Costco

American multinational warehouse club chain

Not to be confused with Cosco.

Costco Wholesale Corporation

Logo since 1997

Building 1 at Costco's headquarters campus in Issaquah, Washington

Company type| Public

Traded as

* Nasdaq: COST
* Nasdaq-100 component
* S&P 100 component
* S&P 500 component

Industry| Retail
Founded| September 15, 1983; 41 years ago (1983-09-15)
Seattle
Founders|

* James Sinegal
* Jeffrey Brotman

Headquarters|

Issaquah, Washington

United States

Number of locations

| 905 (2025)

Area served

| North America:

* United States
* Canada
* Mexico

Rest of world:

* Australia
* China
* France
* Iceland
* Japan
* New Zealand
* South Korea
* Spain
* Sweden
* Taiwan
* United Kingdom

Key people

* Hamilton E. James
* (chairman)
* Ron Vachris
* (president and CEO)

Brands| Kirkland Signature
Services|

* Merchandise
* Cash & carry
* Warehouse club
* Gas stations

Revenue|  US$254.5 billion (2024)

Operating income

|  US$9.285 billion (2024)

Net income

|  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][5]
Original logo (used until 1993, but carried by stores until 1997)

Costco Wholesale Corporation, doing business as Costco, is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores.[6] As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world,[7] 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.[8] Costco is ranked 11th on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue, as of 2024.[9]

Costco's worldwide headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington, an eastern suburb of Seattle, but 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]

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.[15] As of May 2025[update], Costco operates 905 warehouses worldwide, with 86% of them being in North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico).[5]

## History

[edit]

A Costco in Tlalpan in Mexico City Australia's first Costco, located in Docklands, Victoria, Australia A Costco Wholesale store in Hashima, Gifu, Japan

### Price Club

[edit]

Main article: Price Club

Costco's earliest predecessor, Price Club, opened its first store on July 12, 1976, on Morena Boulevard in San Diego, California. It was founded three months earlier by Sol Price and his son, Robert, after a dispute with the new owners of FedMart, Price's previous membership-only discount store.[16] Price Club was among the first retail warehouse clubs, beginning with its Morena Boulevard store inside a series of old airplane hangars once owned by Howard Hughes.[17][18] The store, known as Costco Warehouse #401, is still in operation today.[19][20]

Price Club's sales model targeted small business owners, selling items in bulk for a discounted price at no-frills outlets that were accessible only with an annual membership fee.[21] The company launched an initial public offering in 1980 and expanded to 24 locations in the Southwest and 1.1 million members by early 1986.[14][21] Price Club expanded into Canada in 1986, opening a store in Montreal,[22] followed by a Mexico City store in 1992 as part of a joint venture with hypermarket chain Controladora Comercial Mexicana.[23] The company also announced plans to open stores in Spain and Portugal through their Canadian subsidiary.[23]

### Costco opens

[edit]

Jim Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman[24] opened the first Costco warehouse in Seattle on September 15, 1983.[25] Sinegal had started in wholesale distribution by working for Sol Price at FedMart; Brotman, an attorney from an old Seattle retailing family, had also been involved in retail distribution from an early age. Sinegal began his retail involvement as a grocery bagger.[26] At its launch, Costco sold goods to small businesses at a markup of only 8 or 9 percent over the wholesale price.[27]

A second store opened in Portland, Oregon in October, and a third in Spokane in December 1983.[10] On December 5, 1985, Costco went public, opening on NASDAQ at a price of $10 per share; at the time, the company had 17 warehouses nationally and 1,950 employees.[25][28] The company was initially headquartered at its first warehouse in Seattle but moved its headquarters to Kirkland in 1987.[25]

### The "PriceCostco" merger

[edit]

In 1993, Costco and Price Club agreed to merge operations after Price declined an offer from Walmart to merge Price Club with their warehouse store chain, Sam's Club.[29] Costco's business model and size were similar to those of Price Club, which made the merger more natural for both companies.[14] The combined company took the name PriceCostco, and memberships became universal, meaning that a Price Club member could use their membership to shop at Costco and vice versa. PriceCostco boasted 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales.[17] PriceCostco was initially led by executives from both companies, but in 1994, the Prices left the company to form PriceSmart,[14][30] a warehouse club chain in Central America and the Caribbean unrelated to the current Costco.[31]

Costco moved its headquarters from Kirkland to Issaquah in 1996. It chose to build a new headquarters campus next to a warehouse store to allow buyers to check sales and merchandise.[32] They had originally planned to move by December 1993 to Redmond, another Eastside city, but delays in road construction near the warehouse site caused the company to reconsider.[33] The former Kirkland headquarters, a 10.7-acre (4.3 ha) campus, was sold in late 1996.[34]

The company began testing store conversions to Costco branding across the Southwestern United States in late 1996. It officially reverted to using the Costco name and stock symbol in February 1997, with all remaining Price Club locations subsequently rebranded as Costco.[35][36] In March 2020, Costco announced the acquisition of Innovel, a logistics company, for one billion dollars.[37]

### Other company milestones

[edit]

The first Costco warehouse in Seattle was replaced with a new building on an adjacent lot to the north in March 2005;[38] the company was able to arrange to keep the same address for the new building, which was on land acquired from Seattle Public Schools.[25][39] The original building was demolished and replaced by a parking lot, gas station, and car wash—the company's first—which opened in 2006.[40][41] In 2014, Costco was the third largest retailer in the United States.[42] That year Costco announced plans to open an online store in China using Alibaba Group.[43]

Costco announced the opening of 29 new locations in 2016, the most in one year since 2007.[44][45] Span Construction, led by King Husein, has constructed almost all of Costco's buildings since 1989.[46]

Costco opened its first warehouse in China on August 27, 2019, in Shanghai. The store attracted so many customers that it had to close after only a couple of hours.[47] The first Costco in New Zealand was first opened at West Auckland in September 2022,[48][49] delayed from mid-August due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[50]

### Costco today

[edit]

Costco vs Sam's Club locations in the United States An aerial view of Costco's Issaquah headquarters campus showing Buildings 3, 4, and 5 (left side)

In the United States, Costco's main competitors operating membership warehouses are Sam's Club (a subsidiary of Walmart) and BJ's Wholesale Club.[51] Costco employs 316,000 full and part-time employees worldwide.[1] Costco had 90.3 million members in 2017.[52][53] In 2020, Costco had 105.5 million members.[54] In 2021, the company had 111.6 million members.[55] As of November 2023[update], Costco had 129.5 million members.[1]

Costco was the first company to grow from $0 in sales to $3 billion in sales in under six years.[17] For the fiscal year ending on August 31, 2012, the company's sales totaled $97.062 billion, with $1.709 billion net profit.[56] As of 2019[update], Costco is ranked No. 14 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[57] The ACSI (The American Customer Satisfaction Index) named Costco number one in the specialty retail store industry with a score of 84 in 2014.[58]

From December 2013, Costco's board of directors was chaired by co-founder Jeffrey H. Brotman and included James Sinegal, co-founder and director, and two officers of the company: president/CEO W. Craig Jelinek and CFO Richard A. Galanti. On August 1, 2017, Jeffrey Brotman died.[59] As of August 2017[update], James Sinegal and Jelinek remained on the board. Jim Sinegal stepped down in 2018.[53]

During the 2010s, Costco outgrew its original three-building headquarters campus in the Pickering Place area of Issaquah—known simply as Buildings 1, 2, and 3—and was forced to put new employees into various leased buildings throughout the city.[60] In April 2019, Costco broke ground on Building 5, a multilevel parking garage with an attached meeting center and fitness center, followed in January 2020 by Building 4, a nine-story office tower next to Interstate 90.[60] The two new buildings were finished in June 2023, and then Costco moved its headquarters employees from Buildings 1, 2, and 3 into the new Building 4.[60] The three original buildings were repurposed for the use of Costco's information technology department.[60]

In September 2024, Costco raised its membership fees, increasing Gold Star and Business memberships from $60 to $65 and Executive memberships from $120 to $130, affecting 52 million members, with the Executive reward cap raised from $1,000 to $1,250. In June 2017, fees had increased from $55 to $60 for Gold Star and Business and from $110 to $120 for Executive memberships. In 2024, Costco implemented barcode scanners at warehouse entrances, requiring members to scan their physical or digital card’s QR code to prevent membership sharing, replacing the practice of showing cards. Also in 2024, food court access was restricted to members only, ending non-member purchases. Starting June 2025, select locations, such as Manhattan, offered exclusive 9 a.m. shopping hours for Executive Members to provide a less crowded experience. These changes align with Costco’s strategy to bolster its membership model, which generated 65.5% of its 2024 net operating income, by enhancing exclusivity and revenue. [61] [62] [63]

## Locations

[edit]

Map of Costco warehouses in the US (including Puerto Rico), as well as parts of Canada and Mexico (January 2021)
Red: Wholesale locations
Blue: Business center locations Map of Costco warehouses in Mexico, as well as parts of the US (January 2021) Map of Costco warehouses around the world (January 2021) Countries in which Costco operates

As of July 2025[update], Costco operates 905 warehouses worldwide:[5]

* 624 in the United States (including Puerto Rico)
* 109 in Canada
* 41 in Mexico
* 37 in Japan
* 29 in the United Kingdom
* 19 in South Korea
* 15 in Australia
* 14 in Taiwan
* 7 in China
* 5 in Spain
* 2 in France
* 1 in Iceland
* 1 in New Zealand
* 2 in Sweden

The Costco in Perth Airport opened in March 2020. Aerial perspective of the Costco roof at Melbourne's Docklands store in March 2019

The company's warehouses throughout the world are all similarly designed, featuring generally identical layout, signage, and parking lot markings.[citation needed] A typical warehouse uses a simple loop for its main corridor from the entrance to the checkout area.[64] Costco has contracted with architecture firm MG2 for over 800 of its locations, which are typically built within a 110-day schedule.[65][66]

Food court menus are tailored for local preferences, with meat pies on offer in Australia; poutine in Canada and France; seafood-topped pizza in Asian locations; pastor taco-topped pizzas in Mexico; clam chowder in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan; plokkfiskur in Iceland; and jacket potatoes in the UK.[67]

