NEW YORK – The shares of BJ Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. skyrocket after seven years.

In Thursday morning's session, the course changed hands at $ 20.94, a gain of 23% or $ 3.94. .

The company's shares were at the top of an expected range of $ 15 to $ 17 per share

BJ's been lagging behind in the industry of more wholesale clubs in addition competitive.

Costco Wholesale Corp., which operates approximately 750 locations, has been the benchmark for the industry even in the Amazonian era. He has created fierce loyalty among high-income customers through his treasure hunt experience and his powerful store brand called Kirkland. Sales in stores opened for at least one year increased by 4.1% in the most recently completed fiscal year ended September 3, 2017.

Meanwhile, Walmart's Sam's Club, hit by pitches weaker located in less prosperous areas than Costco, sales as it reshapes its merchandise and develops its services. In January, it announced the closure of 63 clubs, or 10% of its fleet, and the transformation of some of them into e-commerce processing centers. In February, Sam's Club began offering free shipping for premium members and streamlining its membership levels. The sales figure of stores open at least one year ago, including gas rose 3 percent for the year ended Jan. 31.

BJ is also competing with new rivals like Boxed, who focuses on millennials of paper and peanut butter – but who can not or will not drive into warehouses. Most members order via an app and get a two day delivery, and unlike other clubs, there is no membership fee.

BJ's, which has just over 200 stores in 16 states, has been trying to customers to go shopping in its behemoth stores. It expands its program that allows consumers to choose their options on a phone app or store device as they roam the aisles. The merchandise is now presented in quads that display fewer items instead of aisles, allowing buyers to walk around and touch the products more easily.

During its fiscal year ended February 3, BJ posted a net income of $ 50.3 million. In the continuity of operations, earnings per share increased from $ 3.45 to $ 3.94. Total revenues totaled $ 12.75 billion, including $ 258.6 million in contribution revenue. Sales in stores open at least 13 months – a key indicator of a retailer's health – rose 0.8%. Excluding sales of gasoline, they fell 0.9%.

"Costco sets the tone and seems impossible to stop," said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics LLC, a research firm in detail. "The question is, how will BJ drive traffic growth?"

BJ's Westborough, Massachusetts was acquired in 2011 for $ 2.8 billion by CVC Capital Partners and Leonard Green & Partners, who then took private BJ. Buyers would have put BJ on sale last year for more than $ 4 billion but did not take a buyer.

Before becoming private in the fall of 2011, the retailer rejected a $ 3 billion Walmart offer, according to FactSet.

The warehouse retailer offers 37.5 million shares and the underwriters have the option to buy up to 5.6 million shares additional. The stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BJ".

She plans to use the proceeds of the offer to repay the debt and for the general purpose of the business.

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