ISSAQUAH, WA - Based on a recent earnings call, Costco is not planning to play it small this fiscal year. Instead, the retailer announced plans to open a net of 24 new stores across the globe, seven of which will open during the first quarter of Costco's fiscal year, which began on September 1.

"In terms of warehouse expansion, we plan to open a net of 24 units this year, 27 openings, including three relocations, so net of 24," Richard Galanti, Chief Financial Officer, said during the call. "We plan three more in Q2, four in Q3, and 10 in Q4. In the first quarter, we opened, as I mentioned, seven net new warehouses. Four were in the United States, and one each was in Korea, our first in New Zealand, and our first in Sweden."

According to reporting from Business Insider, there will be 27 new store openings in total, three of which will be relocations of existing stores.

Nine of the new store locations will be international, including Costco's third and fourth locations in China. The United States will be the home of 15 more stores. Currently, Costco operates 847 locations across the U.S.

How will these 24 store openings play into Costco's larger growth strategy? Keep reading AndNowUKnow for updates.

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