In Canada, the company participates in the voluntary Scanner Price Accuracy Code managed by the Retail Council of Canada.[68]

### Warehouses in mixed-use development

[edit]

In September 2024, Costco broke ground on its first-ever mixed-use development in the United States that combines a warehouse store with residential apartments above it. The project, developed in partnership with the real estate developer Thrive Living, includes 800 rental apartments above the 185,000-square-foot (17,200 m2) Costco warehouse in the Baldwin Village neighborhood of South Los Angeles, California. Of the 800 apartments, 184 (23%) will be dedicated for low-income housing, with the remainder offered as workforce and unsubsidized housing. The project is made possible by California's state law AB 2011 for affordable housing, which went into effect on July 1, 2023.[69][70]

### Largest and smallest warehouses

[edit]

A Costco Wholesale store in Ocean Township, NJ

In 2005, Costco's largest store (by area) was in Hillsboro, Oregon with 148,663 sq ft (13,811.2 m2).[71][72] In 2015, Costco completed an expansion in Salt Lake City, Utah, making it the new largest Costco at 235,000 sq ft (21,800 m2).[73] The Salt Lake City store was the first to be expanded into a hybrid between the conventional Costco warehouse format and the newer Costco Business Center format, which explains its gigantic size.[73]

In 2023 Costco had planned on building a new warehouse store in Fresno, California which would have had a 241,000 sq ft (22,400 m2) footprint, making it the largest store.[74] But the city only approved 219,000 sq ft (20,300 m2).[75] In 2019, Costco opened its biggest store in Canada, in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador; the store is 182,000 sq ft (16,900 m2).[76]

Panorama of the largest Costco warehouse location, in Salt Lake City, Utah

As of 2019[update], the smallest Costco is in Juneau, Alaska, at 76,696 sq ft (7,125.3 m2).[77] The warehouse is the only one left from a 1993 initiative in which Costco experimented with small-format warehouses.[77] Although the company concluded that the small format does not work for most markets, it determined that the format was acceptable for Juneau.[77]

### Costco Business Centers

[edit]

Costco Business Centers are warehouses similar to regular Costco warehouses, and are open to all Costco members, regardless of membership type. Their merchandise caters predominantly to enterprises, with a focus on small businesses. Business Centers do not carry most consumer items like clothing, jewelry, media, and tires, while carrying larger quantities and more options for the business products which they carry.[78] More than 70% of the items that can be acquired from a Costco Business Center are not found in a typical Costco store.[79] Some locations have a food court, a gas station, or both. They have large parking spaces for trucks and are capable of delivering goods to businesses in bulk quantities, with a delivery charge of $25 for orders that are below $250.[79] Costco Business Center operating hours[80] are shorter than regular warehouses (usually opening at 7:00 am on Mondays to Saturdays and closed on Sundays), while discounts and coupons for Business Centers are issued separately from regular warehouses.[81][82]

The first Business Center was a converted Costco warehouse in Lynnwood, Washington which reopened in October 1996 following renovations; the change was made after a conventional Costco warehouse had opened in nearby Everett.[83][84]

#### Locations

[edit]

As of August 2022[update], there are 26 Costco Business Centers in the United States.[85]

The first Costco Business Center outside the US opened in Canada in Scarborough, Ontario, in March 2017.[86] In September 2020, the second Canadian Costco Business Centre opened in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, near Montreal.[87] A third Canadian Business Centre opened in the Ottawa neighborhood of Gloucester in March 2021.[88]

## Finances

[edit]

Sales by business (2023)[89] Business  | Share

|

Food and sundries  | 40.5%
Non-foods  | 25.6%
Warehouse ancillary and other  | 20.5%
Fresh foods  | 13.5%
Sales by region (2023)[89] Region  | Share

|

United States  | 72.9%
Canada  | 13.6%
Other international  | 13.5%
Year  | Revenue
in million US$  | Net income
in million US$  | Price per Share
in US$ (year end)[90] | Warehouses  | Employees  | Ref(s).

|
|
|
|
|
|

2005  | 52,935  | 1,063  | 33.80  | 433  | 115,000  | [91]
2006  | 60,151  | 1,103  | 36.47  | 458  | 127,000  | [92]
2007  | 64,400  | 1,083  | 48.58  | 488  | 127,000  | [93]
2008  | 72,483  | 1,283  | 36.93  | 512  | 137,000  | [94]
2009  | 71,422  | 1,086  | 42.23  | 527  | 142,000  | [95]
2010  | 77,946  | 1,303  | 52.22  | 540  | 147,000  | [96]
2011  | 88,915  | 1,462  | 60.96  | 592  | 164,000  | [97]
2012  | 99,137  | 1,709  | 78.29  | 608  | 174,000  | [98]
2013  | 105,156  | 2,039  | 95.38  | 634  | 184,000  | [99]
2014  | 112,640  | 2,058  | 114.90  | 663  | 195,000  | [100]
2015  | 116,199  | 2,377  | 136.72  | 686  | 205,000  | [101]
2016  | 118,719  | 2,350  | 137.10  | 715  | 218,000  | [102]
2017  | 129,025  | 2,679  | 167.77  | 741  | 231,000  | [102]
2018  | 141,576  | 3,134  | 185.54  | 768  | 245,000  | [53]
2019  | 152,703  | 3,659  | 270.33  | 782  | 254,000  | [103]
2020  | 166,761  | 4,002  | 358.50  | 795  | 273,000  | [54]
2021  | 195,929  | 5,007  | 544.25  | 815  | 288,000  | [55]
2022  | 226,954  | 5,844  | 440.54  | 838  | 304,000  | [104][105]
2023  | 242,290  | 6,292  | 656.27  | 871  | 316,000  | [2]
2024  | 254,453  | 7,367  | 954.07  | 890  | 333,000  | [4]

### Sales volume

[edit]

In 2011, Costco's highest-volume store was in Seoul, South Korea.[106] In 2018, the store in Taichung, Taiwan, ranked at the top in the number of members and was second in the world in sales volume, behind South Korea's Yangjae store in Seoul. Of the 14 Costco operations in Taiwan, three–Taichung, Neihu, and Chungho–ranked in the top 10 in the world in sales volume.[107]

## Ownership

[edit]

Costco is mainly owned by institutional investors, who own over 70% of shares. The largest shareholders as of September 2024 are:[108]

* The Vanguard Group (9.40%)
* BlackRock (7.56%)
* State Street Corporation (4.06%)
* Geode Capital Management (2.14%)
* Morgan Stanley (2.13%)
* Fidelity Investments (FMR) (2.10%)
* Bank of America (1.59%)
* Norges Bank (1.20%)
* Northern Trust (1.05%)
* BNY Mellon (1.01%)

## Business model

[edit]

Costco warehouse interior in Brampton, Ontario in Canada in 2021

Costco is a membership-only warehouse in which customers must buy membership to access the warehouse and make purchases. Membership fees generate the majority of the company's profits, accounting for over 72% of the company's net operating income in fiscal years 2022 and 2023, and 65.5% in fiscal year 2024.[109][a]

Costco divides its business into three segments for the purpose of reporting revenue and operating income. The segments, ordered by size, are:[110]

* United States Operations (72.4% of total revenue)[b]
* Other International Operations (13.9% of total revenue)[b]
* Canadian Operations (13.7% of total revenue)[b]

### Sales model

[edit]

One company rule states that no regular item may be marked up more than 14% over cost and no Kirkland Signature item may be marked up more than 15% over cost.[111] The company runs very lean, with overhead costs at about 10% of revenue and profit margins at 2%.[111] For example, Costco has no public relations department and buys no outside advertising.[111]

Costco's sales model is to focus on limited selection over variety.[111] Although consumer products often come in many different varieties, Costco will not carry most of those variants, but instead will carry only one or two examples of what is essentially the same product and try to sell a higher volume of units at a lower price.[111] Thus, a typical Costco warehouse carries only 3,700 distinct products, while a typical Walmart Supercenter carries approximately 140,000 products.[111] If Costco feels the wholesale price of any individual product is too high, they will refuse to stock the product. For example, in November 2009, Costco announced that it would stop selling Coca-Cola products because the soft-drink maker refused to lower its wholesale prices.[112] Costco resumed selling Coca-Cola products the following month.[113][114] Finally, Costco insists that manufacturers must package their products in large sizes and properly arrange them on pallets suitable for deployment to its warehouses.[115] However, unlike most chain stores, Costco does not sell shelf space to manufacturers.[8]

Due to its massive size and its extremely selective approach to buying products, Costco has become a powerful "arbiter" between manufacturers and consumers.[8] From the perspective of small manufacturers, the reward for jumping through all these hoops to sell products to Costco is the possibility of obtaining international distribution through the company's warehouses in other countries.[116] If a manufacturer's product is popular at warehouses in its home country, Costco may look into whether members in other countries might also be interested in that product.[116]

Although the company engages in visible efforts to reduce costs, the stores themselves are expensive. In 2013, Costco spent approximately $80 million on each of the new stores it opened.[117]

Costco gas station in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

The cost is partly driven by the cost of real estate, as each new store requires enough space to support a building of approximately 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) in size, a large parking lot, and often a gas station.[117] Lighting costs are reduced on sunny days because most Costco locations have several skylights. During the day, electronic light meters measure how much light is coming in the skylights and turn off an appropriate percentage of the interior lights. During an average sunny day, it is normal for the center section of the warehouse not to have interior lights in use.[118]

Rotisserie chickens are a major driver of customer traffic and sales for Costco, which has sold them since 1994 amid the then-rising popularity of Boston Market.[119][120] In response to the annual growth of per-capita chicken consumption in the United States,[121] Costco opened a factory in Nebraska in 2019 that implemented vertical integration across all aspects of poultry production in a bid to keep their pricing intact while maintaining consistent quality control of them.[122][123] In some international markets, Costco also offers sushi that is made in-house; the Issaquah warehouse became the first US store to have in-house sushi in 2023.[124]

Costco is known for its "exit greeters", who briefly compare receipts against shopping cart contents as customers exit. They are trained to quickly count cart contents and serve as a form of customer service to verify that customers were charged correctly, have redeemed any voucher-based items (e.g., tickets), and have not missed items placed in their cart's lower racks. Costco has used exit greeters since its first store opened in Seattle in 1983.[125]

