member loyalty could suffer.

Competition may adversely affect our profitability.

The retail industry is highly competitive. We compete primarily against other warehouse club operators and grocery and general merchandise retailers, including supermarkets and supercenters, and gasoline stations. Given the value and bulk purchasing orientation of our customer base, we compete to a lesser extent with internet retailers, hard discounters, department and specialty stores and other operators selling a narrow range of merchandise. Some of these competitors, including two major warehouse club operators - Sam’s Club (a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) and Costco Wholesale Corporation - operate on a multi-national basis and have significantly greater financial and marketing resources than BJ’s. These retailers and wholesalers compete in a variety of ways, including with respect to price, services offered to customers, distribution strategy, merchandise selection and availability, location, convenience, store hours and the attractiveness and ease of use of websites and mobile applications. The evolution of retailing through online and mobile channels has also improved the ability of customers to comparison shop with digital devices, which has enhanced competition. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to compete successfully with existing or future competitors. Our inability to respond effectively to competitive factors may have an adverse effect on our profitability as a result of lost market share, lower sales or increased operating costs, among other things.

We depend on vendors to supply us with quality merchandise at the right time and at the right price.

We depend heavily on our ability to purchase merchandise in sufficient quantities at competitive prices. We source our merchandise from a wide variety of domestic and international vendors. Finding qualified vendors who meet our standards and acquiring merchandise in a timely and efficient manner are significant challenges, especially with respect to vendors located and merchandise sourced outside the United States. We have no assurances of continued supply, pricing or access to new products, and, in general, any vendor could at any time change the terms upon which it sells to us or discontinue selling to us. In addition, member demand may lead to insufficient in-stock quantities of our merchandise.

Changes in laws related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ("SNAP"), to the governmental administration of SNAP or to SNAP’s EBT systems could adversely impact our results of operations.

Under SNAP, we are currently authorized to accept EBT payments, or food stamps, at our clubs as tender for eligible items, and payments via EBT accounted for 4% to 7% of our net sales over the last five fiscal years. Changes in state and federal laws governing the SNAP program, including reductions in program benefits, restrictions on program eligibility, or rules on where and for what EBT cards may be used, could reduce sales at our clubs. For example, in December 2019, the federal government approved changes in the program’s administration, including limiting the time period during which certain able-bodied adults without dependents are eligible to receive SNAP benefits to three months in a 36-month period. Any such program changes or reductions in funding for the SNAP program overall could decrease sales at our clubs and thereby materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Public health emergencies and natural disasters could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Public health issues, whether occurring in the U.S. or abroad, including viral epidemics, pandemics, or terrorist attacks, could disrupt our operations, disrupt the operations of our third-party distributors, or our suppliers or members, or have a material adverse impact on consumer spending and confidence levels. These events could also reduce demand for our products or make it difficult or impossible for customers to procure products. We may be required to suspend operations in some or all of our locations, or may experience substantial disruption to our merchandise distribution, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. See "The outbreak of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has caused, and could continue to cause, severe disruptions in the United States, regional and global economies and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations" above for a detailed discussion of risks related to, and the impact to our business of, the COVID-19 pandemic. Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, typhoons or earthquakes, particularly in locations where our centralized operating systems and administrative personnel are located, could also negatively affect our operations and financial performance. For example, our operations are concentrated primarily on the east coast of the United States, and any adverse weather event or natural disaster, such as a hurricane or heavy snow storm, could have a material adverse effect on a substantial portion of our operations. Such events could result in physical damage to one or more of our properties; the temporary closure of one or more of our clubs, Company-operated or contracted distribution centers or our home office facility; the temporary lack of an adequate work force in a market; the temporary or long-term disruption in the supply of products; the temporary disruption in the transport of goods to or from overseas; delays in the delivery of goods to our clubs or distribution centers; and the temporary reduction in the availability of products in our clubs and on-line.

Disruptions in our merchandise distribution, including disruption through a third-party perishables consolidator, could adversely affect sales and member satisfaction.

We depend on the orderly operation of our merchandise receiving and distribution process, primarily through our Company-operated and contracted distribution centers. Although we believe that our receiving and distribution process is efficient, unforeseen disruptions in operations due to fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes or other catastrophic events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, labor issues or other shipping problems (which may include, but are not limited to, strikes, slowdowns or work stoppages at the ports of entry for the merchandise that we import) may result in delays in the delivery of merchandise to our clubs, which could adversely affect sales and the satisfaction of our members. In addition, increases in distribution costs (including, but not limited to, trucking and freight costs) could adversely affect our expenses, which could adversely affect our operating profit and results of operations.

One third-party distributor currently consolidates a substantial majority of our perishables for shipment to our clubs. While we believe that such a consolidation is in our best interest overall, any disruption in the operations of this distributor could materially impact our sales and profitability. In addition, a prolonged disruption in the operations of this distributor could require us to seek alternative perishables distribution arrangements, which may not be on attractive terms and could lead to delays in the distribution of this merchandise, either of which could have a significant and material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may not timely identify or respond effectively to consumer trends, which could negatively affect our relationship with our members, the demand for our products and services and our market share.

It is difficult to predict consistently and successfully the products and services our members will demand over time. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to identify and respond to evolving trends in demographics and member preferences. Failure to timely identify or respond effectively to changing consumer tastes, preferences (including those relating to sustainability of product sources) and spending patterns could lead us to offer our members a mix of products or a level of pricing that they do not find attractive. This could negatively affect our relationship with our members, leading them to reduce both their visits to our clubs and the amount they spend, and potentially impacting their decision to renew their membership. Such a result would adversely affect the demand for our products and services and our market share. If we are not successful at predicting our sales trends and adjusting accordingly, we may also have excess inventory, which could result in additional markdowns and reduce our operating performance. This could have an adverse effect on margins and operating income.

We are subject to payment-related risks, including risks to the security of payment card information.

We accept payments using an increasing variety of methods, including cash, checks, our co-branded credit cards and a variety of other credit and debit cards, as well as Paypal, Apple Pay^®, Google Pay and EBT payments. Our efficient operation, like that of most retailers, requires the transmission of information permitting cashless payments. As we offer new payment options to our members, we may be subject to additional rules, regulations and compliance requirements, along with the risk of higher fraud losses. For certain payment methods, we pay interchange and other related card acceptance fees, along with additional transaction processing fees. We rely on third parties to provide secure and reliable payment transaction processing services, including the processing of credit and debit cards, and our co-branded credit card, and it could disrupt our business if these companies become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us. We are also subject to payment card association and network operating rules, including data security rules, certification requirements and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change over time. For example, we are subject to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, which contain compliance guidelines and standards with regard to our security surrounding the physical and electronic storage, processing and transmission of individual cardholder data. We are also subject to a consent decree entered by the FTC in 2005 in connection with a complaint alleging that we had failed to adequately safeguard members’ personal data. Under the consent decree, we are required to maintain a comprehensive information security program that is reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of personal information collected from or about our members. In addition, if our third-party processor systems are breached or compromised, we may be subject to substantial fines, remediation costs, litigation and higher transaction fees and lose our ability to accept credit or debit card payments from our members, and our reputation, business and operating results could also be materially adversely affected.

Our security measures have been breached in the past and may be undermined in the future due to the actions of outside parties, including nation-state sponsored actors, employee error, internal or external malfeasance, or otherwise, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to our data systems and misappropriate, alter, or destroy business and personal information, including payment card information. Such information may also be placed at risk through our use of outside vendors, which may have data security systems that differ from those that we maintain or which are more vulnerable to breach. For example, in March 2018, our travel vendor informed us that the personal data of several hundred of our members had been compromised because of a data breach at Orbitz, which that vendor used as a platform for making online travel bookings. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and may not immediately produce signs of intrusion, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques, discover or counter them in a timely fashion, or implement adequate preventative measures. Any such breach or unauthorized access could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation and harm to our relationship with our members, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business.

We rely extensively on information technology to process transactions, compile results and manage our businesses. Failure or disruption of our primary and back-up systems could adversely affect our businesses.

Given the very high volume of transactions we process each year, it is important that we maintain uninterrupted operation of our business-critical computer systems. Our systems, including our back-up systems, are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, internal or external security breaches, catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes and errors by our employees. If our systems are damaged or cease to function properly, we may have to make significant investments to fix or replace them, and we may suffer serious interruptions in our operations, which might not be short-lived, in the interim. Any material interruption to these systems could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, the cost of securing our systems against failure or attack is considerable, and increases in these costs, particularly in the wake of a breach or failure, could be material.

Union attempts to organize our team members could disrupt our business.

In the past, unions have attempted to organize our team members at certain of our clubs and distribution centers. Our management and team members may be required to devote their time to respond to union activities, which could be distracting to our operations. Future union activities, including organizing efforts, slow-downs or work stoppages could negatively impact our business and results of operations. Changes in labor laws or regulations that promote union activity could also adversely impact our business.

Our comparable club sales and quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly.

Our comparable club sales may be adversely affected for many reasons, including new club openings by our competitors and the opening of our own new clubs that may cannibalize existing club sales. Comparable club sales may also be affected by cycling against strong sales in the prior year, by new clubs entering our comparable club base and by price reductions in response to competition.

Our quarterly operating results may be adversely affected by a number of factors including losses in new clubs, price changes in response to competitors’ prices, increases in operating costs, volatility in gasoline, energy and commodity prices, increasing penetration of sales of our private label brands (Wellsley Farms^® and Berkley Jensen^®), federal budgetary and tax policies, weather conditions, natural disasters, local economic conditions and the timing of new club openings and related start-up costs.

Changes in our product mix or in our revenues from gasoline sales could negatively impact our revenue and results of operations.

