Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Costco Wholesale Corp., the largest U.S. warehouse-club chain, said January sales at stores open at least a year rose 7 percent, helped by a coupon promotion.

Net sales for the four-week period through Feb. 3 increased 11 percent to $5.11 billion, the Issaquah, Washington-based retailer said today in a Market Wire statement. Sales gained 5 percent at U.S. outlets open at least a year and 19 percent at international stores.

Warehouse clubs, where members pay an annual fee to qualify for discounts, have prospered as consumers coping with $3-a- gallon gasoline and declining home prices pared spending. Costco has lured shoppers with flat-screen televisions, furniture and prepared foods.

``Costco is well positioned to drive steady sales growth for the foreseeable future,'' Jeffrey Klinefelter, an analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis, wrote in a Feb. 5 report. Klinefelter, one of seven analysts who recommend buying Costco stock, said revenue was helped by international sales and discounted gasoline. Fourteen analysts are neutral on Costco, and one recommends selling.

Most U.S. retailers report same-store sales today and may post results unchanged from the previous year. That would be the worst January performance on record, the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York trade group, said this week.

Costco fell $1.16, or 1.8 percent, to $63.71 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading.

To contact the reporters on this story: Lauren Coleman-Lochner in New York at llochner@bloomberg.net; Thomas Mulier in Geneva at tmulier@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 7, 2008 03:06 EST