### Management model

[edit]

Costco is known for a strong corporate culture which encourages and rewards loyalty and promotes from within.[8][126] As of 2024, Costco claims to have a retention rate over 90% for new employees who make it to one year.[126] Many of its senior executives started out as front-line employees in its warehouses and spent many years rising through the ranks to reach their current positions.[8] For example, Ron Vachris started in 1982 as a forklift driver at a Price Club in Arizona and became only the third chief executive officer in Costco's history in 2024.[8][126] Since 95% of the company's workforce is in its warehouses, and so many of its executives started their careers there, the company's culture is tightly focused on supporting the warehouse experience.[126]

At Costco headquarters in Issaquah, all 7,000 headquarters employees sit in cubicles, including the chief executive officer.[126] However, the CEO does get to have a slightly larger cubicle.[126] All Costco executives are expected to get out of the office regularly and spend the majority of their time in the field visiting warehouses and solving problems.[126] The CEO attempts to visit as many warehouses as possible around the world in a cycle every 18 to 24 months, while executives responsible for smaller geographical areas are expected to visit all the warehouses under their supervision much more often.[126]

### Online shopping

[edit]

Costco primarily focuses on getting members to come in to a warehouse for purchases, instead of ordering products online.[127] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Costco's online sales increased dramatically, with more online sales growth in 2020 than the previous five years combined.[128] In November 1998, the company launched Costco Online, its online shopping site.[129] The site expanded to incorporate B2B e-commerce on April 17, 2001.[130][131]

Instacart offers Costco delivery in a select number of states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.[132][failed verification] In Canada Costco uses Instacart for online grocery delivery for non–dry goods and pantry staples.[citation needed]

Similarly, in March 2017, Costco initiated a partnership with Shipt, an online grocery delivery service. Unlike Instacart, Shipt charges its own membership fee, $99 a year or $14 a month, in exchange for free delivery on orders over $35. As of November 2018[update], Shipt offers Costco delivery in select Florida markets.[133] In October 2017, Costco launched same-day and two-day grocery delivery options for members.[134] In Iceland, Costco began in June 2023 to allow individuals over the age of 20 to purchase alcoholic beverages online and pick them up at the warehouse stores. The "click and collect" arrangement was previously only available to businesses having a liquor license.[135]

## Products

[edit]

Costco frequently rotates its inventory, often stocking items temporarily or seasonally.[136] In a 2017 speech in San Diego, Sinegal said "we have created a treasure-hunt atmosphere".[8] Costco's unique business model creates a "sense of urgency" in shoppers to impulsively buy a good deal as soon as they spot one, since it will probably not be there the next time they come back to a Costco warehouse.[8]

Over the years, Costco has significantly expanded its range of products.[137] While initially focusing on bulk, boxed items easily displayed in store by removing the stretch wrap from a pallet, Costco's offerings now[when?] include a diverse array of items of all shapes and sizes.[citation needed] These range from art, books, caskets,[138][139] and clothing, to computer software, fine wine, furniture, home appliances, electronics, hot tubs, jewelry, and various perishable goods like dairy, baked items, flowers, produce, meat, and seafood. Other items such as solar panels, tires, and vacuum cleaners have also found their way into Costco's product lineup.[citation needed] Its growth has led it to become a dominant purchaser for some goods. As of 2025, Costco sold more than half of the world's cashews, for example, with direct implications for over a million cashew farmers in Africa.[140]

Beyond products, many Costco warehouses feature additional services including gas stations, pharmacies,[141] hearing aid centers, optometry and eyewear departments, and tire installation garages.[142]

### Alcohol

[edit]

Alcohol sales at Costco vary by location due to differing regulations. In some places, separate liquor stores exist to adhere to licensing laws, whereas in others, alcohol is available within the main warehouse alongside general merchandise. In certain states, like Texas, liquor sales must be conducted by a separate business entity with its own staff.[143]

Costco's desire to alter its alcohol sales structure in its home state faced a setback in 2006 when it lost its court battle against the state of Washington's requirement for retailers to buy wine through the state-controlled system.[144] The company then changed strategies. Costco spent over $22 million to support Initiative 1183, versus $11.75 million from opponents, "the most expensive initiative fight" in Washington's history.[145] In the November 8, 2011, election, Initiative 1183 passed with 60 percent of the vote and led to the demolition of Washington's government's monopoly on the distribution of liquor and spirits for retail sale through state-owned and state-licensed liquor stores.[146]

The Costco warehouses with the largest wine departments have a "wine steward" who roams around that department and advises Costco customers on what wines are best for their needs.[147] As of October 2024, Costco employed about 30 wine stewards at its US warehouses.[147] In the 21st century, Costco has made its store openings into special events by featuring special selections of whiskey, wine, and other alcoholic beverages which are extremely rare and not normally sold at its warehouses, or extremely cheap, or both.[148][149] For the October 2024 opening of Costco's first warehouse in Napa, California, die-hard whiskey fans began camping out on the sidewalk six days in advance.[148]

International operations must navigate regional laws as well.[150] For example, Costco's first store in Victoria, Australia, operates under the country's relatively liberal alcohol licensing laws, allowing sales directly off the shelf as is common in most European countries.[citation needed] However, in New Zealand, Costco's sole warehouse in West Auckland is restricted from selling alcohol due to a local monopoly on liquor retail.[151]

### Books

[edit]

For its first four decades, Costco was a major American bookseller in its own right, in an era in which e-commerce giant Amazon and big-box bookstore chain Barnes & Noble were wiping out traditional bookstores. Costco became one of the few American brick-and-mortar retail outlets where many shoppers who rarely visited bookstores could easily detour to the book section to browse hard copy books, discover books they might not have otherwise noticed, and buy them right away.[152][153] When Costco chose to buy any particular book, it usually acquired tens of thousands of copies, which was important to a publishing industry where a print run of 50,000 copies is a big deal.[154]

In the 2020s, Costco management reportedly began to consider no longer carrying books as a year-round product category because they are extremely labor-intensive products.[152][153] New books must be unpacked and laid out by hand on tables when released each Tuesday, while books which failed to sell must be manually collected and returned to their publishers.[152][153]

In 2022, Costco quietly closed the year-round book sections in its Alaska and Hawaii warehouses.[153] In June 2024, several publishing executives warned that in January 2025, Costco was planning to do the same across its 600 warehouses in the contiguous United States.[152][153] In other words, books would become just one more rotating inventory item for eight months each year, and would reappear as a full section only during the holiday shopping season in the last four months of each year.[152][153] This was deeply alarming to a publishing industry already facing stagnating book sales.[152] In November 2024, Costco agreed to keep year-round book sections for the time being in 100 of its 600 mainland US warehouses.[155]

### Gold and Platinum bullion products

[edit]

Costco began selling one-ounce, 24-karat gold bars in October 2023.[156][157] While typically selling for about 2% above the spot price, Costco offers 2% cash back for executive members and another 2% for users of certain credit cards. Thus, it is seen as a low-profit venture for Costco[158] and a loss leader for increasing store memberships.[159]

In 2024, following the success of the gold bar products being sold, Costco began selling platinum .9995 fine bars as a direct-to-consumer product eligible for purchase on their website.[160]

### Kirkland Signature: Costco's private label brand

[edit]

Kirkland Signature logo

Sample products carrying the Kirkland Signature private brand label

Bottled water

"Extra Fancy Mixed Nuts"

Kirkland Signature is Costco's private label brand, featured on a wide array of products sold across Costco's warehouses and its website. Launched in 1995, the brand takes its name from the original location of Costco's corporate headquarters in Kirkland, Washington.[161][162] It accounts for nearly one-third of the company's sales and outpaces the growth of Costco's overall sales.[163]

In 2024, the Kirkland Signature brand recorded $86 billion in revenue.[164] This was more than all the revenue earned by consumer products giant Procter & Gamble in 2024.[164]

The aim of the Kirkland Signature brand was to offer products with brand name quality at discounted prices.[164][165] Recognizing the typical consumer skepticism common with private labels, Costco has adopted a strategy of co-branding certain items with well-known manufacturers to bolster consumer trust.[166] Notable co-branded products include those from Chinet, Jelly Belly, Keurig Green Mountain, Ocean Spray, Stearns & Foster, and Starbucks.[167] Additionally, while some Kirkland Signature products maintain a generic label, they are produced in partnership with Duracell, Niagara Bottling, and other recognized companies.[167] The brand often uses simple, minimalist packaging, reflecting its focus on offering high-quality products at affordable prices.[168]

To ensure high quality, the CEO of Costco personally evaluates and grants final approval to all Kirkland Signature products.[164] Such products are expected to sell in high volumes like name-brand products, and are equally vulnerable to swift removal if they fail to sell as expected.[164]

From the perspective of manufacturers, one advantage of entering into a Kirkland Signature private label deal is that it frees them from the burden of sales and marketing campaigns to establish brand awareness among consumers.[169] If a manufacturer has developed a promising new product with expensive ingredients and a slim profit margin, that could mean the difference between not launching at all or a nationwide product launch at Costco warehouses under the Kirkland Signature brand.[169]

## Publications

[edit]

### Costco Connection

[edit]

Costco Connection is a magazine sent free to the Costco executive members; it can also be accessed online by anyone, free of charge.[170] As of 2024[update], the magazine is distributed to 15.4 million households and has 300,000 copies across its warehouses. It has the third-highest magazine circulation in the United States, behind two AARP magazines.[171]

The magazine was established in 1987 as a newsprint publication and converted to a magazine in 1997.[172] It features articles which regularly tie into the corporation along with business, celebrity features, cooking, entertaining, health, home improvement, and social articles, as well as coupons and ads. MediaPost reports: "While about 90% of the magazine's advertising is co-op, increasingly national advertisers such as Procter & Gamble are buying space, notes Roeglin--presumably because of the pub's gargantuan reach and the data it has on its subscribers (whose average household income is $156,000 a year). 'We see about 56% of our subscribers a month buy something at one of our stores based on something they've read in the magazine,' says Roeglin."[173]

## Services

[edit]

### Concierge service

[edit]

Costco offers a free "concierge" service to members who purchase electronics, to help answer questions regarding setup and use and avoid potential returns due to not understanding how to use the products.[174]

### Costco Auto and Home Insurance

[edit]

Costco has an agreement with CONNECT, powered by American Family Insurance, for auto insurance, home insurance, and umbrella insurance.[175]

### Costco Optical

[edit]

Costco Optical ranks as the fifth-largest optical company in the US, as of 2015[update].[176] Optometrists working at Costco locations will see patients without Costco memberships,[177] although a membership is required to fill a prescription at the optical department.[178]

### Costco Travel

[edit]

Costco Travel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Costco Wholesale and offers leisure travel to Costco members of the United States and Canada.[179] The program offers vacation packages to the Caribbean, Europe, Florida, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico, and the South Pacific.[180]

### Food service

[edit]

See also: Costco hot dog

Food concession stand at the Costco warehouse in Overland Park, Kansas with the Costco hot dog displayed in the most prominent position on the menu

> If you raise the [price of the] __ hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.