Certain of our key performance indicators, including net sales, operating income and comparable club sales, could be negatively impacted by changes to our product mix or in the price of gasoline. For example, we continue to add private label products to our assortment of product offerings at our clubs, sold under our Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen private labels. We generally price these private label products lower than the manufacturer branded products of comparable quality that we also offer. Accordingly, a shift in our sales mix in which we sell more units of our private label products and fewer units of our manufacturer branded products would have an adverse impact on our overall net sales. Also, as we continue to add gas stations to our club base and increase our sales of gasoline, our profit margins could be adversely affected. Since gasoline generates lower profit margins than the remainder of our business, we could expect to see our overall gross profit margin rates decline as sales of gasoline increase. In addition, gasoline prices have been historically volatile and may fluctuate widely due to changes in domestic and international supply and demand. Accordingly, significant changes in gasoline prices may substantially affect our net sales notwithstanding that the profit margin and unit sales for gasoline are largely unchanged, and this effect may increase as gasoline sales make up a larger portion of our revenue.

Research analysts and stockholders may recognize and react to the foregoing changes to our key performance indicators and believe that they indicate a decline in our performance, and this could occur regardless of whether or not the underlying cause has an adverse impact on our profitability. If we suffer an adverse change to our key performance indicators, this could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

Product recalls could adversely affect our sales and results of operations.

If our merchandise offerings, including food and general merchandise products, do not meet applicable safety standards or our members’ expectations regarding safety, we could experience lost sales and increased costs and be exposed to legal and reputational risk. The sale of these items involves the risk of health-related illness or injury to our members. Such illnesses or injuries could result from tampering by unauthorized third parties, product contamination or spoilage, including the presence of foreign objects, substances, chemicals, other agents, or residues introduced during the growing, manufacturing, storage, handling and transportation phases, or faulty design. We are dependent on our vendors, including vendors located outside the United States, to ensure that the products we buy comply with all relevant safety standards. While all our vendors must comply with applicable product safety laws, it is possible that a vendor will fail to comply with these laws or otherwise fail to ensure the safety of its products. Further, while our vendors generally must agree to indemnify us in the case of loss, it is possible that a vendor will fail to fulfill that obligation.

If a recall does occur, we have procedures in place to notify our clubs and, if appropriate, the members who have purchased the goods in question. We determine the appropriateness of a recall on a case-by-case basis, based, in part, on the size of the recall, the severity of the potential impact to a member and our ability to contact the purchasers of the products in question. While we are subject to governmental inspections and regulations, and work to comply in all material respects with applicable laws and regulations, it is possible that consumption or use of our products could cause a health-related illness or injury in the future and that we will be subject to claims, lawsuits or government investigations relating to such matters. This could result in costly product recalls and other liabilities that could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, negative publicity could adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential members, as well as our corporate and brand image, including that of our Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen private labels, and could have long-term adverse effects on our business.

If we do not successfully maintain a relevant omnichannel experience for our members, our results of operations could be adversely impacted.

Omnichannel retailing is rapidly evolving, and we must keep pace with changing member expectations and new developments by our competitors. Our members are increasingly using mobile phones, tablets and other devices to shop and to interact with us through social media. We continue to make technology investments in our website and mobile application. If we are unable to make, improve or develop relevant member-facing technology in a timely manner, our ability to compete and our results of operations could be adversely affected.

We depend on the financial performance of our operations in the New York metropolitan area.

Our financial and operational performance is dependent on our operations in the New York metropolitan area, which accounted for 25% of net sales in fiscal year 2020. The New York metropolitan area is the city and suburbs of New York City, which includes Long Island and the Mid- and Lower Hudson Valley in the state of New York. It also includes north and central New Jersey, three counties in western Connecticut and five counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. We consider 42 of our clubs to be located in the New York metropolitan area. Any substantial slowing or sustained decline in these operations could materially adversely affect our business and financial results. Declines in financial performance of our operations in the New York metropolitan area could arise from, among other things, slower growth or declines in our comparable club sales; negative trends in operating expenses, including increased labor, healthcare and energy costs; failing to meet targets for club openings; cannibalization of existing locations by new clubs; shifts in sales mix toward lower gross margin products; changes or uncertainties in economic conditions in this market, including higher levels of unemployment, depressed home values and natural disasters; regional economic problems; changes in local regulations; terrorist attacks; and failure to consistently provide a high quality and well-assorted mix of products to retain our existing member base and attract new members.

 Our growth strategy to open new clubs involves risks.

Our long-term sales and income growth are dependent, to a certain degree, on our ability to open new clubs and gasoline stations in both existing markets and new markets. Opening new clubs is expensive and involves substantial risks that may prevent us from receiving an appropriate return on that investment. We may not be successful in opening new clubs and gasoline stations on the schedule we have planned or at all, and the clubs and gasoline stations we open may not be successful. Our expansion is dependent on finding suitable locations, which may be affected by local regulations, political opposition, construction and development costs, and competition from other retailers for particular sites. If prospective landlords find it difficult to obtain credit, we may need to own more new clubs rather than lease them. Owned locations require more initial capital than leased locations and therefore, the need to own new locations could constrain our growth. If we are able to secure new sites and open new locations, these locations may not be profitable for many reasons. For example, we may not be able to hire, train and retain a suitable work force to staff these locations or to integrate new clubs successfully into our existing infrastructure, either of which could prevent us from operating the clubs in a profitable manner. In addition, entry into new markets may bring us into competition with new or existing competitors with a stronger, more well-established market presence. We may also improperly judge the suitability of a particular site. Any of these factors could cause a site to lose money or otherwise fail to provide an adequate return on investment. If we fail to open new clubs as quickly as we have planned, our growth will suffer. If we open sites that we do not or cannot operate profitably, then our financial condition and results from operations could suffer.

Because we compete to a substantial degree on price, changes affecting the market prices of the goods we sell could adversely affect our net sales and operating profit.

It is an important part of our business plan that we offer value to our members, including offering prices that are substantially below certain of our competitors. Accordingly, we carefully monitor the market prices of the goods we sell in order to maintain our pricing advantage. If our competitors substantially lower their prices, we would be forced to lower our prices, which could adversely impact our margins and results of operations. In addition, the market price of the goods we sell can be influenced by general economic conditions. For example, if we experience a general deflation in the prices of the goods we sell, this would reduce our net sales and potentially adversely affect our operating income.

Any harm to the reputation of our private label brands could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We sell many products under our private label brands, Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen. Maintaining consistent product quality, competitive pricing and availability of these products is essential to developing and maintaining member loyalty to these brands. These products generally carry higher margins than manufacturer branded products of comparable quality carried in our clubs and represent a growing portion of our overall sales. If our private label brands experience a loss of member acceptance or confidence, our net sales and operating results could be adversely affected.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property adequately, which, in turn, could harm the value of our brand and adversely affect our business.

We rely on our proprietary intellectual property, including trademarks, to market, promote and sell our products in our clubs. Our ability to implement our business plan successfully depends in part on our ability to build further brand recognition using our trademarks, service marks, proprietary products and other intellectual property, including our name and logos and the unique character and atmosphere of our clubs. We monitor and protect against activities that might infringe, dilute or otherwise violate our trademarks and other intellectual property, and rely on trademark and other laws of the United States.

We may be unable to prevent third parties from using our intellectual property without our authorization. To the extent we cannot protect our intellectual property, unauthorized use and misuse of our intellectual property could harm our competitive position and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. Additionally, adequate remedies may not be available in the event of an unauthorized use or disclosure of our trade secrets or other intellectual property.

Additionally, we cannot be certain that we do not, or will not in the future, infringe on the intellectual property rights of third parties. From time to time, we have been subject to claims of third parties that we have infringed upon their intellectual property rights and we face the risk of such claims in the future. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, any intellectual property infringement claims against us could be costly, time-consuming, harmful to our reputation, and could divert the time and attention of our management and other personnel, or result in injunctive or other equitable relief that may require us to make changes to our business, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. With respect to any third-party intellectual property that we use or wish to use in our business (whether or not asserted against us in litigation), we may not be able to enter into licensing or other arrangements with the owner of such intellectual property at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms.

Our business is moderately seasonal and weak performance during one of our historically strong seasonal periods could have a material adverse effect on our operating results for the entire fiscal year.

Our business is moderately seasonal, with a meaningful portion of our sales dedicated to seasonal and holiday merchandise, resulting in the realization of higher portions of net sales, operating income and cash flows in the second and fourth fiscal quarters. Due to the importance of our peak sales periods, which include the spring and year-end holiday seasons, the second and fourth fiscal quarters have historically contributed, and are expected to continue to contribute, significantly to our operating results for the entire fiscal year. In anticipation of seasonal increases in sales activity during these periods, we incur significant additional expense prior to and during our peak seasonal periods, which we may finance with additional short-term borrowings. These expenses may include the acquisition of additional inventory, seasonal staffing needs and other similar items. As a result, any factors negatively affecting us during these periods, including adverse weather and unfavorable economic conditions, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations for the entire fiscal year.

Implementation of technology initiatives could disrupt our operations in the near term and fail to provide the anticipated benefits.

As our business grows, we continue to make significant technology investments both in our operations and in our administrative functions. The costs, potential problems and interruptions associated with the implementation of technology initiatives could disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations in the near term. They may also require us to divert resources from our core business to ensure that implementation is successful. In addition, new or upgraded technology might not provide the anticipated benefits. It might take longer than expected to realize the anticipated benefits; and the technology might fail or cost more than anticipated.

Inventory shrinkage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to the risk of inventory loss and theft. Our inventory shrinkage rates have not been material, or fluctuated significantly in recent years, although it is possible that rates of inventory loss and theft in the future will exceed our estimates and that our measures will be ineffective in reducing our inventory shrinkage. Although some level of inventory shrinkage is an unavoidable cost of doing business, if we were to experience higher rates of inventory shrinkage or to incur increased security costs to combat inventory theft, for example as a result of increased use of self-checkout technologies, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to risks associated with leasing substantial amounts of space.

We lease most of our retail properties, each of our three company-operated distribution centers and our corporate office. The profitability of our business is dependent on operating our current club base with favorable margins, opening and operating new clubs at a reasonable profit, renewing leases for clubs in desirable locations and, if necessary, identifying and closing underperforming clubs. We enter leases for a significant number of our club locations for varying terms. Typically, a large portion of a club’s operating expense is the cost associated with leasing the location.

