Costco

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Costco is the world's largest retailer of beef, poultry, organic produce, and wine, with just under a third of American consumers regularly shopping at Costco warehouses. Costco is ranked #11 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Costco originally began with a wholesale business model aimed at enrolling businesses as members, then also began to enroll individual consumers and sell products intended for them, including its own private label brand. 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. Through mergers, however, Costco's corporate history dates back to 1976, when its former competitor Price Club was founded in San Diego, California. As of May 2025, Costco operates 905 warehouses worldwide, with 86% of them being in North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico).

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