Founder Jim Sinegal to then-CEO W. Craig Jelinek, when Jelinek suggested increasing the price of the hot dog.[181]

In 1985, Costco began to sell freshly prepared food through a hot dog cart at its original Seattle warehouse.[25] Most Costco locations now have a food court.[182] They can be indoors or outdoors,[183] but the menu is essentially the same: hot dog with drink (one of the most popular items), pizza, frozen yogurt/ice cream, PepsiCo beverages, baked items, and sandwiches.[184] Costco offers its signature quarter-pound 100% beef hot dog and 20 US fluid ounces (590 ml) drink (with refills) for US$1.50, the same price since 1985. Some US locations also offer Polish sausage or bratwurst in addition to hot dogs, at the same $1.50 price.[185][186][187]

The hot dog sausages were kosher and supplied by Hebrew National and Sinai Kosher until 2009, when supply issues[188] and low profit margins[181] led Costco to start producing them in-house under the Kirkland Signature label to maintain the $1.50 price.[187] In Australia and New Zealand, the hot dog is made of pork and is sold with a large soda for $1.99 (AUD/NZD). In Canada, the price for a hot dog and soda with refills is C$1.50.[189] In Mexico, the hot dog is made of 100% beef and includes a drink (with refills) for MXN$35\. In the UK, the hot dog is also made from beef and customers also get a drink (with refills) for £1.50. Costco sold more than 137 million quarter-pound (113 g) hot dogs in its food courts in 2017.[187] In Taiwan and Japan, the hot dog is made of pork as well. Japan's price for their 120-gram (4½ oz.) hot dog and refillable 600-ml (20 fl. oz.) drink is ¥180.[190]

In a July 2024 interview, CEO Ron Vachris reiterated Costco's commitment to the US$1.50 price point for the hot dog combo and promised that the price would not rise on his watch.[126]

As of April 2024, cheese or pepperoni pizza (along with pre-ordering of full pizzas to take home), chicken bakes, ice cream (vanilla, chocolate, or twist), ice cream sundae, fruit smoothies, latte freeze (without chocolate), mocha freeze (with chocolate), and chocolate chunk cookies (replacement of twisted churros) are offered at all United States locations.[191] Some food court items are only available in certain countries.[192] For example, the bulgogi bake and mango boba tea are only available in Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan;[193] poutine is available in Canada and France. There are, however, temporary menu items available exclusively in several countries, like the pastor taco-topped pizzas in Mexico.[194][195]

United States menu changes in March 2020  Original Item  | Replacement Item

|

Veggie/combo Pizza  | No longer offered (this includes the discontinuation of the "Italian Sausage" pizza topping as well)
Frozen yogurt | Vanilla ice cream (with addition of chocolate sauce sundae)
Turkey provolone  | No longer offered
Twisted churro  | Replaced with dual-flavor churro in late 2020/early 2021, name remained same but was discontinued and was replaced by chocolate chunk cookies
Chicken Caesar salad  | Sales have resumed at locations
Chicken bake  | Replaced with factory-made item of same name, no longer hand-made in store (at most locations)
Sauerkraut (topping)  | No longer offered
Deli mustard (condiment)
Relish (condiment)  | Offered in select locations, expected to resume at all locations (no time period for return)

Due to slow sales, in 2009, the pretzel was replaced by the churro.[196] In April 2013, Pepsi replaced all Coca-Cola fountain drinks sold at US locations because Coke had raised its prices; this helped keep the hot dog combo with soda at its original US$1.50 price;[197] however, in late 2024, it was reported that Costco would be reverting to Coca-Cola products in early 2025.[198]

Costco started selling a cheeseburger with a 1⁄3-pound (150 g) patty at select stores across Western Washington and Southern California in mid-2017 as a test item, with comparisons drawn to those of Shake Shack.[199][200] The cheeseburger was not successful; its availability only spread to around a dozen locations before it was discontinued in 2020.[201] Diced onion was discontinued in March 2020 but returned as a topping in May 2023.[202]

### Costco credit card

[edit]

On April 1, 2016, in the US, Citigroup became the exclusive issuer of Costco's branded credit cards. Prior to that, Costco credit cards had been issued by American Express since 2001, and Costco accepted only American Express cards for credit transactions. After the switch of its co-branded cards to Citi, Costco ceased accepting AmEx and began exclusively accepting Visa. AmEx cited the reason for the split that Costco was asking for lower transaction fees than AmEx was willing to grant.[203][204][205] In Canada, Costco ended its AmEx relationship in 2014, and starting in 2015,[206] it partnered with Capital One Mastercard for branded credit cards.[207] In 2020, Capital One announced it would be ending the partnership in late 2021.[208] It was announced that beginning in March 2022, Costco will begin a partnership with CIBC Mastercard.[209] Costco branded credit cards from both issuers also serve as alternate Costco membership cards, with a customized reverse side containing membership info.[210]

### Costco Audiobook App

[edit]

In March 2021, Costco started selling audiobooks and launched a corresponding iOS and Android app to listen to purchases.[211] The app is free; however, the books are exclusive to Costco members. The retailer sells audiobooks in bundles grouped by genre or author, with prices ranging from $5 to $50. Audiobooks are currently only available at US locations.[212]

## Labor relations

[edit]

### Employee rights

[edit]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2020)

|

While some former Price Club locations in California and the northeastern United States are staffed by Teamsters,[213] the majority of Costco locations are not unionized, although there was a drive in 2012 to unionize some locations in Canada.[214] The Teamsters report that over 15,000 Costco employees are union members.[215] The non-union locations have revisions to their Costco Employee Agreement every three years concurrent with union contract ratifications in locations with collective bargaining agreements. The Employee Agreement sets forth such things as benefits, wages, disciplinary procedures, paid holidays, bonuses, and seniority. The Employee Agreement is subject to change by Costco at any time and offers no absolute protection to the workers. As of June 2022, non-supervisory hourly wages ranged from $17.50 to $28.45 in the US, $16.00 to $28.70 in Canada, and £9.75 to £13.90 in the United Kingdom. In the US as of 2005[update], eighty-five percent of Costco's workers had health insurance, compared with less than fifty percent at Walmart and Target.[216] Health benefits include coverage through Aetna,[217] remote primary care through Teladoc, second opinions and clinical navigation by Grand Rounds, varieties of health insurance agencies with Custom Benefit Consultants Inc. (CBC),[217] and wellness coaching by Omada.[citation needed]

In February 2021, Costco announced that it would be raising the starting rate for its hourly store workers in the United States to $16 an hour. Costco has been actively raising their minimum wage starting with $14 during 2018, and into $15 during 2019. They further add that 20% of their hourly employees will be subject to the minimum wage change.[218]

A location in Norfolk, Virginia, unionized with the Teamsters in 2023.[219] The vote in Norfolk was the first successful Costco union drive in over twenty years.[220] In January 2025, the Teamsters union representing over 18,000 Costco employees voted to strike, demanding "fair wages and benefits."[221]

### Contractors

[edit]

Costco contracts exclusively with two independent companies to provide employees for product demonstrations (e.g., food samples) at Costco stores: Club Demonstration Services (CDS)[222] and Warehouse Demo Services (WDS).[223][224] Demonstration employees receive a pay and benefit package that is less than that of Costco employees. As of August 1, 2017[update], demonstrations/samples are provided by CDS in Canada.[225] Product demonstrations at Costco stores in the United States were halted in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with some Costco CDS employees shifted to cleaning tasks before all were laid off when CDS temporarily ceased operations the following month;[226][227] they were rehired as Costco started resuming demonstrations at select stores in June 2020, with all US stores resuming demonstrations by June 2021.[228][229]

## Discontinued concepts

[edit]

### Costco Home

[edit]

The first Costco Home warehouse opened in December 2002, in Kirkland, Washington.[230][231] The warehouse's concept was to combine the value, setting and members-only elements of Costco's warehouse clubs with the product array one would find at an upscale home store, such as Fortunoff or Crate & Barrel. The Costco Home warehouses sold furniture, housewares, kitchen products and accessories from higher-end brands such as Lexington, Ralph Lauren and Waterford[232] in a warehouse-club setting. A second warehouse opened in 2004 in Tempe, Arizona.[231]

On April 2, 2009, the company announced that it would be abandoning its Costco Home concept, closing the two existing stores in Kirkland, Washington and Tempe, Arizona on July 3, 2009, and abandoning plans for a third warehouse in Portland, Oregon.[231][233] An appliance and furniture warehouse opened in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2024.[234]

### Costco Fresh

[edit]

A grocery-centered format, named Costco Fresh, was announced in September 1999 for a 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m2) two-story space in Manhattan, New York City.[235] The company pulled out of an agreement to build the Manhattan store later that year after cost increases and local protests.[236] The concept was revived in late 2002 for a store in Bellevue, Washington, near its Issaquah headquarters, at a former Kmart. The new store would primarily sell fresh produce, meats, seafood, and baked goods instead of bulk items, but would also have several features from normal Costco warehouses; it would also have a modified logo, with a fruit stem growing from the first "o" in the Costco name.[237] The concept was dropped the following year, but the company retained interest in building a normal Costco store at the Bellevue site until 2008, when they abandoned the plans due to zoning regulations that would have required daylighting an underground creek.[238][239]

## Controversies

[edit]

### Animal welfare

[edit]