We are typically responsible for taxes, utilities, insurance, repairs and maintenance for our leased retail properties. Our rent expense for fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018 totaled $331.8 million, $326.1 million and $308.2 million, respectively. Our future minimum rental commitments for all operating leases in existence as of January 30, 2021 was $329.1 million for fiscal year 2021 and a total of $3,202.6 million in aggregate for fiscal years 2022 through 2042. We expect that many of the new clubs we open will also be leased to us under operating leases, which will further increase our operating lease expenditures and require significant capital expenditures. We depend on cash flows from operations to pay our lease expenses and to fulfill our other cash needs. If our business does not generate sufficient cash flow from operating activities, and sufficient funds are not otherwise available to us from borrowings under our senior secured asset based revolving credit and term facility (the "ABL Facility") or other sources, we may not be able to service our lease expenses or fund our other liquidity and capital needs, which would materially affect our business.

The operating leases for our retail properties, distribution centers and corporate office expire at various dates through fiscal year 2042. Several leases have renewal options for various periods of time at our discretion. When leases for our clubs with ongoing operations expire, we may be unable to negotiate renewals, either on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. Further, if we attempt to relocate a club for which the lease has expired, we may be unable to find a new location for that club on commercially acceptable terms or at all, and the relocation of a club might not be successful for other reasons. Any of these factors could cause us to close clubs in desirable locations, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations.

Over time, current club locations may not continue to be desirable because of changes in demographics within the surrounding area or a decline in shopping traffic, including traffic generated by other nearby clubs. We may not be able to terminate a particular lease if or when we would like to do so. If we decide to close clubs, we are generally required to continue to pay rent and operating expenses for the balance of the lease term, which could be expensive. Even if we are able to assign or sublease vacated locations where our lease cannot be terminated, we may remain liable on the lease obligations if the assignee or sublessee does not perform.

Non-compliance with privacy and information security laws, especially as it relates to maintaining the security of member-related personal information, may damage our business and reputation with members, or result in our incurring substantial additional costs and becoming subject to litigation.

The use of individually identifiable data, including personal health information, by our business is regulated at the federal and state levels. Privacy and information security laws and regulations change, and compliance with them may result in cost increases due to necessary system changes and the development of new administrative processes. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations or experience a data security breach, our reputation could be damaged, possibly resulting in lost future business, and we could be subjected to additional legal or financial risk, including the imposition of fines or other penalties, as a result of non-compliance.

For example, as most retailers and wholesale club operators do, we and certain of our service providers receive certain personally identifiable information, including protected health information, about our members. In addition, our online operations at www.bjs.com depend upon the secure transmission of confidential information over public networks. A compromise of our security systems or those of some of our business partners that results in our members’ personal information being obtained by unauthorized persons could adversely affect our reputation with our members and others, as well as our operations, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and could result in litigation against us or the imposition of penalties. In addition, a security breach could require that we expend significant additional resources related to the security of information systems and could result in a disruption of our operations.

Federal, state, regional and local laws and regulations relating to the cleanup, investigation, use, storage, discharge and disposal of hazardous materials, hazardous and non-hazardous wastes and other environmental matters could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to a wide variety of federal, state, regional and local laws and regulations relating to the use, storage, discharge and disposal of hazardous materials, hazardous and non-hazardous wastes and other environmental matters. Failure to comply with these laws could result in harm to our members, employees or others, significant costs to satisfy environmental compliance, remediation or compensatory requirements, private party claims, or the imposition of severe penalties or restrictions on operations by governmental agencies or courts that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. In addition, the risk of substantial costs and liabilities, including for the investigation and remediation of past or present contamination at our current or former properties (whether or not caused by us), are inherent in our operations, particularly with respect to our gasoline stations. There can be no assurance that substantial costs and liabilities for an investigation and remediation of contamination will not be incurred.

Our e-commerce business faces distinct risks, and our failure to successfully manage it could have a negative impact on our profitability.

As our e-commerce business grows, we increasingly encounter the risks and difficulties that internet-based businesses face. The successful operation of our e-commerce business, and our ability to provide a positive shopping experience that will generate orders and drive subsequent visits depend on efficient and uninterrupted operation of our order-taking and fulfillment operations. Risks associated with our e-commerce business include, but are not limited to: uncertainties associated with our website, including changes in required technology interfaces, website downtime and other technical failures, costs and technical issues as we upgrade our website software, inadequate system capacity, computer viruses, human error, security breaches and legal claims related to our website operations and e-commerce fulfillment; disruptions in telecommunications service or power outages; reliance on third parties for computer hardware and software and delivery of merchandise to our customers; rapid changes in technology; credit or debit card fraud and other payment processing related issues; changes in applicable federal and state regulations; liability for online content; cybersecurity and consumer privacy concerns and regulation; and natural disasters.

Problems in any of these areas could result in a reduction in sales; increased costs; sanctions or penalties; and damage to our reputation and brands. Personal information from our members may also be placed at risk through our use of outside vendors, which may have data security systems that differ from those that we maintain or are more vulnerable to breach. For example, in March 2018, our travel vendor informed us that the personal data of several hundred of our members had been compromised because of a data breach at Orbitz, which that vendor used as a platform for making online travel bookings. Further, if we invest substantial amounts in developing our e-commerce capabilities, these factors or others could prevent those investments from being effective.

In addition, we must keep up-to-date with competitive technology trends, including the use of new or improved technology, creative user interfaces and other e-commerce marketing tools (such as paid search and mobile applications, among others), which may increase our costs and which may not increase sales or attract customers. If we are unable to allow real-time and accurate visibility into product availability when customers are ready to purchase, fulfill our customers’ orders quickly and efficiently use the fulfillment and payment methods they demand, provide a convenient and consistent experience for our customers regardless of the ultimate sales channel or manage our online sales effectively, our ability to compete and our results of operations could be adversely affected.

Furthermore, if our e-commerce business successfully grows, it may do so in part by attracting existing customers, rather than new customers, who choose to purchase products from us online rather than from our physical locations, thereby detracting from the financial performance of our clubs.

We are subject to a number of risks because we import some of our merchandise.

We imported approximately 3% of our merchandise directly from foreign countries such as China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and India during fiscal year 2020. In addition, many of our domestic vendors purchase a portion of their products from foreign sources.

Foreign sourcing subjects us to a number of risks generally associated with doing business abroad, including lead times, labor issues, shipping and freight constraints, product and raw material issues, political and economic conditions, government policies, tariffs and restrictions, epidemics and natural disasters.

If any of these or other factors were to cause supply disruptions or delays, our inventory levels may be reduced or the cost of our products may increase unless and until alternative supply arrangements could be made. We may have limited advance warning of such a disruption, which could impair our ability to purchase merchandise from alternative sources, or alternative sources might not be available. Merchandise purchased from alternative sources may be of lesser quality or more expensive than the merchandise we currently purchase abroad. Any shortages of merchandise (especially seasonal and holiday merchandise), even if temporary, could result in missed opportunities, reducing our sales and profitability. It could also result in our customers seeking and obtaining the products in question from our competitors.

In addition, reductions in the value of the U.S. dollar or increases in the value of foreign currencies could ultimately increase the prices that we pay for our products. We have not hedged our currency risk in the past and do not currently anticipate doing so in the future. All of our products manufactured overseas and imported into the United States are subject to duties collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Increases in these duties would increase the prices we pay for these products, and we may not be able to fully recapture these costs in our pricing to customers. Further, we may be subjected to additional tariffs or penalties if we or our suppliers are found to be in violation of U.S. laws and regulations applicable to the importation of our products (including, but not limited to, prohibitions against entering merchandise by means of material negligently-made false statements or omissions). To the extent that any foreign manufacturers from whom we purchase products directly or indirectly employ business practices that vary from those commonly accepted in the United States, we could be hurt by any resulting negative publicity or, in some cases, potential claims of liability.

Because of our international sourcing, we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws.

We sourced approximately 3% of our merchandise abroad during fiscal year 2020. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other similar laws and regulations generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. While our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws, we cannot ensure that we will be successful in preventing our employees or other agents from taking actions in violation of these laws or regulations. Such violations, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows and results of operations.

Factors associated with climate change could adversely affect our business.

We use natural gas, diesel fuel, gasoline and electricity in our distribution and sale operations. Increased government regulations to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions may result in increased compliance costs and legislation or regulation affecting energy inputs, which could materially affect our profitability. Climate change could affect our ability to procure needed commodities at costs and in the quantities that we currently experience. We also sell a substantial amount of gasoline, the demand for which could be impacted by concerns about climate change and which could face increased regulation Additionally, climate change may be associated with extreme weather conditions, such as more intense hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornadoes and snow or ice storms, as well as rising sea levels.

Changes in accounting standards and subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by management related to complex accounting matters could significantly affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We apply accounting principles and related pronouncements, implementation guidelines and interpretations to a wide range of matters that are relevant to our business, including, but not limited to self-insurance reserves, are highly complex and involve subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by our management. Changes in these rules or their interpretation or changes in underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments by our management could significantly change our reported or expected financial performance.

Provisions for losses related to self-insured risks are generally based upon independent actuarially determined estimates. The assumptions underlying the ultimate costs of existing claim losses can be highly unpredictable, which can affect the liability recorded for such claims. For example, variability in health care cost inflation rates inherent in these claims can affect the amounts recognized. Similarly, changes in legal trends and interpretations, as well as changes in the nature and method of how claims are settled can impact ultimate costs. Although our estimates of liabilities incurred do not anticipate significant changes in historical trends for these variables, any changes could have a considerable effect upon future claim costs and currently recorded liabilities and could materially impact our consolidated financial statements.

