“As it relates to membership fees, nice try, Michael. But at the end of the day, with the headline being inflation, we feel very good about if we want to do it, can we do it without impacting, in any meaningful way, renewal rates or sign-ups or anything. And at some point, we will.”

In context

“of being very competitive. When we do comp shops against our direct warehouse club competitors, as well as different components, whether it's retail food or general merchandise on the buildings, home improvement side, we feel very good about our competitive position and what we're doing to do that. Michael Lasser: So are you not expecting broad-based deflation, Richard? And my follow-up question is going to be, given the amount of value you give to your members, wouldn't it make sense to raise your fees right now because your renewal rates have been so high and you would be providing even more value in this difficult economic environment. Richard Galanti: Well, first of all, on the question of deflation, let's hope that there is. And you will be the first to see it at Costco, in my view. As it relates to membership fees, nice try, Michael. But at the end of the day, with the headline being inflation, we feel very good about if we want to do it, can we do it without impacting, in any meaningful way, renewal rates or sign-ups or anything. And at some point, we will. But our view right now is that we've got enough leverage out there to drive business, and we feel that it's incumbent upon us to be that beacon of light to our members in terms of holding them for right now. It's not a matter of a big time, but we'll let you know as soon as we know. Michael Lasser: Thank you. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley. Your line is open. Simeon Gutman: Hey, Richard. My first question is on the comps and the stacks. It's obviously been slowing, and you probably took more than your fair share over the last three years. Curious when you sit around how you're diagnosing it, macro, I don't know if it's gas attachment, merchandising, weather, any of those options, how do you diagnose what's happening? Richard Galanti:”