Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only warehouse clubs. As of 2015, Costco was the second largest retailer in the world after Walmart, and the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016. In 2019, Costco was ranked #14 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Costco's worldwide headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington, an eastern suburb of Seattle. The company opened its first warehouse 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 December 31, 2019, Costco has a total of 785 warehouses: 546 in the United States , 100 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 29 in the United Kingdom, 26 in Japan, 16 in South Korea, 13 in Taiwan, 11 in Australia, 3 in Spain, 1 in Iceland, 1 in France, and 1 in China. The company plans to open a warehouse in New Zealand in 2021 .