Goodwill and identifiable intangible assets represent a significant portion of our total assets, and any impairment of these assets could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, which consist of goodwill and our trade name, represented a significant portion of our total assets as of January 30, 2021. Accounting rules require the evaluation of our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment at least annually, or more frequently when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. Such indicators are based on market conditions and the operational performance of our business.

To test goodwill for impairment, we may initially use a qualitative approach to determine whether conditions exist to indicate that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If our management concludes, based on its assessment of relevant events, facts and circumstances, that it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s carrying value is greater than its fair value, then a quantitative analysis will be performed to determine if there is any impairment. We may initially also elect to perform a quantitative analysis. We estimate the reporting unit’s fair value by estimating the future cash flows of the reporting units to which the goodwill relates, and then we discount the future cash flows at a market-participant-derived weighted-average cost of capital. The estimates of fair value of the reporting unit is based on the best information available as of the date of the assessment. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, then goodwill is impaired and is written down to the implied fair value amount.

To test our other indefinite-lived asset, our trade name, for impairment, we determine the fair value of our trade name using the relief-from-royalty method, which estimates the present value of royalty income that could be hypothetically earned by licensing the brand name to a third party over its remaining useful life. If, in conducting an impairment evaluation, we determine that the carrying value of an asset exceeded its fair value, we would be required to record a non-cash impairment charge for the difference between the carrying value and the fair value of the asset.

If a significant amount of our goodwill and identifiable intangible assets was deemed to be impaired, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

We are a holding company with no operations of our own, and we depend on our subsidiaries for cash.

We are a holding company and do not have any material assets or operations other than ownership of the equity interests of our subsidiaries. Our operations are conducted almost entirely through our subsidiaries, and our ability to generate cash to meet our obligations or to pay dividends, if any, is highly dependent on the earnings of, and receipt of funds from, our subsidiaries through dividends or intercompany loans. The ability of our subsidiaries to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to allow us and them to make scheduled payments on our debt obligations will depend on their future financial performance, which will be affected by a range of economic, competitive and business factors, many of which are outside of our control. We cannot assure our stockholders that the cash flow and earnings of our operating subsidiaries will be adequate for our subsidiaries to service their debt obligations. If our subsidiaries do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to satisfy corporate obligations, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans (such as refinancing), restructure debt, sell assets, reduce or delay capital investments, or seek to raise additional capital. We cannot assure our stockholders that any such alternative refinancing would be possible, that any assets could be sold, or, if sold, of the timing of the sales and the amount of proceeds realized from those sales, that additional financing could be obtained on acceptable terms, if at all, or that additional financing would be permitted under the terms of our various debt instruments then in effect. Our inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our obligations, or to refinance our obligations on commercially reasonable terms, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, we and our subsidiaries may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future that may severely restrict or prohibit our subsidiaries from making distributions, paying dividends, if any, or making loans to us.

Risks Relating to Our Indebtedness

We face risks related to our substantial indebtedness.

As of January 30, 2021, our total outstanding long-term debt was $846.2 million. Our substantial leverage could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry, expose us to interest rate risk associated with our variable rate debt and prevent us from meeting our obligations under our ABL Facility and senior secured first lien term loan facility ("First Lien Term Loan"). Our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences to us, including: making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our debt, and any failure to comply with the obligations under our debt instruments, including restrictive covenants, could result in an event of default under the agreements governing our indebtedness increasing our vulnerability to general economic and industry conditions; requiring a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our debt, thereby reducing our ability to use our cash flow to fund our operations, capital expenditures, selling and marketing efforts, product development, future business opportunities and other purposes; limiting our ability to deduct interest in the taxable period in which it is incurred in light of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates as substantially all of our borrowings are at variable rates; restricting us from making strategic acquisitions; limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, product development, debt service requirements, acquisitions and general corporate or other purposes; and limiting our ability to plan for, or adjust to, changing market conditions and placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors who may be less highly leveraged.

The occurrence of any one of these events could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness.

We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, subject to the restrictions contained in the credit agreements governing our ABL Facility and First Lien Term Loan.

The ABL Facility and First Lien Term Loan impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and our subsidiaries that may prevent us from pursuing certain business opportunities and restrict our ability to operate our business.

The credit agreements governing our ABL Facility and First Lien Term Loan contain covenants that restrict our, and our subsidiaries’ ability to take various actions, such as: incur or guarantee additional indebtedness or issue certain disqualified or preferred stock; pay dividends or make other distributions on, or redeem or purchase, any equity interests or make other restricted payments; make certain acquisitions or investments; create or incur liens; transfer or sell assets; incur restrictions on the payments of dividends or other distributions from our restricted subsidiaries; alter the business that we conduct; enter into transactions with affiliates; and consummate a merger or consolidation or sell, assign, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets.

The restrictions in the credit agreements governing our ABL Facility and First Lien Term Loan also limit our ability to plan for or react to market conditions, meet capital needs or otherwise restrict our activities or business plans and adversely affect our ability to finance our operations, enter into acquisitions or to engage in other business activities that could be in our interest.

In addition, our ability to borrow under the ABL Facility is limited by the amount of our borrowing base. Any negative impact on the elements of our borrowing base, such as accounts receivable and inventory could reduce our borrowing capacity under the ABL Facility.

We may be unable to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our significant debt service obligations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to make principal and interest payments on and to refinance our indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future and is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, tax and other factors that are beyond our control. If our business does not generate sufficient cash flow from operations, in the amounts projected or at all, or if future borrowings are not available to us in amounts sufficient to fund our other liquidity needs, our business financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. If we cannot generate sufficient cash flow from operations to make scheduled principal and interest payments in the future, we may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity, sell assets, delay capital expenditures or seek additional equity. The terms of our existing or future debt agreements, including the First Lien Term Loan and the ABL Facility, may also restrict us from affecting any of these alternatives. Further, changes in the credit and capital markets, including market disruptions and interest rate fluctuations, may increase the cost of financing, make it more difficult to obtain favorable terms, or restrict our access to these sources of future liquidity. Our ABL Facility is scheduled to mature on August 17, 2023 and our First Lien Facility is scheduled to mature on February 3, 2024. See "Liquidity and Capital Resources". If we are unable to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all or to effect any other action relating to our indebtedness on satisfactory terms or at all, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be adversely affected by the potential discontinuation of LIBOR.

In July 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA"), which regulates LIBOR, announced that it intends to stop compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. As a result, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York organized the Alternative Reference Rates Committee which identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") as its preferred alternative to USD-LIBOR. We are not able to predict when LIBOR will cease to be published or precisely how SOFR will be calculated and published. Any changes adopted by the FCA or other governing bodies in the method used for determining LIBOR may result in a sudden or prolonged increase or decrease in reported LIBOR. If that were to occur, our interest payments could change. In addition, uncertainty about the extent and manner of future changes may result in interest rates and/or payments that are higher or lower than if LIBOR were to remain available in its current form.

We have contracts that are indexed to LIBOR and are monitoring and evaluating the related risks, which include interest amounts on our ABL Facility and First Lien Term Loan and our interest rate swap agreements. In the event that LIBOR is discontinued, the interest rates will be based on an alternative variable rate specified in the applicable documentation governing such debt or swaps or as otherwise agreed upon. Such an event would not affect our ability to borrow or maintain already outstanding borrowings or swaps, but the alternative variable rate could be higher and more volatile than LIBOR prior to its discontinuance.

Certain risks arise in connection with transitioning contracts to an alternative variable rate, including any resulting value transfer that may occur. The value of loans, securities or derivative instruments tied to LIBOR could also be impacted if LIBOR is limited or discontinued. For some instruments, the method of transitioning to an alternative rate may be challenging, as they may require substantial negotiation with each respective counterparty. If a contract is not transitioned to an alternative variable rate and LIBOR is discontinued, the impact is likely to vary by contract. If LIBOR is discontinued, or if the method of calculating LIBOR changes from its current form, interest rates on our current or future indebtedness may be adversely affected.

While we expect LIBOR to be available in substantially its current form until the end of 2021, it is possible that LIBOR will become unavailable prior to that point. This could result, for example, if sufficient banks decline to make submissions to the LIBOR administrator. In that case, the risks associated with the transition to an alternative variable rate will be accelerated and magnified.

Risks Relating to Ownership of our Common Stock

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly.

The market price of our common stock depends on various factors that may be unrelated to our operating performance or prospects. We cannot assure you that the market price of our common stock will not fluctuate or decline significantly in the future. A number of factors could negatively affect, or result in fluctuations in, the price or trading volume of our common stock, including: quarterly variations in our operating results compared to market expectations; changes in the preferences of our customers; low comparable club sales growth compared to market expectations; delays in the planned openings of new clubs; the failure of securities analysts to cover the Company or changes in financial estimates by the analysts who cover us, our competitors or the grocery or retail industries in general and the wholesale club segment in particular; economic, legal and regulatory factors unrelated to our performance; changes in consumer spending or the housing market; or increased competition or stock price performance of our competitors.

As a result of these factors, you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price at which you purchased them. In addition, our stock price may be volatile. The stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies like us. Accordingly, these broad market fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions, such as recessions or interest rate changes, may significantly reduce the market price of the common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of market volatility, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could result in substantial costs and divert resources and our management’s attention from other business concerns, regardless of the outcome of such litigation.

Our ability to raise capital in the future may be limited.

Our business and operations may consume resources faster than we anticipate. In the future, we may need to raise additional funds through the issuance of new equity securities, debt or a combination of both. Additional financing may not be available on favorable terms, or at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to fund our capital requirements. If we issue new debt securities, the debt holders would have rights senior to common stockholders to make claims on our assets, and the terms of any debt could restrict our operations, including our ability to pay dividends on our common stock. If we issue additional equity securities, existing stockholders will experience dilution, and the new equity securities could have rights senior to those of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, our stockholders bear the risk of our future securities offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting their interest.

We cannot guarantee that we will repurchase our common stock pursuant to our share repurchase program or that our share repurchase program will enhance long-term stockholder value. Share repurchases could also increase the volatility of the price of our common stock and could diminish our cash reserves.