In 2010, Mercy for Animals conducted an undercover investigation at Buckeye Veal Farm, a veal supplier to Costco.[240] Immediately following the investigative release, Costco adopted a policy against purchasing veal from producers that use the crate-and-chain production method.[241] The case prompted Ohio lawmakers to vote in favor of a veal crate phase-out in the state.[242] In 2012, Mercy for Animals conducted another undercover investigation of a pork supplier to major retailers such as Costco, Walmart, Safeway, Kroger, and Kmart.[243] Before the public release of the investigation, Costco announced they would begin requiring their pork suppliers to phase out gestation crates.[244][245]

In 2015, the Humane Society of the United States conducted an undercover investigation at a Costco egg supplier.[246] An undercover worker at Hillandale Farms, a major egg supplier to Costco, filmed conditions in which egg-laying hens lived in tiny wire cages.[247] Following the investigations, several celebrities including Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling publicly wrote to Costco to address this issue.[248] In December 2015, following efforts by animal protection nonprofits including The Humane League,[249] Costco released an updated commitment to source exclusively cage-free eggs in its operations.[250]

In December 2020, Costco announced plans to end the use of battery cage eggs throughout its operations worldwide, becoming the first US retailer to issue a global policy on the confinement of animals in its supply chain.[251][252] Josh Dahmen, Costco financial planning and investor relations director, stated: "We are in the process of making that transition to cage-free eggs. We will continue to increase the percentage over time, with a goal of eventually getting to 100%."[253]

In 2016, the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) reported cannibalism and high mortality at a cage-free Costco egg supplier.[254][255] Costco denied the allegations, but the video sparked a discussion about animal welfare problems continuing to exist at cage-free egg farms.[254] Writing in The Huffington Post, DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung argued that the new investigation, rather than suggesting that Costco should keep birds in cages, indicated that hens should have the right not to be raised for food or kept on farms at all.[256]

In October 2020, Costco dropped Chaokoh coconut milk over allegations of forced monkey labor. PETA accused the manufacturer, Theppadungporn Coconut Co., of using forced monkey labor, finding cruelty to monkeys at their farms and facilities. Ken Kimble, Costco's Vice President of Corporate Food and Sundries, condemned the use of monkey labor and stated that Costco launched an investigation regarding the issue and ceased purchasing from the Chaokoh supplier. Kimble also stated that Costco will continue to monitor the implementation of the harvest policies and once satisfied will resume purchasing.[257]

In February 2021, an undercover investigation by Mercy for Animals showed chickens at a Costco facility in Nebraska unable to move, sitting in feces, and covered with chemical burns.[258] New York Times opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof covered the investigation, accusing Costco of keeping prices low "in part by developing chickens that effectively are bred to suffer."[259] In June 2022, two Costco shareholders represented by the animal rights organization Legal Impact for Chickens sued Costco executives for breach of fiduciary duty. The lawsuit claimed that the company's use of fast-growing breeds violates animal welfare laws in Nebraska and Iowa, undermining Costco's appeal to consumers.[258]

### Environmental standards

[edit]

In 2014, the US Department of Justice and the United States Environmental Protection Agency alleged that Costco had failed to promptly repair leaks from its refrigeration equipment of the refrigerant chlorodifluoromethane at its stores. Costco paid a fine of US$335,000 and agreed to spend $2 million over three years to fix refrigerant leaks and make improvements at 274 stores.[260]

Costco was criticized in 2019 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and SumOfUs for using virgin Canadian boreal forest to make its toilet paper. NRDC stated that over the previous twenty years, 28 million acres of Canadian boreal forest had been cut down to make toilet paper.[261][262]

### Labor standards

[edit]

In 2014, The Guardian reported that Costco was a client of Charoen Pokphand Foods. Over six months, The Guardian traced down a supply chain from slave ships in Asian waters to leading producers and retailers. Costco has published a statement stating that it has had a supplier code of conduct since 1999 which does not allow this practice, and that independent auditors check for violations regularly.[263][264][265][266]

In June 2023, a Costco employee in South Korea died of heatstroke while organizing shopping carts outside. South Korean government guidelines state that outdoor workers be given a 10- to 15-minute break every hour during heatwave advisories; however, these guidelines were not strictly followed or enforced at the location where the employee worked. He was given 15-minute breaks every 3 hours without a regular supply of drinking water.[267][268] The company was later fined ₩30 million by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.[269]

### Pharmacies

[edit]

In September 2016, Costco self-disclosed conduct to the Office of Inspector General after its pharmacy in Waltham, Massachusetts improperly altered prescription drug claims to Medicare Part D and the Massachusetts Medicaid program that resulted in higher reimbursement than was appropriate. They paid a fine of US$340,157.25.[270] In January 2017, Costco was brought to court in the US for lax pharmacy controls in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. Allegations such as Costco "filling prescriptions that were incomplete", or were for substances "beyond various doctors' scope of practice". The case was settled after Costco paid US$11.75 million.[271]

In 2019, the Ontario Ministry of Health fined Costco $CA7.2 million after it found that Costco pharmacies were accepting advertising services from a generic drug manufacturer in Ontario, where it is illegal for a pharmacy to accept rebates, or kickbacks, from a generic drug manufacturer in exchange for promising to stock its brand of drugs. Two Costco pharmacy directors were referred to the Ontario College of Pharmacists and were fined for the misconduct.[272]

### Product quality

[edit]

In July 2015, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled the EKO Sensible Eco Living Trash Can that Costco was selling due to a black plastic protective collar in the opening on the back of the trash can which could be dislodged and expose a sharp edge. Costco was fined US$3.85 million for receiving 92 complaints about the trash can, including 60 complaints from those that sustained injuries, but did not notify the commission about the defect.[273]

In 2017, Costco and Acushnet Holdings sued each other over their golf balls.[274][275] In August 2017, a federal judge ordered a "deceptive" Costco to pay Tiffany & Co. US$19.4 million for misleading consumers into thinking they could buy legitimate Tiffany merchandise at warehouse club prices.[276][277]

In September 2020, CBS News reported that Costco has stopped selling Palmetto Cheese after the owner of the pimento cheese brand called Black Lives Matter a "terror organization." Costco posted a note to the item in their Myrtle Beach location indicating that the item will not be reordered, and over 120 Costco locations throughout the US will no longer be carrying the item.[278]

In 2023, the Kaohsiung Department of Health fined Costco numerous times for selling bags of mixed berries imported into Taiwan which tested positive for Hepatitis A. Costco was fined a total of NT12.5 million and was temporarily barred from selling mixed berries in the country.[279] In July 2023, Costco Australia paid $33,000 in penalties for mislabeling the origin of lobster products. Lobsters imported from Canada were labeled as "Kirkland Signature PREVIOUSLY FROZEN WHOLE COOKED WA LOBSTER" and "Australian Lobster".[280] In August 2023, the Environment Agency of Iceland fined Costco ISK 20 million for a diesel spill originating from a gas station in Garðabær, which contaminated the Hafnarfjörður sewage system.[281]

## See also

[edit]

* Companies portal

* Bulk foods
* Costco bear
* Costco Guys
* Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Omega, S. A.
* Wholesaling

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Costco's fiscal year ends September 1.
2. ^ a b c For the fiscal year ending September 1, 2024

