 | |
 | |
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Sub-Brands | Kirkland Signature |
| Products | Groceries • Warehouse membership • Gas station |
 Logo since 1997 | |
 Headquarters in Issaquah, Washington, United States | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | September 15, 1983 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | , US |
Number of locations | 890 (2024) |
Area served |
|
Key people |
|
| Brands | Kirkland Signature |
| Services | |
| Revenue |  US$254.5 billion (2024) |
| US$9.285 billion (2024) | |
| US$7.367 billion (2024) | |
| Total assets | US$69.83 billion (2024) |
| Total equity |  US$23.62 billion (2024) |
| Members | 136.8 million (2024) |
Number of employees | 333,000 (2024) |
| Website | costco.com |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3][4] | |
Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores.[5] As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world[6] and is the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016[update].[7] Costco is ranked #11 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[8] Costco uses a club warehouse wholesale retailer channel of distribution while also selling their private label brand directly to consumers.[9]
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.[10][11] Through mergers, however, Costco's corporate history dates back to 1976, when its former competitor Price Club was founded in San Diego, California.[12][13][14] As of August 2024[update], Costco operates 890 warehouses worldwide: 614 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 108 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 35 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 19 in South Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, 7 in China, 4 in Spain, 2 in France, 1 in Iceland, 1 in New Zealand, and 1 in Sweden.[3]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Corporate profilewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Costco AR 20230903was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports August Sales Results". Costco Wholesale. September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ "FY 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. October 9, 2024.
- ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation Company Profile". Hoover's. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ "Leading retailers worldwide in 2021, by retail revenue". Statista. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Costco Wholesale". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 16, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ "What is Costco?". Costco. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "About Costco". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ "Costco Wholesale Historical Highlights" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. February 12, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
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