The timing and amount of repurchases of shares of our common stock, if any, will depend upon several factors, including market and business conditions, the trading price of our common stock, our cost of capital and the nature of other investment opportunities. Our share repurchase program may be limited, suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice. In addition, repurchases of our common stock pursuant to our share repurchase program could affect our stock price and increase its volatility. The existence of our share repurchase program could cause our stock price to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our stock. Additionally, our share repurchase program could diminish our cash reserves, which may impact our ability to finance future growth and to pursue possible future strategic opportunities and acquisitions. There can be no assurance that any share repurchases will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our common stock may decline below the levels at which we repurchased shares of stock. Although our share repurchase program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, there is no assurance that it will do so and short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the effectiveness of the program. Our share repurchase program may be suspended or terminated at any time without notice.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, or if they issue unfavorable commentary about us or our industry or downgrade our common stock, the price of our common stock could decline.

The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that third-party securities analysts publish about us and our industry. One or more analysts could downgrade our common stock or issue other negative commentary about us or our industry. In addition, we may be unable or slow to attract research coverage. Alternatively, if one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us, we could lose visibility in the market. As a result of one or more of these factors, the trading price of our common stock could decline.

Some provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, as well as provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law(the "DGCL"), could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us or increase the cost of acquiring us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions include: establishing a classified board of directors such that not all members of the board are elected at one time; allowing the total number of directors to be determined exclusively (subject to the rights of holders of any series of preferred stock to elect additional directors) by resolution of our board of directors and granting to our board of directors the sole power to fill any vacancy on the board; limiting the ability of stockholders to remove directors without cause; authorizing the issuance of "blank check" preferred stock by our board of directors, without further stockholder approval, to thwart a takeover attempt; prohibiting stockholder action by written consent (and, thus, requiring that all stockholder actions be taken at a meeting of our stockholders); eliminating the ability of stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders; establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon at annual stockholder meetings; requiring the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of the voting power of all outstanding stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, to amend or repeal our certificate of incorporation or bylaws; and electing not to be governed by Section 203 of the DGCL.

These anti-takeover defenses could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our Company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for other stockholders to elect directors of their choosing and cause us to take corporate actions other than those our stockholders desire.

We are exposed to risks relating to evaluations of controls required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

We are required to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires management assessments of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures, our ability to record, process and report financial information accurately and to prepare financial statements within required time periods could be adversely affected, which could subject us to litigation or investigations requiring management resources and payment of legal and other expenses, negatively affect investor confidence in our financial statements, restrict access to capital markets and adversely impact our stock price.

We do not currently expect to pay any cash dividends.

We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the operation and expansion of our business and do not expect to pay any cash dividends on shares of our common stock in the foreseeable future. We are a holding company, and substantially all of our operations are carried out by our operating subsidiaries. Any inability on the part of our subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Under our ABL Facility and First Lien Term Loan, our operating subsidiaries are significantly restricted in their ability to pay dividends or otherwise transfer assets to us, and we expect these limitations to continue in the future. Our ability to pay dividends may also be limited by the terms of any future credit agreement or any future debt or preferred equity securities of ours or of our subsidiaries. Accordingly, realization of a gain on your investment will depend on the appreciation of the price of our common stock, which may never occur. Stockholders seeking cash dividends in the foreseeable future should not purchase our common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed to us or our stockholders by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising under any provisions of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This forum selection provision will not apply to any causes of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act. As a stockholder in our Company, you are deemed to have notice of and have consented to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation related to choice of forum. The choice of forum provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may limit your ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.

General Risk Factors 

Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain a qualified management team and other team members while controlling our labor costs.

We are dependent upon several key management and other team members.  If we were to lose the services of one or more of our key team members, this could have a material adverse effect on our operations.  Our continued success also depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified team members to meet our future growth needs while controlling related labor costs.  Our ability to control labor costs is subject to numerous external factors, including healthcare costs and prevailing wage rates, which may be affected by, among other factors, competitive wage pressure, minimum wage laws and general economic conditions.  If we experience competitive labor markets, either regionally or in general, we may have to increase our wages in order to attract and retain highly qualified team members, which could increase our selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) and adversely affect our operating income.  We compete with other retail and non-retail businesses for these employees and invest significant resources in training them.  There is no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain highly qualified team members to operate our business.

Insurance claims could adversely impact our results of operations.

We use a combination of insurance and self-insurance plans to provide for potential liability for workers’ compensation, general liability, property, fiduciary liability and employee and retiree health care. Liabilities associated with the risk retained by the Company are estimated based on historical claims experience and other actuarial assumptions believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Our results of operations could be adversely impacted if actual future occurrences and claims differ from our assumptions and historical trends.

Certain legal proceedings could adversely impact our results of operations.

We are involved in a number of legal proceedings involving employment issues, personal injury, product liability, consumer matters, intellectual property claims and other litigation.  Certain of these lawsuits, if decided adversely to us or settled by us, may result in material liability.  See the notes to our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.  Further, we are unable to predict whether unknown claims may be brought against us that could become material.

We could be subject to additional income tax liabilities.

We compute our income tax provision based on enacted federal and state tax rates.  As tax rates vary among jurisdictions, a change in earnings attributable to the various jurisdictions in which we operate could result in an unfavorable change in our overall tax provision.  Additionally, changes in the enacted tax rates, adverse outcomes in tax audits, including transfer pricing disputes, or any change in the pronouncements relating to accounting for income taxes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

We operated 221 warehouse club locations as of January 30, 2021, of which 190 are leased under long-term leases and 11 are owned. We own the buildings at the remaining 20 locations, which are subject to long-term ground leases. A listing of the number of Company locations in each state is shown under Part I. "Item 1. Business."

The Company's leases require long-term rental payments subject to various adjustments. Generally, the Company is required to pay insurance, real estate taxes and other operating expenses and, in some cases, additional rentals based on a percentage of sales in excess of certain thresholds, or other factors. Many of the leases require escalating payments during the lease term. Rent expense for such leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The initial primary term of the Company's operating leases ranges from 5 to 44 years, with most of these leases having an initial term of approximately 20 years. The initial primary term of the Company's two finance leases is 20 years.

Our home office in Westborough, Massachusetts occupies a total of 282,000 square feet. Our lease expires on January 31, 2026.

We operate three cross-dock distribution centers for non-perishable items and also have three perishable item distribution centers operated by a third party. Our cross-dock distribution centers are leased under lease agreements expiring between 2031 and 2033, and range between 480,000 and 630,000 square feet in size. The third-party perishable distribution centers range between 210,000 and 264,000 square feet in size.

We operate another cross-dock distribution center for Business-to-Business ("B2B") transactions, which occupies a total of 100,000 square feet. Our lease agreement for this center expires in 2029.

See Note 4, "Leases" of our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information with respect to our leases.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

We are subject to various litigation, claims and other proceedings that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of business. We believe these actions are routine and incidental to the business. While the outcome of these actions cannot be predicted with certainty, management does not believe that any will have a material adverse impact on our business.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

Our common stock began trading on the NYSE under the symbol "BJ" on June 28, 2018. As of the end of business on March 12, 2021, the trading price of our common stock closed at $42.32 per share.

Holders

As of March 12, 2021, there were approximately 10 record holders of our common stock. This number does not include beneficial owners whose shares were held in street name.

Dividends

We do not currently expect to pay any cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Instead, we intend to retain future earnings, if any, for the future operation and expansion of our business and the repayment of debt or repurchase of common stock. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable laws and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

Performance Graph

The following graph illustrates a comparison of the total cumulative return on our common stock with the total cumulative return for (i) the S&P 500 Index and (ii) the S&P 500 Retail Index for the period from June 28, 2018 (the date our common stock commenced trading on the NYSE) through January 30, 2021. The graph assumes an investment of $100 in our common stock and in each index at market close on June 28, 2018 and the reinvestment of all dividends. The comparisons in the table are not intended to forecast or be indicative of possible future performance of our common stock.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table provides information as of January 30, 2021, regarding our common stock that may be issued under the BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. 2018 Incentive Award Plan (the "2018 Incentive Award Plan"), the Fourth Amended and Restated 2011 Stock Option Plan of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (f/k/a Beacon Holding Inc.), as amended (the "2011 Stock Option Plan"), the 2012 Director Stock Option Plan of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (f/k/a Beacon Holding Inc.), as amended (the "2012 Director Stock Option Plan") and the BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "ESPP").

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

We have derived the following selected Consolidated Statements of Operations and cash flow data for fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018 and the Consolidated Balance Sheet data for the fiscal years ended January 30, 2021 and February 1, 2020 from our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have derived the following selected Consolidated Statements of Operations and cash flow data for fiscal years 2017 and 2016 and the Consolidated Balance Sheet data as of February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018 and January 28, 2017 from our consolidated financial statements not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The historical results presented below are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future period. You should read the selected financial data presented below in conjunction with Part II. "Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts and total clubs)

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis and the information in Part II. "Item 6. Selected Financial Data" should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences are discussed in the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors."

We report on the basis of a 52- or 53-week fiscal year, which ends on the Saturday closest to the last day of January. Accordingly, references herein to "fiscal year 2020", "fiscal year 2019" and " fiscal year 2018" relate to the 52 weeks ended January 30, 2021, February 1, 2020 and February 2, 2019, respectively.

Overview

BJ’s Wholesale Club is a leading warehouse club operator concentrated primarily on the east coast of the United States. We deliver significant value to our members, consistently offering 25% or more savings on a representative basket of manufacturer-branded groceries compared to traditional supermarket competitors. We provide a curated assortment focused on perishable products, continuously refreshed general merchandise, gasoline and other ancillary services to deliver a differentiated shopping experience that is further enhanced by our omnichannel capabilities.