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Company Profile". Costco Wholesale Corporation. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
2. ^ a b "Costco Wholesale Corporation 2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. October 11, 2023. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
3. ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports August Sales Results". Costco Wholesale. September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
4. ^ a b "FY 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. October 9, 2024.
5. ^ a b c "Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports April Sales Results". Costco Wholesale Corporation (Press release). May 7, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
6. ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation Company Profile". Hoover's. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
7. ^ "Leading retailers worldwide in 2021, by retail revenue". Statista. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Howe, Ben Ryder (August 20, 2024). "How Costco Hacked the American Shopping Psyche". The New York Times. This article states that FedMart "became" Costco, which is incorrect. Sol Price founded Price Club after leaving FedMart.
9. ^ "Costco Wholesale". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 16, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
10. ^ a b 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.
11. ^ "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.
12. ^ 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.
13. ^ "About Costco". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
14. ^ a b c d "Costco Wholesale Historical Highlights" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. February 12, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
15. ^ "What is Costco?". Costco. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
16. ^ Ramirez, Anthony (February 2, 1982). "Sol Price Knows How to Spur Competition". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, pp. 1, 15. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
17. ^ a b c "About Costco". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
18. ^ Monteagudo, Merrie (August 1, 2021). "From the Archives: First Price Club opens in San Diego 45 years ago". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
19. ^ "Morena Warehouse". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
20. ^ Michelson, Alan. "Hughes Aircraft Company, Warehouse #401, San Diego, CA". Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
21. ^ a b Kraul, Chris (May 4, 1986). "No-frills shopping produces plentiude for penny-pinchers". The Bradenton Herald. Knight-Ridder Newspapers. p. F7. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
22. ^ Bryan, Jay (September 11, 1986). "Second giant discount shopping club set to open in Montreal". Montreal Gazette. p. E1. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
23. ^ a b "Price Club moving into Spain, Portugal". San Francisco Examiner. Associated Press. December 17, 1992. p. D3. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
24. ^ Chesley, Frank (June 6, 2007). "Biography of Jeffrey Brotman". Historylink.org. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
25. ^ a b c d e Conroy, Bill (September 2019). "Costco's First Warehouse Store Was a Springboard to Global Growth". Seattle Business. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
26. ^ Wohl, Jessica (September 1, 2011). "Costco CEO's legacy continues as he steps down". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
27. ^ Wilma, David. "First Costco discount warehouse opens in Seattle on September 15, 1983". HistoryLink. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
28. ^ Ramsey, Bruce (October 15, 1985). "Costco has hopes worth millions". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. B9.
29. ^ Price, Sol; Helyar, John; Harrington, Ann (November 24, 2003). "Sol Price On Off-Price". Fortune. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
30. ^ "Costco, Form SC 13E4, Filing Date Nov 21, 1994". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
31. ^ "PriceCostco Company History". FundingUniverse. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
32. ^ Buck, Richard; Lopez Williams, Sarah (March 17, 1996). "The East Rises". The Seattle Times. p. A1.
33. ^ Long, Katherine (June 16, 1994). "Redmond won't get a Costco store after all". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
34. ^ "Former Price-Costco land and buildings to be sold". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. September 6, 1996. p. B2.
35. ^ "PriceCostco back to Costco". The Seattle Times. February 6, 1997. p. D2.
36. ^ "Costco changing name of Price/Costco units". Supermarket News. Informa. March 10, 1997. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
37. ^ "Costco buys logistics firm Innovel for $1 billion". reuters. March 17, 2020.
38. ^ "Costco Wholesale Annual Report 2005" (PDF). Costco Wholesale Corporation. December 14, 2005. p. 2\. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
39. ^ Batsell, Jake (December 9, 2003). "Costco wins council OK for larger store". The Seattle Times. p. B3.
40. ^ Millares Bolt, Kristen (December 13, 2005). "Costco carwash planned in Sodo". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. C3.
41. ^ Harris, Craig (February 1, 2007). "CEO sees even more growth in 2007". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. E1.
42. ^ "Top 100 Retailers (2014)". National Retail Federation. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
43. ^ Ramakrishnan, Sruthi (October 14, 2014). "Costco to enter China through Alibaba's Tmall". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
44. ^ "Costco to Open 28 Locations in 2013". Produce Industry News. March 22, 2013. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
45. ^ "Costco Wholesale Historical Highlights" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. December 15, 2016. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
46. ^ "King Husein: On the back of a simple concept, Husein has built a business that has transformed an industry" Archived March 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Metal Construction News, October 31, 2014. Retrieved on March 27, 2020.
47. ^ Mao, Lin (2024). "From Trade War to New Cold War: Popular Nationalism and the Global Times on Weibo under Xi Jinping". In Fang, Qiang; Li, Xiaobing (eds.). China under Xi Jinping: A New Assessment. Leiden University Press. p. 327\. ISBN 9789087284411.
48. ^ Mcilraith, Rob Stock and Brianna (September 27, 2022). "Shoppers get first taste of Costco in New Zealand - but is it cheaper?". Stuff. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
49. ^ Gibson, Anne (September 27, 2022). "Hundreds queue for Costco opening day; shoppers hoping for bargains". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
50. ^ "NZ's first Costco announces opening date". RNZ. September 14, 2022. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
51. ^ Corral, Cecile (July 20, 2009). "BJ's Smaller in Store Size but Mightier in SKU Count". Home Textiles Today. Archived from the original on November 1, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
52. ^ "Costco Corporate Profile". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original on March 10, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
53. ^ a b c "2018 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. October 18, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 13, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
54. ^ a b "2020 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. October 7, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 25, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
55. ^ a b "2021 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. October 6, 2021. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
56. ^ "Costco, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Oct 19, 2012" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
57. ^ "Costco". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
58. ^ "Benchmarks by Company". American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
59. ^ Horowitz, Julia (August 2017). "Costco's co-founder and chairman dies". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
60. ^ a b c d Stearns, John (May 3, 2023). "Costco Unveils New Issaquah Headquarters Addition". 425 Business.
61. ^ "Costco's membership price hike in effect". CNN Business. September 3, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
62. ^ "Costco's new executive member hours". Business Insider. July 9, 2025. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
63. ^ "Costco's Membership Crackdown". Kadence. September 26, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
64. ^ "How stores like Costco use everything from layout to smell to make you open your wallet". CBC Radio. November 23, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
65. ^ "It's beginning to look a lot like Costco. Steel frame going up on 2nd Tri-Cities store". Tri-City Herald. April 16, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
66. ^ "Costco Wholesale". MG2. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
67. ^ "Costco Melbourne Docklands Prices List – Comparison *Updated*". BuckScoop. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
68. ^ Harris, Sophia (November 28, 2021). "Attention shoppers: Overcharged for an item at checkout? You might be able to get it for free". CBC News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
69. ^ Picciotto, Rebecca. "Is Living on Top of a Costco the Answer to Affordable-Housing Crisis?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
70. ^ Shibu, Sherin (January 6, 2025). "Hundreds of Apartments Are Being Built on Top of a Costco". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on May 4, 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
71. ^ Desjardins, Doug (December 2005). "At 40% larger, new Costco prototype redefines big". DSN Retailing Today. 44 (23): 4.
72. ^ Gretchen, Fehrenbacher (September 6, 2001). "Costco to build in Hillsboro, Albany store underway | Daily Journal of Commerce". Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
73. ^ a b Lee, Jasen (October 30, 2015). "Salt Lake Costco becomes largest in the world". Deseret News. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
74. ^ "Costco To Build Its World's Largest Store". Retail & Leisure International. September 12, 2023. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
75. ^ Sheehan, Tim (April 19, 2024). "Costco relocation approved in Fresno. New site is $98 million investment, company says". The Fresno Bee.
76. ^ "Largest Costco in Canada opens in St. John's". BNN Bloomberg. June 28, 2019. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
77. ^ a b c Hsieh, Jeremy (March 29, 2019). "Does Juneau really have the smallest Costco in the world?". KTOO. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
78. ^ Hansel, Mark (February 20, 2009). "First Costco Business Center in Las Vegas opens". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
79. ^ a b Loeb, Walter (December 3, 2018). "Costco Gets Bigger, Better And More Profitable With New Business Centers". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
80. ^ "What Time Does Costco Open and Close? - U.S. Retail". May 18, 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
81. ^ "7 Benefits of Shopping at Costco Business Center". Costco. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
82. ^ Tyler, Jessica (July 7, 2018). "Costco Business Center is better than regular Costco, some say". Business Insider. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
83. ^ Kneifel, Juergen (October 31, 2013). "Costco growing as a supplier for small businesses". The Everett Herald. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
84. ^ "The new Costco of doing business". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. October 4, 1996. p. B1.
85. ^ "Costco Business Center Locations". Costco Business Center. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
86. ^ "Costco Business Centre". Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
87. ^ "St hubert business centre Saint-hubert, QC Costco Warehouse". www.costcobusinesscentre.ca. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
88. ^ Toneguzzi, Mario (March 8, 2021). "Costco Opens 3rd Canadian 'Business Centre' Storefront with Several More Planned". Retail Insider. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
89. ^ a b "Costco Wholesale Corporation: Shareholders Board Members Managers and Company Profile". MarketScreener. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
90. ^ "Costco - 37 Year Stock Price History". Macrotrends. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
91. ^ "2005 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
92. ^ "2006 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
93. ^ "2007 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
94. ^ "2009 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
95. ^ "2010 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
96. ^ "2011 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
97. ^ "2012 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
98. ^ "2013 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
99. ^ "2014 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
100. ^ "2015 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
101. ^ "2016 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
102. ^ a b "2017 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
103. ^ "2019 Annual Report". Costco Wholesale. October 10, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
104. ^ "2022 Annual Report" (PDF). Costco Wholesale. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
105. ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter And Fiscal Year 2022 Operating Results" (Press release). Costco Wholesale. September 22, 2022. Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022 – via GlobeNewswire.
106. ^ Allison, Melissa (December 17, 2011). "Retiring CEO of Costco takes a look back on his legacy". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 26, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
107. ^ Shapiro, Don (September 20, 2018). "Costco's Taiwan Success Story". Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
108. ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Stock Major Holders". Yahoo Finance. September 30, 2024. Archived from the original on March 9, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
109. ^ Costco Wholesale Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 1, 2024 (PDF) (Report). p. 36.
110. ^ Costco Wholesale Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 1, 2024 (PDF) (Report). p. 62\. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
111. ^ a b c d e f 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.
112. ^ Fredrix, Emily (November 16, 2009). "Costco nixes Coke products over pricing dispute". The Street. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
113. ^ Collier, Joe Guy (December 10, 2009). "Coke returns to Costco next week". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on December 16, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
114. ^ Allison, Melissa (December 10, 2009). "Costco brings back Coke next week, reports 1 percent boost in first-quarter profit". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
115. ^ Wynn, Kirsty (September 22, 2022). "Costco in NZ: Kiwi haircare brand Everblue wins lucrative contract after a year in business". The New Zealand Herald.
116. ^ a b Shaw, Aimee (October 31, 2022). "The Costco effect: Retail giant catapults Cookie Time sales". Stuff.
117. ^ a b Kalogeropoulos, Demitrios (October 1, 2014). "How Costco Is Investing $2 Billion in Its Future -". The Motley Fool. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
118. ^ "A Cart Full of Energy Savings" (PDF). PGE.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
119. ^ Shaffer, Erica (September 21, 2018). "Costco poultry complex to have retail ripple effect". MEAT+POULTRY. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
120. ^ Linebaugh, Kate; Gasparro, Annie (October 10, 2022). "Are Rotisserie Chickens 'Inflation-Proof'?". The Journal. (Podcast). Gimlet Media and The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
121. ^ "U.S. Meat and Poultry Production & Consumption: An Overview" (PDF). North American Meat Institute. September 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 4, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
122. ^ Devenyns, Jessi (September 24, 2018). "Costco's in-house poultry production signals a new supply chain approach". Food Dive. Industry Dive. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
123. ^ Meyersohn, Nathaniel (October 11, 2019). "It's only $4.99. But Costco's rotisserie chicken comes at a huge price". CNN. Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
124. ^ Vinh, Tan (June 15, 2023). "Issaquah's Costco offering made-in-store sushi, a first in the U.S. Is it good?". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
125. ^ Graff, Amy (December 11, 2021). "The reason Costco checks receipts at the door isn't about shoplifting". SFGATE. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
126. ^ a b c d e f g h i Stearns, John (July 2, 2024). "Ron Vachris: Costco's New CEO and Culture Keeper". South Sound Business. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
127. ^ Stankiewicz, Kevin (December 14, 2020). "Costco CEO says company is doubling down on brick-and-mortar, even as it invests in e-commerce". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
128. ^ Ali, Fareeha (September 20, 2020). "Costco's online sales jump 50% in fiscal year 2020". Digital Commerce 360. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
129. ^ Lane, Polly; Moriwaki, Lee (November 5, 1998). "Costco to take $118 million charge for accounting change". The Seattle Times. p. D5.
130. ^ Mulady, Kathy (April 17, 2001). "Costco expands B2B Web site". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. E1. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
131. ^ "Costco Wholesale Corporation Launches B2B E-commerce Site for Faster and Easier Business Shopping" (Press release). Issaquah, Washington: Costco Wholesale. April 17, 2001. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
132. ^ "Costco Grocery Delivery - Instacart". Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
133. ^ Burrows, Dan (March 21, 2017). "Costco Expands Online Grocery Delivery With Shipt". Kiplinger. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
134. ^ Shen, Lucinda (October 6, 2017). "Costco's Newest Move to Beat Amazon and Whole Foods? Delivery". Fortune. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
135. ^ "Einstaklingar geta nú keypt áfengi hjá Costco". www.mbl.is (in Icelandic). June 13, 2023. Archived from the original on June 15, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
136. ^ De Maria, Meghan. "16 Things Costco Won't Be Bringing Back". Eat This Not That. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
137. ^ "Costco About Us". Costco. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
138. ^ "Caskets". Costco. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
139. ^ Etzel, Natasha (July 6, 2023). "Costco Members Are Saving Hundreds of Dollars on This Unexpected Find". www.fool.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
140. ^ Howe, Ben Ryder (August 20, 2024). "How Costco Hacked the American Shopping Psyche". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
141. ^ "7 Things To Know About Costco Pharmacy". Clark.com. March 29, 2023. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
142. ^ McCaffery, Jen (October 14, 2022). "Here's Why You Should Buy Your Tires from Costco". Reader's Digest. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
143. ^ Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code section 22.14
144. ^ Arnold, Eric (February 4, 2008). "Costco Loses Long Fight to Reform Wine Distribution Laws". Wine Spectator. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
145. ^ Allison, Melissa (October 19, 2011). "Costco's $22M for liquor initiative sets record". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
146. ^ Allison, Melissa (November 9, 2011). "Liquor board, retailers gear up to implement I-1183". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
147. ^ a b Lander, Jess (October 18, 2024). "This Bay Area Costco legend is drawing customers to the Napa store". San Francisco Chronicle.
148. ^ a b Huffman, Jennifer (October 16, 2024). "Napa Costco shoppers line up to be No. 1 on opening day". Napa Valley Register.
149. ^ Huffman, Jennifer (October 18, 2024). "Opening day: Napa Costco welcomes its first customers". Napa Valley Register.
150. ^ "About Costco". Costco Australia. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
151. ^ Stock, Rob (September 15, 2022). "Why Costco won't be selling booze from its Auckland mega-store". Stuff. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
152. ^ a b c d e f Harris, Elizabeth A.; Alter, Alexandra (June 5, 2024). "Costco Plans to Stop Selling Books Year-Round". The New York Times.
153. ^ a b c d e f Schulz, Bailey (June 7, 2024). "Costco is switching up how it sells books. What it means for shoppers". USA Today.
154. ^ Harris, Elizabeth A. (July 22, 2020). "How to Sell Books in 2020: Put Them Near the Toilet Paper". The New York Times.
155. ^ Milliot, Jim (November 25, 2024). "Costco to Keep Book Sections in 100 Outlets Year-Round". Publishers Weekly.
156. ^ Carballo, Rebecca (April 11, 2024). "Customers Flock to Costco to Buy Gold Bars". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
157. ^ "Gold is near an all-time high. Here's how to sell it without getting scammed". CBS News. November 10, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
158. ^ Cox, Jeff (April 9, 2024). "Costco selling as much as $200 million in gold bars monthly, Wells Fargo estimates". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
159. ^ "The Golden Strategy: How Costco's Sale of Gold Bars Lures in Customers and Bolsters Memberships". First Gold Group. April 21, 2024. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
160. ^ Lee, Jinjoo. "Costco Members Are Buying Platinum. Should You?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
161. ^ Meyersohn, Nathaniel (February 5, 2022). "Why every Costco product is called 'Kirkland Signature'". CNN. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
162. ^ "Business Spotlight: Costco Wholesale". Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved October 26, 2006.
163. ^ Green, Dennis (January 11, 2019). "Shoppers love Costco's Kirkland Signature brand, and it's turned into the retailer's biggest asset". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
164. ^ a b c d e Cohen, Ben (July 11, 2025). "The Pants Cost $20. They Explain $86 Billion of Costco Sales". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
165. ^ Broberg, Brad (April 1, 2007). "Costco buying power makes dent in private-label wine market". Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
166. ^ Duff, Mike (December 19, 2005). "A private label success story". DSN Retailing Today. Archived from the original on February 21, 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
167. ^ a b Louis, Serah (May 9, 2022). "These are the big brands hidden behind Costco's Kirkland label". MoneyWise. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
168. ^ "Desde café hasta vitamina E: Una mirada a la variedad de productos Kirkland Signature". March 14, 2024. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
169. ^ a b Bernstein, Joshua M. (April 16, 2025). "How Costco's Kirkland Signature Beer Finally Hit the Mark". The Wall Street Journal.
170. ^ "The Costco Connection Online Edition". Costco. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
171. ^ Kahn, Mattie (October 19, 2024). "Costco Has a Magazine and It's Thriving". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
172. ^ Meyersohn, Nathaniel (February 24, 2020). "The Costco Connection is America's fourth biggest magazine". CNN Business. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
173. ^ Robins, J. Max (March 6, 2015). "Costco's Surprisingly Large-Circulation Magazine". MediaPost. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
174. ^ "Costco Wholesale Return Policy". Costco. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
175. ^ "Costco Car Insurance Review". www.investopedia.com. January 22, 2021. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
176. ^ "Snapshots of Optical's 10 Largest U.S. Retail Players". Vision Monday. May 16, 2016. Archived from the original on June 26, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
177. ^ Allan, Patrick (June 17, 2014). "The Best Things You Can Do at Costco Without a Membership". The Best Things You Can Do at Costco Without a Membership. Lifehacker. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
178. ^ Conover, Raechel (August 25, 2015). "How Non-Members Can Shop at Costco". msn.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
179. ^ "Costco Travel". Costco Travel. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
180. ^ "Vacation Packages". Costco Travel. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
181. ^ a b Margo (April 18, 2018). "Costco CEO Craig Jelinek on Shareholders, Costco.com, & Hot Dogs". 425 Business. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
182. ^ Myers, Dan (November 6, 2017). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Costco Food Court". DailyMeal.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
183. ^ Myers, Dan (November 30, 2015). "Things You Didn't Know About Costco Food Court". Fox News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
184. ^ "COSTCO CATERING MENU PRICES | Costco Party Platters, Trays, etc". November 24, 2014. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
185. ^ Gaudette, Karen (May 24, 2006). "Costco is the place for inexpensive dining". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011.
186. ^ Wight, David; Bjorkman, Steve (Illustrator) (March 2009). "Order in the Court (Costco food courts consistently deliver the value, quality, and efficiency members appreciate)". Costco Connection. pp. 20–24\. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2009. History of Costco Food Courts.
187. ^ a b c Romano, Benjamin (July 5, 2018). "Costco changes up food court menu, but the $1.50 hot dog deal remains". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
188. ^ Meyersohn, Nathaniel (July 8, 2022). "Why Costco's $1.50 hot dog combo and 99-cent Arizona iced tea still cost the same". CNN Business. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
189. ^ "Order in the court" (PDF). Costco Connection. Vol. 24, no. 3\. March 2009. p. 21.[permanent dead link]
190. ^ Compton, Natalie B. (February 25, 2017). "Costco Is Even Better in Taiwan". Vice. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
191. ^ "Costco Food Menu Prices - Costco Menu". costcomenu.com. June 1, 2022. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
192. ^ "Costco Food Court - Menu, Prices, Hours, Nutrition, Membership". costcofoodcourt.org. June 18, 2022. Archived from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
193. ^ Baseel, Casey (February 13, 2014). "Costco Japan's bulgogi bake is a melting pot of deliciousness". Sora News 24. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
194. ^ "Costco Food Court Nutrition Data". Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
195. ^ Lopez, Fana (April 2018). "¡Amantes de Costco y los taquitos! Ya existe la pizza de pastor y el mundo no volverá a ser igual". Buzzfeed (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
196. ^ "Food Court questions" (PDF). Costco Connection. May 2009. p. 59.[permanent dead link]
197. ^ Ho, Vanessa (January 31, 2013). "Costco's $1.50 hot dog-soda combo to get big change". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
198. ^ Steinberg, Brooke (December 20, 2024). "Costco is making a big change to its food court next year that could divide fans". New York Post. Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
199. ^ Vinh, Tan (June 26, 2017). "Costco is testing a new burger in Seattle, and it might remind you of Shake Shack". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
200. ^ Luna, Nancy (July 5, 2017). "Costco testing Shake Shack copycat cheeseburger in Southern California". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
201. ^ Martinson, Nicole (March 3, 2020). "Say Goodbye to Costco's Food Court Burger". Seattle Met. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
