Dear Costco Shareholders,
Through the years, Costco's mission has stayed the same: providing our members with quality goods and services at the lowest prices. We follow our Code of Ethics of obeying the law, taking care of our members and employees, respecting our suppliers, and rewarding our shareholders. By staying true to our culture, Costco has continued to succeed, despite the challenging business environment.
The past year presented many challenges due to inflationary pressures in commodities, labor and transportation. Our buying staff around the world exhibited diligence and perseverance in developing and executing on strategies to minimize the impact to both our members and the business. Our business model, including limiting SKU counts, focusing on the most productive items, and bringing goods to market in high volumes, can not only sustain but provide opportunities in even challenging circumstances.
We had strong operating results in fiscal 2022. Net sales for the 52-week fiscal year totaled $222.7 billion, an increase of 16%, with a comparable sales increase of 14%. Net income for the 52-week fiscal year was $5.8 billion, or $13.14 per diluted share, an increase of 17%. Revenue from membership fees increased 9% to $4.2 billion.
With the slowing of the pandemic, we were able to increase the pace of opening warehouses and business centers domestically and internationally, including 23 net new locations: 14 in the U.S., two in Canada, and one each in Mexico, Korea, Japan, Spain, France, Australia and China. Subsequent to the end of fiscal 2022, we expanded our operations to New Zealand and Sweden. In June 2022, we purchased the equity interest of our Taiwan operations from our former joint venture partner.
Our Kirkland Signature™ brand realized strong global growth in fiscal 2022. As always, we kept our focus on the key priorities of offering new items, providing cost savings and improving quality. New items included BBQ pellets, women's jeans, reformulated dog food, sauté pans, fresh mini cakes and chicken yakisoba.
Our eight e-commerce websites advanced globally with sales growth of 10% in fiscal 2022, on top of a 44% increase the prior year. The majority of that sales growth is due to items such as furniture, TVs, mattresses, appliances, exercise and patio equipment, where our expanded big and bulky delivery capacity improved our service and value. Costco continues to focus on complementing the core warehouse business with e-commerce offerings, with expanded selection in home furnishings, consumer electronics, lawn and garden, health and beauty, apparel and 2-Day Delivery. Costco Next provides members the option to digitally purchase an expanded selection of products directly from vendors at a great value.
Our employees are the foundation of Costco's business, the heart of the Company's culture, and the driver for our success. In the spirit of acknowledging and rewarding the excellence of our employees, in fiscal 2022, we instituted several wage increases and provided additional benefits to the majority of our employees.
Costco is continuing work on sustainability initiatives, reflected in our Sustainability Commitment on Costco.com. These include continuing progress on our Climate Action Plan, decreasing packaging and plastics use, utilizing recycled content when available, and being creative in arranging for more products per transport. We have redoubled our efforts related to diversity and inclusion.
We extend our deepest appreciation to our more than 314,000 Costco employees and all our members worldwide, who are the heart and soul of our company. Thank you for your continued support and trust in Costco. We wish for good health, happiness, peace and prosperity for you and your families in the New Year.
Sincerely,
Craig Jelinek
Chief Executive Officer
Ron Vachris
President & COO
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