Since pioneering the warehouse club model in New England in 1984, we have grown our footprint to 221 large-format, high volume warehouse clubs spanning 17 states. In our core New England markets, which have high population density and generate a disproportionate part of U.S. GDP, we operate almost three times the number of clubs compared to the next largest warehouse club competitor. In addition to shopping in our clubs, members are able to shop when and how they want through our website, www.bjs.com; our highly-rated mobile app and our integrated same-day delivery offering.

Over the last five years, we have made multiple senior management hires and changes, adding consumer packaged goods, digital and consulting experience to our leadership team. This leadership team has implemented significant cultural and operational changes to our business, including transforming how we use data to improve member experience, instilling a culture of cost discipline, adopting a more proactive approach to growing our membership base and building an omnichannel offering oriented towards making shopping at BJ's more convenient. These changes have delivered results rapidly, evidenced by income from continuing operations growth of 124%, consecutive quarter comparable club sales growth over the last three years and adjusted EBITDA growth of 61% over the last three years.

Our goal is to offer our members significant value and a meaningful return, in savings, on their annual membership fee. We have more than six million members paying annual fees to gain access to savings on groceries and general merchandise and services. The annual membership fee for our Inner Circle® membership is $55, and the annual membership fee for our BJ’s Perks Rewards® membership, which offers additional value-enhancing features, is $110. We believe that members can save over ten times their $55 Inner Circle membership fee versus what they would otherwise pay at traditional supermarket competitors when they spend $2,500 or more per year at BJ’s on manufacturer-branded groceries. In addition to providing significant savings on a representative basket of manufacturer-branded groceries, we accept all manufacturer coupons and also carry our own exclusive brands that enable members to save on price without compromising on quality. Our two private label brands, Wellsley Farms^® and Berkley Jensen^®, represent over $2.5 billion in annual sales, and are the largest brands we sell. Our customers recognize the relevance of our value proposition across economic environments, as demonstrated by over 20 consecutive years of membership fee income growth. Our membership fee income was $333.1 million for fiscal year 2020.

Our business is moderately seasonal in nature. Historically, our business has realized a slightly higher portion of net sales, operating income and cash flows from operations in the second and fourth fiscal quarters, attributable primarily to the impact of the summer and year-end holiday season, respectively.

Factors Affecting Our Business

COVID-19 Impact. During fiscal year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on our results of operations. Increased demand for our grocery products more than offset declines in our general merchandise and services division, which resulted in significant growth in comparable club sales compared to fiscal year 2019. This increased demand for our grocery products could reverse in the future if consumer purchasing behavior changes. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and continuously evolving, and the long-term impacts on our financial condition and results of operations are still uncertain. For a further discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, see the section entitled "Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019" included below.

The COVID-19 pandemic may impact many of the factors discussed in this section, including, among others, overall economic trends, consumer preferences and demand, product mix, quarterly fluctuations and sourcing, which in turn could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. See Part I. "Item 1A. Risk Factors".

Overall economic trends. The overall economic environment and related changes in consumer behavior have a significant impact on our business. In general, positive conditions in the broader economy promote customer spending in our clubs, while economic weakness, which generally results in a reduction of customer spending, may have a different or more extreme effect on spending at our clubs. Macroeconomic factors that can affect customer spending patterns, and thereby our results of operations, include employment rates, business conditions, changes in the housing market, the availability of credit, interest rates, tax rates and fuel and energy costs. In addition, during periods of low unemployment, we may experience higher labor costs.

Size and loyalty of membership base. The membership model is a critical element of our business. Members drive our results of operations through their membership fee income and their purchases. The majority of members renew within six months following their renewal date. Therefore, our renewal rate is a trailing calculation that captures renewals during the period seven to eighteen months prior to the reporting date. We have grown our membership fee income each year for the past two decades. Our membership fee income totaled $333.1 million in fiscal year 2020. Our membership renewal rate, a key indicator of membership engagement, satisfaction and loyalty, was 88% at the end of fiscal year 2020.

Consumer preferences and demand. Our ability to maintain our appeal to existing customers and attract new customers primarily depends on our ability to originate, develop and offer a compelling product assortment responsive to customer preferences. If we misjudge the market for our products, fail to adjust to changes in our member needs, or there is otherwise a decrease in consumer spending and confidence, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we may be faced with excess inventories for some products and may be required to become more promotional in our selling activities, which would impact our net sales and gross profit.

Infrastructure investment. Our historical operating results reflect the impact of our ongoing investments to support our growth. We have made significant investments in our business that we believe have laid the foundation for continued profitable growth. We believe that strengthening our management team and enhancing our information systems, including our distribution center management, point-of-sale systems and investment in hardware and digitally enabled shopping capabilities for convenience, such as BOPIC and curbside pickup, will enable us to replicate our profitable club format and provide a differentiated shopping experience. We expect these infrastructure investments to support our successful operating model across our club operations.

Product mix. Changes in our product mix affect our performance. For example, we have continued to add private label products to our assortment of product offerings at our clubs, which we generally price lower than the manufacturer branded products of comparable quality that we also offer. Accordingly, a shift in our sales mix in which we sell more units of our private label products and fewer units of our manufacturer branded products would generally have a positive impact on our profit margins but an adverse impact on our overall net sales. Changes in our revenues from gasoline sales may also negatively affect our performance. Since gasoline generates lower profit margins than the remainder of our business, we could expect to see our overall gross profit margin rates decline as sales of gasoline increase.

Effective sourcing and distribution of products. Our net sales and gross profit are affected by our ability to purchase our products in sufficient quantities at competitive prices. While we believe our vendors have adequate capacity to meet our current and anticipated demand, our level of net sales could be adversely affected in the event of constraints in our supply chain, including our inability to procure and stock sufficient quantities of some merchandise in a manner that is able to match market demand from our customers, leading to lost sales.

Gasoline prices. The market price of gasoline impacts our net sales and comparable club sales, and large fluctuations in the price of gasoline may produce a short-term impact on our margins. Retail gasoline prices are driven by daily crude oil and wholesale commodity market changes and are volatile, as they are influenced by factors that include changes in demand and supply of oil and refined products, global geopolitical events, regional market conditions and supply interruptions caused by severe weather conditions. Typically, the change in crude oil prices impacts the purchase price of wholesale petroleum fuel products, which in turn impacts retail gasoline prices at the pump. During times when prices are particularly volatile, differences in pricing and procurement strategies between the Company and its competitors may lead to temporary margin contraction or expansion depending on whether prices are rising or falling, and this impact could affect our overall results for a fiscal quarter.

In addition, the relative level of gasoline prices from period to period may lead to differences in our net sales between those periods. Further, because we generally attempt to maintain a fairly stable gross profit per gallon, this variance in net sales, which may be substantial, may or may not have a significant impact on our operating income.

Fluctuation in quarterly results. Our quarterly results have historically varied depending upon a variety of factors, including our product offerings, promotional events, club openings, weather related events and shifts in the timing of holidays, among other things. As a result of these factors, our working capital requirements and demands on our product distribution and delivery network may fluctuate during the year.

Inflation and deflation trends. Our financial results can be expected to be directly impacted by substantial increases in product costs due to commodity cost increases or general inflation, which could lead to a reduction in our sales, as well as greater margin pressure, as costs may not be able to be passed on to consumers. Changes in commodity prices and general inflation have not materially impacted our business. In response to increasing commodity prices or general inflation, we seek to minimize the impact of such events by sourcing our merchandise from different vendors, changing our product mix or increasing our pricing when necessary.

Tariffs. We are implementing a variety of mitigation measures in order to reduce the risk associated with our direct exposure to tariffs. We have diversified our global supply chain to reduce our reliance on China by sourcing high-quality products from other markets in both Asia and Africa. Chinese-sourced goods represent approximately 3% of our cost of sales during fiscal year 2020, which we expect to be slightly lower in fiscal year 2021. We believe that this gives us a much smaller exposure to tariffs than many other retailers.

How We Assess the Performance of Our Business

In assessing our performance, we consider a variety of performance and financial measures. The key generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP") measures include net sales, membership fee income, cost of sales, SG&A and net income. In addition, we also review other important metrics such as Adjusted EBITDA, comparable club sales and merchandise comparable club sales.

Net sales

Net sales are derived from direct retail sales to customers in our clubs and online, net of merchandise returns and discounts. Growth in net sales is impacted by opening new clubs and increases in comparable club sales.

Comparable club sales

Comparable club sales, also known as same-store sales, is an important measure throughout the retail industry. In determining comparable club sales, we include all clubs that were open for at least 13 months at the beginning of the period and were in operation during the entirety of both periods being compared, including relocated clubs and expansions. There may be variations in the way in which some of our competitors and other retailers calculate comparable club or same store sales. As a result, data in this Annual Report on Form 10-K regarding our comparable club sales may not be comparable to similar data made available by other retailers.

Comparable club sales allow us to evaluate how our club base is performing by measuring the change in period-over-period net sales in clubs that have been open for the applicable period. Various factors affect comparable club sales, including consumer preferences and trends, product sourcing, promotional offerings and pricing, customer experience and purchase amounts, weather and holiday shopping period timing and length.

Merchandise comparable club sales

Merchandise comparable club sales represents comparable club sales from all merchandise other than our gasoline operations for the applicable period.

Membership fee income

Membership fee income reflects the amount collected from our customers to be a member of our clubs. Membership fee income is recognized in revenue on a straight-line basis over the life of the membership, which is typically twelve months.

Cost of sales

Cost of sales consists primarily of the direct cost of merchandise and gasoline sold at our clubs, including the following:

Selling, general and administrative expenses ("SG&A")

SG&A consists of various expenses related to supporting and facilitating the sale of merchandise in our clubs, including the following:

SG&A includes both fixed and variable components and, therefore, is not directly correlated with net sales. In addition, the components of our SG&A may not be comparable to those of other retailers. We expect that our SG&A will increase in future periods due to investments to spur comparable club sales growth, our continuing club growth and incremental expenses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, any increase in future stock option or other stock-based grants or modifications will increase our stock-based compensation expense included in SG&A.

