History of Costco: Company timeline and facts

Costco is simply a retailer that sells goods astatine wholesale prices. It pioneered the rank warehouse nine exemplary 50 years ago. Costco sells a wide assortment of goods ranging from nutrient and different market items to clothes, TV sets, and adjacent luxury items specified arsenic golden bars and Rolex watches that tin merchantability for $20,000 oregon more.

Since its founding, different companies, similar Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club, person attempted to replicate Costco’s occurrence by selling bulk items to members astatine wholesale prices. Other retailers specified arsenic Walmart, Target, and Amazon person besides tried to vie successful terms and value.

Here’s a little past of Costco, followed by a timeline of cardinal events successful the company’s history.

Related: How overmuch does Costco pay? From cashier to forklifter to CEO

Costco’s past involves the merger of 2 companies successful 1993: Price Club and Costco. Price Club was created by its namesake founder, Sol Price, successful 1976, and was acceptable up to merchantability goods successful a warehouse to paying members. It initially focused connected selling to tiny businesses but aboriginal switched to catering to non-business members, and Costco says this is erstwhile the maturation of the warehouse nine manufacture took off.

Costco—before merging with Price Club—was founded by James Sinegal, who had acquisition astatine Price Club, and Jeff Brotman, who had a inheritance successful retail. They focused connected the members-only retail concern model, and they opened their archetypal warehouse successful Seattle successful 1983.

Both Price Club and Costco rapidly expanded the fig of warehouse locations they operated, and gross grew conscionable arsenic fast. By 1984, Price Club’s income exceeded $1 billion.

In 1993, the merged entity became PriceCostco, but the retailer was aboriginal truncated simply to Costco.

Costco prides itself connected taking attraction of its customers arsenic good arsenic its employees. Costco offers 3 types of memberships: Business ($65), Gold Star ($65), and Executive ($130), with varying perks, each valid for usage astatine immoderate determination worldwide. With much than 145,200 members astatine the extremity of its fiscal 2025, that’s much than treble its biggest rival, Sam’s Club, with astir 69 million.

While the prices for goods and services provided by Costco person risen implicit the years, there’s 1 happening that hasn’t changed, and it’s subsidized by the gross generated from its income and rank fees. Costco’s terms for a ample blistery canine and a 20-ounce soda combo has remained the same—at $1.50—despite rising costs from ostentation since the combo was introduced successful 1985.

Costco says its warehouses transportation astir 4,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) compared to the 30,000 recovered astatine astir supermarkets, and it cautiously selects the products it carries based connected quality, price, brand, and features.