Costco

Costco Wholesale Corporation
Company typePublic
IndustryRetail
FoundedSeptember 15, 1983 (1983-09-15) (as Costco)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Founders
Headquarters,
U.S.
Number of locations
861[1][2] (2023)
Area served
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Iceland
  • Japan
  • Mexico
  • New Zealand
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Taiwan
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Puerto Rico[1][2]
Key people
BrandsKirkland Signature
Services
RevenueIncrease US$242.3 billion[2] (2023)
Increase US$8.114 billion[2] (2023)
Increase US$6.292 billion[2] (2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$68.99 billion[2] (2023)
Total equityIncrease US$25.06 billion[2] (2023)
MembersIncrease 127.9 million[2] (2023)
Number of employees
Increase 316,000[2] (2023)
Websitecostco.com
Original logo (used until 1993, but carried by stores until 1997)

Costco Wholesale Corporation (commonly shortened to Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores.[3] As of 2023, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world[4] and is the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016.[5] Costco is ranked #11 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[6] Costco uses a club warehouse wholesale retailer channel of distribution while also selling their private label brand directly to consumers.[7]

Costco's worldwide headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington, an eastern suburb of Seattle, although its Kirkland Signature house label bears the name of its former location in Kirkland. The company opened its first warehouse (the chain's term for its retail outlets) in Seattle in 1983.[8][9] Through mergers, however, Costco's corporate history dates back to 1976, when its former competitor Price Club was founded in San Diego, California.[10][11][12] As of February 2024, Costco has 871 warehouses worldwide: 602 in the United States, 108 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 33 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 18 in South Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, six in China, four in Spain, two in France, and one each in Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Corporate profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Costco Wholesale Corporation 2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation Company Profile". Hoover's. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  4. ^ "Leading retailers worldwide in 2021, by retail revenue". Statista. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  5. ^ Gabler, Neal (December 15, 2016). "The Magic in the Warehouse". Fortune. pp. 184–189. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  6. ^ "Costco Wholesale". Fortune. Archived from the original on January 7, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  7. ^ "What is Costco?". Costco.
  8. ^ Bartel, Frank (December 18, 1983). "Costco: The new 'wholesale' club". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B1. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  9. ^ "Death of Costco co-founder Jeff Brotman, 74, 'a complete shock'". The Seattle Times. August 1, 2017. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  10. ^ and the Canadian head office is situated in Ottawa, Ontario."Costco Wholesale shareholder info". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  11. ^ "About Costco". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Costco Wholesale Historical Highlights" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. February 12, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.