Net Income

Net income reflects the Company's net sales, less cost of sales, SG&A, interest, taxes and other expenses.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as income from continuing operations before interest expense, net, provision for income taxes and depreciation and amortization, adjusted for the impact of certain other items, including stock-based compensation expense; pre-opening expenses; management fees, non-cash rent; strategic consulting; offering costs; club closing and impairment charges; reduction in force severance and other adjustments. For a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to income from continuing operations, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted EBITDA

We present Adjusted EBITDA, which is not a recognized financial measure under GAAP, because we believe it assists investors and analysts in comparing our operating performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance, including pre-opening expenses. The amount and timing of pre-opening expenses are dependent on, among other things, the size of new clubs opened and the number of new clubs opened during any given period. You are encouraged to evaluate the adjustments described above and the reasons we consider them appropriate for supplemental analysis. In evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA. Our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP and should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. There can be no assurance that we will not modify the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA in the future, and any such modification may be material. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in our industry or across different industries. Further, Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for any analysis of our results as reported under GAAP.

Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is helpful in highlighting trends in our core operating performance, while other measures can differ significantly depending on long-term strategic decisions regarding capital structure, the tax jurisdictions in which companies operate and capital investments. We use Adjusted EBITDA in connection with establishing discretionary annual incentive compensation; to supplement GAAP measures of performance in the evaluation of the effectiveness of our business strategies; to make budgeting decisions; and to compare our performance against that of other peer companies using similar measures.

The following is a reconciliation of our income from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net sales for the periods presented:

__________

Free cash flow

We present free cash flow, which is not a recognized financial measure under GAAP, because we use it to report to our board of directors and we believe it assists investors and analysts in evaluating our liquidity. Free cash flow should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operations as a liquidity measure. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less additions to property and equipment, net of disposals, plus proceeds from sale leaseback transactions.

Our presentation of free cash flow should not be considered as an alternative to any other measure derived in accordance with GAAP and should not be construed as an inference that the Company’s future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. In addition, free cash flow may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in our industry or across different industries. Further, free cash flow has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP.

The following is a reconciliation of our net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow for the periods presented:

Results of Operations

Information pertaining to fiscal year 2018 was included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended February 1, 2020 on page 40 under Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Position and Results of Operations,” which was filed with the SEC on March 19, 2020.

The following tables summarize key components of our results of operations for the periods indicated:

Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019

Net Sales

Net sales for fiscal year 2020 were $15.1 billion, a 17.1% increase from net sales reported for fiscal year 2019 of $12.9 billion. The increase was due primarily to a 15.9% increase in comparable club sales and incremental sales from new clubs opened over the past two years. Gasoline sales decreased 18.3% from fiscal year 2019 due to a decline in retail prices.

Comparable club sales

Merchandise comparable club sales increased 21.3% in fiscal year 2020. The increase was driven by growth in sales of groceries and general merchandise and services of approximately 24% and 11%, respectively.

In grocery, sales were most robust in categories impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including paper products, cleaning supplies, wellness solutions, fresh meat, frozen, dairy, fresh produce, packaged goods and beverages. In general merchandise and services, sales were strongest in televisions, small appliances, computer equipment, indoor furniture and seasonal goods.

Membership fee income

Membership fee income was $333.1 million in fiscal year 2020, compared to $302.2 million in fiscal year 2019, a 10.2% increase. The growth in membership fee income was due to successful member acquisition efforts, improving our strong renewal rate to 88%, increasing higher tier membership penetration and improving the quality of memberships by eliminating reliance on trial memberships, which now represent less than 1% of members.

Cost of sales

Cost of sales was $12.5 billion, or 82.5% of net sales, in fiscal year 2020, compared to $10.8 billion, or 83.5% of net sales, in fiscal year 2019. The 1.0% decrease as a percentage of net sales was driven by increased gas margins due to the continued dislocation in the gasoline market that contributed to a lower cost per gallon. Merchandise gross margin rate increased approximately 10 basis points over fiscal year 2019. While merchandise margins benefited from strong sales performance and execution of our category profitability improvement initiatives, these drivers were offset by costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, cost inflation in certain commodities and the decline in our higher-margin apparel and service businesses.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

SG&A were $2.3 billion, or 15.4% of net sales, in fiscal year 2020, compared to $2.1 billion, or 16.0% of net sales, in fiscal year 2019. The year-over-year increase in SG&A was primarily driven by incremental costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including increased labor costs of $79.6 million, safety, sanitation and protective equipment costs of $34.5 million and bonus incentive program costs of $36.1 million. 

SG&A in fiscal year 2019 included charges of $14.4 million, consisting of impairment charges and other related expenses associated with closing two clubs in January of fiscal year 2019, $4.0 million of severance charges related to the elimination of positions in our home office and field organization in January of fiscal year 2019, $1.9 million of offering costs related to our secondary offerings and a $2.6 million gain from the sale leaseback of one of our new clubs in Michigan.

Pre-opening expenses

Pre-opening expenses were $9.8 million in fiscal year 2020, compared to $15.2 million in fiscal year 2019. Pre-opening expenses for fiscal year 2020 included charges for four new clubs and seven gas stations that opened in fiscal year 2020 and four new club openings, that are expected for fiscal year 2021. Pre-opening expenses for fiscal year 2019 included charges for three new clubs and six gas stations that opened in fiscal year 2019 and two new club openings, that occurred in fiscal year 2020.

Interest expense, net

Interest expense, net was $84.4 million for fiscal year 2020, compared to $108.2 million for fiscal year 2019. Interest expense, net for fiscal year 2020 included interest expense of $65.3 million related to debt service on outstanding borrowings and $4.1 million of fees and write-offs of deferred financing costs and original issue discounts associated with the partial prepayments of our First Lien Term Loan in October and July of fiscal year 2020. Additionally, interest expense included $4.4 million of amortization expense on deferred financing costs and original issue discounts on our outstanding borrowings, $6.9 million of reclassified unrealized losses on interest rate swap agreements and $3.7 million of other interest charges.

Interest expense, net for fiscal year 2019 included interest expense of $96.7 million related to debt service on outstanding borrowings, $3.8 million of charges related to the repricing of our outstanding borrowings, $5.2 million of amortization expense on deferred financing costs and original issue discounts on our outstanding borrowings, and $2.5 million of other interest charges.

Provision for income taxes

The Company’s effective income tax rate from continuing operations was 24.5% for fiscal year 2020 and 23.0% for fiscal year 2019. The increase in the effective tax rate is primarily due to higher income in fiscal year 2020, which resulted in a reduced benefit to the rate from the excess tax benefit for stock-based compensation.

Seasonality

Our business is moderately seasonal in nature. Historically, our business has realized a slightly higher portion of net sales, operating income and cash flows from operations in the second and fourth fiscal quarters, attributable primarily to the impact of the summer and year-end holiday season, respectively. Our quarterly results have been and will continue to be affected by the timing of new club openings and their associated pre-opening expenses. As a result of these factors, our financial results for any single quarter or for periods of less than a year are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for a full fiscal year.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our primary sources of liquidity are cash flows generated from club operations and borrowings from our ABL Facility. As of January 30, 2021, cash and cash equivalents totaled $43.5 million and we had $641.1 million of unused capacity under our ABL Facility. We believe that our current resources, together with anticipated cash flows from operations and borrowing capacity under our ABL Facility, will be sufficient to finance our operations, meet our current debt obligations, and fund anticipated capital expenditures.

Summary of Cash Flows

A summary of our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities is presented in the following table:

Net Cash from Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities was $868.5 million in fiscal year 2020, compared to $355.1 million in fiscal year 2019. The increase in operating cash flow was due to strong operating performance and working capital benefit generated by higher sales and increased turnover of inventory, as well as increased membership fee income and lower interest payments on debt.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $355.1 million in fiscal year 2019, compared to $427.1 million in fiscal year 2018. The decrease in operating cash flow was primarily due to timing of inventory purchases and related accounts payable compared to the prior year.

Net Cash from Investing Activities

Cash used in investing activities was $192.4 million in fiscal year 2020, compared to $175.3 million in fiscal year 2019. The increase was due to continued investments in digital capabilities and more spending on new clubs and gas stations compared to the prior year.

Cash used in investing activities was $175.3 million in fiscal year 2019, compared to $145.9 million in fiscal year 2018. The increase was due to more investments in technology and more spending on new clubs and gas stations compared to the prior year.

Net Cash from Financing Activities

Cash used in financing activities in fiscal year 2020 was $662.8 million, compared to $176.8 million in fiscal year 2019. The increase in fiscal year 2020 is due mainly to the repayment of outstanding borrowings on our First Lien Term Loan and ABL Facility, the settlement of one of our interest rate swap agreements and share repurchases of $99.7 million.

Cash used in financing activities in fiscal year 2019 was $176.8 million, compared to $289.0 million in fiscal year 2018. In fiscal year 2019, we completed a $200.0 million paydown of the First Lien Term Loan, which was financed through borrowings from the ABL Facility, which lowered the interest rate calculation to LIBOR plus 275 basis points. In January 2020, the Company completed a refinancing of the First Lien Term Loan, which lowered the interest rate calculation to LIBOR plus 225 basis points. Net proceeds from the ABL Facility were $89.0 million in fiscal year 2019 and $72.0 million in fiscal year 2018. The decrease over last year was partially offset by the acquisition of $67.3 million of treasury stock in fiscal year 2019 compared with $19.1 million in fiscal year 2018.

Debt and Borrowing Capacity

On August 13, 2018, the Company amended its First Lien Term Loan to reduce the applicable interest rates and reduce the principal on the loan. The Company drew $350.0 million under its ABL Facility to fund the transaction. As amended, the First Lien Term Loan had an initial principal amount of $1,537.7 million and interest was calculated either at LIBOR plus 275 to 300 basis points or a base rate plus 175 to 200 basis points based on the Company achieving a net leverage ratio of 3.00 to 1.00. Total fees associated with the refinancing were approximately $1.8 million. The Company wrote off $4.4 million of previously capitalized debt issuance costs and original issue discounts and expensed $1.8 million of new third-party fees.

