COMPANY OVERVIEW AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

6 Months Ended

Feb. 29, 2012

Company Overview and Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Company Overview and Basis of Presentation [Text Block]

NOTE 1 - COMPANY OVERVIEW AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

PriceSmart, Inc.'s ("PriceSmart" or the "Company") business consists primarily of international membership shopping warehouse clubs similar to, but smaller in size than, warehouse clubs in the United States.  As of February 29, 2012, the Company had 29 consolidated warehouse clubs in operation in 12 countries and one U.S. territory (five in Costa Rica, four each in Panama and Trinidad, three each in Guatemala and in the Dominican Republic, two each in El Salvador and Honduras and one each in Colombia, Aruba, Barbados, Jamaica, Nicaragua and the United States Virgin Islands), of which the Company owns 100% of the corresponding legal entities (see Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies). The Company opened a new warehouse club in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic ("Arroyo Hondo") on November 5, 2010 and a new membership warehouse club in Barranquilla, Colombia on August 19, 2011.  The Company also acquired land in south Cali, Colombia, on December 14, 2011 upon which it currently anticipates opening a new warehouse club in October 2012.  Additionally, on January 9, 2012 the Company entered into an agreement to acquire property located in La Union, Cartago, Costa Rica, upon which the Company anticipates constructing its sixth membership warehouse club in Costa Rica with an anticipated opening in the summer of calendar year 2013.  Finally, on March 15, 2012 the Company acquired land in north Cali, Colombia upon which it anticipates opening a new warehouse club in the spring of calendar year 2013. The initial warehouse sales and membership results experienced with the opening of the Barranquilla warehouse club has reinforced the Company's belief that Colombia could be a market for multiple PriceSmart warehouse clubs.  The Company continues to explore other potential sites for future warehouse clubs in other major cities in Colombia as well as in its other markets.

Basis of Presentation - The interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q for interim financial reporting pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").  These interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company's Amendment No. 1 to Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2011 (the "2011 Form 10-K").  The interim consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PriceSmart, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries.  Intercompany transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries have been eliminated in consolidation.

In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") revised guidance establishing general accounting standards and disclosure of subsequent events, the Company has evaluated subsequent events through the date and time these financial statements were issued. 

During fiscal year 2007 and during the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, the Company merged in each period a wholly owned subsidiary formed to purchase, develop and serve as a holding company for the land and buildings used by certain operating warehouse clubs (each, a "Landco") with one of the wholly owned subsidiaries formed to operate these warehouse clubs (each, an "Opco").  Each of the Landcos involved in these mergers had a functional and reporting currency in U.S. dollars, and each of the related Opcos that they were merged into had a foreign currency as a functional currency and U.S. dollars as a reporting currency.  In each of these mergers, the Opco was the surviving entity, with the assets, liabilities and equity accounts of the Landco being transferred to the Opco and the Landco subsidiary ceasing to exist.  Since the Landco entity ceased to exist, and all relevant economic activities previously performed by the Landco no longer exist, a significant change in economic facts and circumstances has been determined to have taken place, indicating that the functional currency has changed as the assets were transferred to the Opco. Upon this transfer, the Company is required to remeasure the nonmonetary balance sheet items at historical exchange rates in order to produce the same result in terms of the functional currency that would have occurred if those items had been initially recorded in the foreign functional currency.  As a result of the 2012 merger, and the resulting translation adjustments, the Company recorded in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 a charge to comprehensive income for approximately $5.6 million relating to the fiscal year 2012 merger, with a corresponding reduction to Property and equipment, net for the same amount.

During the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, the Company identified errors in the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2011 and for fiscal years previous to 2009.  The errors relate to incorrect (i) accounting for the 2007 merger described above which impacted the translation of Property and equipment, net from foreign currencies to U.S. dollars and the related offset to Accumulated other comprehensive loss; and (ii) the translation of Property and equipment, net from foreign currencies to U.S. dollars and the related offset to Accumulated other comprehensive loss.  The correction of these errors would have decreased comprehensive income by $6.4 million and increased comprehensive income by $3.1 million in fiscal year 2007 and 2011, respectively.  The total of these corrections, which was recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 as a charge to comprehensive income was approximately $3.3 million and decreased Property and equipment, net and increased Accumulated other comprehensive loss by the same amount.

The Company has analyzed the impact of these items and concluded that neither error would be material to any individual period, taking into account the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 108, Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements in the Current Year Financial Statements ("SAB 108").  In accordance with the relevant guidance, management evaluated the materiality of errors from a quantitative and qualitative perspective.  Based on such evaluation, the Company concluded that correcting the cumulative errors, which decreased comprehensive income by approximately $3.3 million for the three month period ended November 30, 2011, would be immaterial to the expected full year results for fiscal 2012 and financial position as presented on the consolidated balance sheet.  Correcting the error would not have had a material impact on any individual prior period presented in the 2011 Form 10-K or affect the trend of financial results.  As provided by SAB 108, the error correction did not require the restatement of the consolidated financial statements for prior periods.

As a result of recording (i) the fiscal year 2012 merger and the resulting translation adjustment, (ii) the correction of the accounting for the 2007 merger, and (iii) the correction of an error in translation of Property and equipment, net from foreign currencies to U.S. dollars, the Company recorded an increase to Accumulated other comprehensive loss for $8.9 million within the first quarter of fiscal year 2012.

Monetary assets and liabilities in currencies other than the functional currency of the respective entity are revalued to the functional currency using the exchange rate on the balance sheet date. These foreign exchange transaction gains (losses), including repatriation of funds, have been reclassified from Cost of goods sold to Other income (expense) in the Consolidated Statements of Income for the fiscal year and interim periods reported for 2011.  The Company's management believes that these foreign currency transactions are not directly matched to the recognition of cost of goods sold but are more closely linked to financing activities of the Company. These activities include the use of the extension of U.S dollar payables as a funding tool to meet the Company's subsidiary cash requirements and direct bank financing for U.S. dollar loans that constitute financing vehicles for expansion or development of subsidiaries, where once the cash is deposited into that subsidiary, it is fungible and can be used for any cash requirement of the entity such as capital, intercompany payments, working capital requirements, dividend payments and increases in restricted cash balances to comply with financing requirements. The Company believes that these reclassifications will allow for better comparability to other comparable companies with similar business models.  The following table summarizes the amounts reclassified to conform with fiscal year 2012 presentation (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended
	November 30, 2010			February 28, 2011				May  31, 2011		August 31, 2011		Total fiscal year 2011
Other income (expense) - (net previously reported)(1)	$	(46	)	$	(260	)	$	1,838	$	8	$	1,540
Foreign exchange transaction gains reclassified from Cost of goods sold to Other income (expenses), net		378			454			529		963		2,324
Other income (expense), net - (currently reported)(2)	$	332		$	194		$	2,367	$	971	$	3,864

		Three Months Ended
		November 30, 2010			February 28, 2011			May  31, 2011	August 31, 2011		Total fiscal year 2011
(1)	Composition of beginning balance Other income (expense) - (previously reported):
	Gain/(loss) on sale		(53	)		(176	)	1,179	(187	)	763
	Currency gain/(loss)		7			(84	)	659	195		777
(2)	Composition of ending balance Other income (expense) - (as now reported):
	Gain/(loss) on sale		(53	)		(176	)	1,179	(187	)	763
	Currency gain/(loss)		385			370		1,188	1,158		3,101

In addition, within the Consolidated Balance Sheets for the period ended August 31, 2011, the Company reclassified the fair value of derivative instruments in the amount of $884,000 from Other accrued expenses to Other long-term liabilities.