Costco Wholesale Corporation
Logo used since 1997
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Costco headquarters in Issaquah, Washington
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| Public | |
| Traded as | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Predecessor | Price Club |
| Founded | July 12, 1976 (as Price Club) San Diego, California, U.S. September 15, 1983 (as Costco) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | Issaquah, Washington, United States |
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Number of locations
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727 warehouses (2017) |
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Area served
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United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, Lebanon, Iceland |
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Key people
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Jeffrey Brotman (Chairman) James Sinegal (Founder) W. Craig Jelinek (President and CEO) |
| Brands | Kirkland Signature |
| Services | |
| Revenue |
 US$118.7 billion (2016) |
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US$3.672 billion (2016) |
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US$2.350 billion (2016) |
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| Total assets |
US$33.16 billion (2016) |
| Total equity |
US$12.07 billion (2016) |
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Number of employees
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126,000 (2016) |
| Website | www |
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest American membership-only warehouse club that provides a wide selection of merchandise, and as of 2015[update], was the second largest retailer in the world after Walmart. As of 2016, Costco was the world's no. 1 retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine.
Costco's worldwide headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington, but the company opened its first warehouse in nearby Seattle in 1983. Through mergers, Costco's overall corporate history dates back to 1976, when its former competitor Price Club was founded in San Diego, California. As of 9 February 2017[update], Costco had a total of 727 warehouses, spread throughout the United States (508), Canada (94), Mexico (36), United Kingdom (28), Japan (25), South Korea (13), Taiwan (13), Australia (8), and Spain (2).
Costco is known for offering low-price, limited-selection "retail treasure hunts" with expensive luxury goods next to cheap bulk goods.
The entire history of Costco began with Sol Price and his son, Robert, opening the first Price Club warehouse on July 12, 1976 on Morena Boulevard in San Diego, California, thus giving birth to a totally new concept: a retail warehouse club. The Price family placed Price Club Warehouse #1 inside a series of old airplane hangars previously owned by Howard Hughes; that warehouse, now known as Costco Warehouse #401, is still in operation today.
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Wikipedia