On August 17, 2018, we amended the ABL Facility to extend the maturity date from February 3, 2022 to August 17, 2023 and reduce the applicable interest rates and letter of credit fees on the facility. As amended, interest on the revolving credit facility was calculated either at LIBOR plus a range of 125 to 175 basis points or a base rate plus a range of 25 to 75 basis points; and interest on the term loan was calculated at LIBOR plus a range of 200 to 250 basis points or a base rate plus a range of 100 to 150 basis points, in all cases based on excess availability. The applicable spread of LIBOR and base rate loans at all levels of excess availability stepped down by 12.5 basis points upon achieving total net leverage of 3.00 to 1.00. The Company paid debt costs of approximately $1.0 million at closing.

On November 13, 2018, the Company entered into three forward starting interest rate swaps (the "Interest Rate Swaps"), which were effective starting on February 13, 2019 and the LIBOR component of $1.2 billion of the Company's floating rate debt at a rate of approximately 3.0% from February 13, 2019 until February 13, 2022. The Interest Rate Swaps were recorded as a liability of $26.4 million in fiscal year 2020, with the net of tax amount for the effective Interest Rate Swaps recorded in other comprehensive income and the net of tax amount for the ineffective Interest Rate Swaps recorded in interest expense. The Interest Rate Swaps were recorded as a liability of $40.0 million in fiscal year 2019, with the net of tax amount recorded in other comprehensive income.

On November 1, 2019, the Company borrowed $200.0 million from the ABL Facility. The proceeds from the Company's borrowing were used to pay a portion of the principal amount due on the First Lien Term Loan. In connection with the payment, the Company expensed $2.0 million of previously capitalized deferred debt issuance costs and original issue discount.

On January 29, 2020, the Company amended its First Lien Term Loan to reduce the applicable interest rates. As amended, the First Lien Term Loan had an initial principal amount of $1,315.2 million and interest was calculated either at LIBOR plus 225 basis points basis or a base rate plus 125 basis points. Total fees associated with the refinancing were approximately $1.7 million. The Company wrote off $0.1 million of previously capitalized debt issuance costs and original issue discount and expensed $1.7 million of new third-party fees.

On July 13, 2020, the Company paid $150.0 million of the principal amount due on the First Lien Term Loan. In connection with the payment, the Company expensed $1.3 million of previously capitalized deferred debt issuance costs and original issue discount. On July 29, 2020, due to upgrades in credit ratings, the base rate was reduced to LIBOR plus 200 basis points.

On October 30, 2020, the Company borrowed $260.0 million from the ABL Facility. The proceeds from the Company's borrowing, as well as $100.0 million of the Company's cash and cash equivalents, were used to pay $360.0 million of the principal amount due on the First Lien Term Loan. In connection with the payment, the Company expensed $2.8 million of previously capitalized deferred debt issuance costs and original issue discount.

On November 10, 2020, the Company terminated one of the Interest Rate Swaps, which fixed $360.0 million of its floating rate debt at a rate of approximately 3.0%. An additional interest rate swap, which fixed $240.0 million of its floating rate debt at 3.0% was determined to be ineffective. Gains and losses on the ineffective interest rate swap agreement will be recorded as interest expense.

At January 30, 2021, the interest rate for the First Lien Term Loan before the effect of the interest rate swaps was 2.13% and there was $801.9 million outstanding. See Note 5, "Debt and Credit Arrangements" of our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes our significant contractual obligations as of January 30, 2021:

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have, or are, in the opinion of management, reasonably likely to have, a current or future material effect on our results of operations or financial position. We do, however, enter into letters of credit and purchase obligations in the normal course of our operations.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. We review our estimates on an ongoing basis and make judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities based on a number of factors. These factors include historical experience and assumptions made by management that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Although management believes the judgment applied in preparing estimates is reasonable based on circumstances and information known at the time, actual results could vary materially from estimates based on assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. This section summarizes critical accounting policies and the related judgments involved in their application.

Workers' Compensation and General Liability Self-insurance Reserves

We are primarily self-insured for workers’ compensation and general liability claims. Amounts in excess of certain levels, which range from $0.3 million to $1.0 million per occurrence, are insured as a risk reduction strategy, to mitigate catastrophic losses. Reported reserves for these claims are derived from estimated ultimate costs based upon individual claim file reserves and estimates for incurred but not reported claims. The estimates are developed utilizing actuarial methods and are based on historical claims experience and other actuarial assumptions related to loss development factors. The inherent uncertainty of future loss projections could cause actual claims to differ from our estimates. When historical losses are not a good measure of future liability, such as in the event of COVID-19, we base our estimates of ultimate liability on our interpretation of current law, claims filed to date and other relevant factors which are subject to change. These accruals are included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities and other non-current liabilities in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" of our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We are exposed to changes in market interest rates and these changes in rates will impact our net interest expense and our cash flow from operations. Substantially all our borrowings carry variable interest rates. An increase in interest rates could have a material impact on our cash flow. In November 2018, the Company entered into three forward starting interest rate swaps, which became effective on February 13, 2019 and continue until February 13, 2022 and fixed the LIBOR component of $1.2 billion of the Company's floating rate debt at a rate of approximately 3.0%. On October 30, 2020, the Company determined one interest rate swap, which fixed $240.0 million of its floating rate debt at 3.0% to be ineffective. On November 10, 2020, the Company terminated one of its interest rate swap agreements and, as of January 30, 2021, has $840.0 million of its floating rate debt at a rate of approximately 3.0%. As of January 30, 2021, a 100-basis point increase in assumed interest rates for our variable interest credit facilities would have had an annual impact of approximately $1.4 million on interest expense. A 100-basis point decrease in interest rates on our variable interest rate debt outstanding as of January 30, 2021, would result in a net decrease in the fair value of our interest rate swaps of approximately $1.2 million.

In July 2017, FCA announced it intends to stop compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. As a result, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York organized the Alternative Reference Rates Committee which identified the SOFR as its preferred alternative to USD-LIBOR. The Company is not able to predict when LIBOR will cease to be published or precisely how SOFR will be calculated and published. Any changes adopted by the FCA or other governing bodies in the method used for determining LIBOR may result in a sudden or prolonged increase or decrease in reported LIBOR. If that were to occur, our interest payments could change. In addition, uncertainty about the extent and manner of future changes may result in interest rates and/or payments that are higher or lower than if LIBOR were to remain available in its current form.

The Company has contracts that are indexed to LIBOR and is monitoring and evaluating the related risks, which include interest amounts on the ABL Facility and First Lien Term Loan and the remaining effective interest rate swap. In the event that LIBOR is discontinued, the interest rates will be based on a fallback reference rate specified in the applicable documentation governing such debt or swaps or as otherwise agreed upon. Such an event would not affect the Company’s ability to borrow or maintain already outstanding borrowings or swaps, but the alternative reference rate could be higher and more volatile than LIBOR.

Certain risks arise in connection with transitioning contracts to an alternative reference rate, including any resulting value transfer that may occur. The value of loans, securities, or derivative instruments tied to LIBOR could also be impacted if LIBOR is limited or discontinued. For some instruments, the method of transitioning to an alternative rate may be challenging, as they may require substantial negotiation with each respective counterparty.

If a contract is not transitioned to an alternative reference rate and LIBOR is discontinued, the impact is likely to vary by contract. If LIBOR is discontinued or if the method of calculating LIBOR changes from its current form, interest rates on our current or future indebtedness may be adversely affected.

While we expect LIBOR to be available in substantially its current form until the end of 2021, it is possible that LIBOR will become unavailable prior to that point. This could result, for example, if sufficient banks decline to make submissions to the LIBOR administrator. In that case, the risks associated with the transition to an alternative reference rate will be accelerated and magnified.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.

Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of January 30, 2021 and February 1, 2020, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income, of contingently redeemable common stock and stockholders' equity (deficit) and of cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended January 30, 2021, including the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of January 30, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). 

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of January 30, 2021 and February 1, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended January 30, 2021 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of January 30, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.

Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for leases in 2019.

Basis for Opinions

The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. 

Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Workers’ Compensation and General Liability Reserves

As described in Notes 2, 15 and 16 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company is primarily self-insured for workers’ compensation and general liability claims. As of January 30, 2021, workers’ compensation and general liability reserves were approximately $89 million within other non-current liabilities and a significant portion of insurance reserves of $46 million within accrued expenses and other current liabilities. The reported reserves for workers’ compensation and general liability claims are derived from estimated ultimate costs based upon individual claim file reserves and estimates for incurred but not reported claims. The estimates are developed utilizing actuarial methods and are based on historical claims experience and other actuarial assumptions related to loss development factors.

The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to workers’ compensation and general liability reserves is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgment by management when developing the estimated workers’ compensation and general liability reserves; (ii) a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and in evaluating audit evidence related to the actuarial methods and significant assumptions related to loss development factors; and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to management’s estimate of workers’ compensation and general liability reserves, including controls over the actuarial methods and significant assumptions related to the loss development factors. These procedures also included, among others (i) the involvement of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in developing an independent estimate for the accrual for workers’ compensation and general liability reserves and (ii) comparing the independent estimate to management’s estimate to evaluate the reasonableness of management’s estimate. Developing the independent estimate involved (i) testing the completeness and accuracy of underlying data provided by management and (ii) independently developing the loss development factors and applying actuarial methods.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Boston, Massachusetts

March 19, 2021

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1996.

BJ’S WHOLESALE CLUB HOLDINGS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Amounts in thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

BJ’S WHOLESALE CLUB HOLDINGS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

BJ’S WHOLESALE CLUB HOLDINGS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CONTINGENTLY REDEEMABLE COMMON STOCK AND

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)

(Amount in thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

BJ’S WHOLESALE CLUB HOLDINGS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Amounts in thousands)