202. ^ Walker, Clay (May 13, 2023). "One of Costco's beloved food court items is making its grand return, and superfans are overjoyed". Insider. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
203. ^ Cannon, Ellen (June 23, 2016). "Costco's launch of new Citi Visa card leaves angry customers on hold". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
204. ^ Panzar, Javier (March 2, 2015). "Costco names Citi, Visa as new credit card partners after AmEx deal ends". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
205. ^ Cowley, Stacy (June 23, 2016). "Costco's Transition to Visa Cards Riddled With Problems". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
206. ^ Schecter, Barbara; Leong, Melissa (September 18, 2014). "Costco to stop accepting American Express cards in Canada, switches to Capital One and Mastercard". Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
207. ^ "Capital One Mastercard | Costco". Costco.ca. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
208. ^ Khan, Ahmar (October 29, 2020). "Capital One ending Costco and Hudson's Bay contracts, closing offices in Montreal and Toronto". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
209. ^ "Learn About The Benefits Of Your New CIBC Costco Mastercard". CIBC. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
210. ^ "Costco Anywhere Visa Cards By Citi". Costco.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
211. ^ Kozlowski, Michael (March 23, 2021). "Costco launches new Audiobook Store and iOS App". goodereader.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
212. ^ Meisenzahl, Mary (March 24, 2021). "Costco is adding an audiobook app as a new perk for members ahead of an anticipated price hike". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
213. ^ Aloise, Rome. "Costco Workers Stand Together". Teamster.org. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
214. ^ "Unionize Costco". Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
215. ^ "Teamsters Local 986 Costco Members". www.local986.org. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
216. ^ Greenhouse, Steven (July 17, 2005). "How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
217. ^ a b Martin, Erik. "Costco health insurance plan options". Insurance.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
218. ^ "Costco raises minimum wage to $16". The San Francisco Times. February 25, 2021. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
219. ^ Delesline III, Nate (December 22, 2023). "Costco workers at Virginia store unionize". Retail Dive. Archived from the original on April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
220. ^ Haden, Jeff (January 7, 2024). "The Costco Union Drive Shows the Importance of Promoting Your C-Suite from Within". Inc.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
221. ^ Sarnoff, Leah; Reynolds, Darren (January 20, 2025). "Costco's unionized workers vote to authorize nationwide strike". ABC News. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
222. ^ Pinsker, Joe (October 1, 2014). "The Psychology Behind Costco's Free Samples". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
223. ^ Eaton, Dan (January 16, 2023). "Employee may not be outside salesperson even if sales work mostly is performed off employer's premises". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
224. ^ Cicero, Providence (January 11, 2006). "Mmm … samples!". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
225. ^ Edmonds, Robert (February 15, 2012). "We Are Family?". North Bay Bohemian. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
226. ^ Walansky, Aly (March 7, 2020). "Costco stores stop serving free food samples due to coronavirus concerns". Today. NBC News. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
227. ^ Sacks, Brianna; Mac, Ryan (April 3, 2020). "The Company That Handles Free Samples At Costco Is Shutting Down Because Of The Coronavirus". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
228. ^ Stych, Anne (June 2, 2020). "Costco's beloved free samples will return — bringing jobs along with them". Bizwomen. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
229. ^ Lacy, Lisa (June 3, 2021). "Costco's Free Samples Are Returning—Even If Samplers Don't". Adweek. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
230. ^ Frey, Christine (December 4, 2002). "Costco embraces high-end goods for 'Home' store". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
231. ^ a b c Allison, Melissa (April 2, 2009). "Costco to close home stores in Kirkland, Arizona". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
232. ^ Desjardins, Doug (January 6, 2003). "Costco Home poised to revolutionize high-end furniture". DSN Retailing Today. Archived from the original on November 28, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
233. ^ Gage, Susan (February 26, 2007). "Costco pulls plans for store near Portland International Airport". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
234. ^ Rhode, Scott (April 15, 2024). "Costco Opens Furniture and Appliance Showroom in South Anchorage". Alaska Business. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
235. ^ Weir, Richard (September 19, 1999). "Teeth Bared Over Costco's Plans". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
236. ^ Pristin, Terry (December 11, 1999). "Costco Abandons Plans For a 14th Street Store". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
237. ^ Bishop, Todd (September 25, 2002). "Costco will try out a fresh idea in Bellevue". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
238. ^ Bach, Ashley (July 26, 2007). "Costco looking at Kelsey Creek for first Bellevue store". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
239. ^ Allison, Melissa (November 5, 2008). "Costco reportedly drops Kelsey Creek store plan". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
240. ^ "Crated Cruelty: The Hidden Price of Veal". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
241. ^ Allison, Melissa (August 31, 2010). "Costco bans treatment of veal calves that industry calls typical". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
242. ^ Runkle, Nathan. "Progress for Ohio's Farmed Animals". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
243. ^ "Walmart Cruelty: The Hidden Cost of Walmart's Pork". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
244. ^ Runkle, Nathan. "Victory! Costco and Kmart Commit to Ditching Gestation Crates Following MFA Investigation". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
245. ^ Runkle, Nathan. "Safeway Pledges to Eliminate Cruel Gestation Crates from Supply Chain". Mercy For Animals. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
246. ^ Worl, Justin (June 9, 2015). "An Undercover Investigation Alleges Major Mistreatment of Egg-Laying Hens". Time. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
247. ^ "Costco: It's Time to Go Cage-Free". The Humane Society of the United States. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
248. ^ Fitzpatrick, Hayley (July 20, 2015). "Brad Pitt has a major grievance with Costco". Business Insider. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
249. ^ "Take A Stand Against Animal Cruelty". thehumaneleague.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
250. ^ Shanker, Deena (December 28, 2015). "After months of pressure, Costco commits to a cage-free egg supply". Quartz. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
251. ^ McCarthy, Ryan (December 3, 2020). "Costco transitioning to cage-free eggs worldwide". Meat + Poultry. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
252. ^ McDonald, Amanda (December 8, 2020). "Costco is making this major change to its egg products". Yahoo Life. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
253. ^ McDougal, Tony (December 9, 2020). "Costco to ban the use of cages in its global supply chain". Poultry World. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
254. ^ a b Strom, Stephanie (October 20, 2016). "How 'Cage-Free' Hens Live, in Animal Advocates' Video". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 17, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
255. ^ Moyer, Justin Wm. (October 20, 2016). "'Her head has been torn off': Activists' film alleges abuse at Costco-linked cage-free egg farm". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
256. ^ Hsiung, Wayne (October 21, 2016). "'They're Being Eaten Alive!' What I Saw In A Cage-Free Egg Farm". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
257. ^ Padgett, Lauren (October 31, 2020). "Costco drops Chaokoh coconut milk over allegations of forced monkey labor". CNN. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
258. ^ a b Carman, Tim (June 23, 2022). "Costco violates animal welfare laws to sell $4.99 chicken, suit says". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
259. ^ Kristof, Nicholas (February 6, 2021). "The Ugly Secrets Behind the Costco Chicken". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
260. ^ Stempel, Jonathan (September 3, 2014). "Costco Fined and Forced to Fix Refrigerant Leaks". Scientific American. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
261. ^ "The issue with tissue: how Americans are flushing forests down the toilet" (PDF). Natural Resources Defense Council. February 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
262. ^ "Costco: protect the boreal forests and use recycled pulp in your toilet paper". Sumofus. January 24, 2020. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
263. ^ Hodal, Kate; Chris Kelly; Felicity Lawrence (June 10, 2014). "Revealed: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2014. "Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods, buys fishmeal, which it feeds to its farmed prawns, from some suppliers that own, operate or buy from fishing boats manned with slaves. ... CP Foods admits that slave labour is part of its supply chain."
264. ^ Picchi, Aimee (June 11, 2014). "Shrimp Sold at Walmart, Costco Tied to Slave Labor". CBS Money Watch. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
265. ^ Lawrence, Felicity (June 10, 2014). "Walmart, Tesco and Costco among retailers responding to revelations of slavery in prawn supply chains". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
266. ^ "Disclosure Regarding Human Trafficking and Anti-Slavery". Costco. June 2014. Archived from the original on July 5, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
267. ^ 이, 하린 (July 29, 2023). "사망 직원 장례식장서 "병 숨겼지?"…코스트코 대표, 유족에 '막말 논란'". 매일경제 (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
268. ^ So-yeon, Kim (June 29, 2023). "Costco worker dies due to excessive heat". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
269. ^ Byung-yeul, Baek (September 13, 2023). "Costco Korea fined $22,565 for safety violations in connection to worker's death". Korea Times. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
270. ^ "Costco Agreed to Pay $340,000 for Allegedly Violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law for Submitting Claims for Prescription Drugs that Were Not Provided as Claimed". Office of Inspector General | Government Oversight | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. September 26, 2016. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
271. ^ "Costco Wholesale to Pay $11.75 Million to Settle Allegations of Lax Pharmacy Controls". U.S. Department of Justice. January 19, 2017. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
272. ^ Rizza, Alanna (February 4, 2019). "Ontario government fines Costco $7M over illegal kickbacks". BNN Bloomberg. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
273. ^ "Costco Agrees to $3.85 Million Civil Penalty, Compliance Program for Failure to Report Defective Trash Cans". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. October 5, 2018. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
274. ^ Picchi, Aimee (March 22, 2017). "Costco sues Titleist to fend off patent claims over its low-cost golf balls". CBS News. Archived from the original on December 29, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
275. ^ "Ball Wars: Titleist's parent company countersues Costco for patent infringement, false advertising over its Kirkland ball". Golf. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
276. ^ Fickenscher, Lisa (August 14, 2017). "Costco ordered to pay $19.4M for misleading 'Tiffany' jewelry". New York Post. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
277. ^ McCoy, Kevin (August 15, 2017). "Judge: Costco must pay Tiffany $19.4 million for advertising knock-off rings". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
278. ^ Gibson, Kate (September 23, 2020). "Costco reportedly drops Palmetto Cheese after owner calls BLM a "terror organization"". CBS News. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
279. ^ I-chia, Lee (June 1, 2023). "Kaohsiung fines Costco again over frozen berries". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
280. ^ Commission, Australian Competition and Consumer (July 21, 2023). "Costco pays penalties for alleged misleading lobster country of origin claims". www.accc.gov.au. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
281. ^ Tómas, Ragnar (August 28, 2023). "Costco Fined ISK 20 Million for Gross Negligence Over Oil Spill". Iceland Review. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Costco.

* Official website
* Official UK website
* Instagram
* Business data for Costco Wholesale Corporation:

* Google
* Reuters
* SEC filings
* Yahoo!

* v
* t
* e

Seattle-based corporations (within the Seattle metropolitan area)

Seattle and SeaTac-based Fortune 1000 corporations|

* Alaska Airlines (#360)
* Amazon.com (#2)
* Expedia Group (#263)
* Expeditors International (#389)
* Nordstrom (#205)
* Starbucks (#114)
* Weyerhaeuser (#457)

Puget Sound-based Fortune 1000 corporations|

* Companies listed above, plus: Costco Wholesale (#14)
* Microsoft (#21)
* Paccar (#118)
* Puget Sound Energy (#710)

Major Seattle\- and Puget Sound-based non-public
or externally owned corporations|

* Big Fish Games
* Bluesky
* Darigold
* Eddie Bauer
* Jones Soda
* Nash Holdings
* Nintendo of America
* QFC
* REI
* Safeco
* T-Mobile US

* v
* t
* e

Companies of the Nasdaq-100 index

* Adobe
* ADP
* AMD
* Airbnb
* Alphabet
* Amazon
* AEP
* Amgen
* Analog Devices
* Apple
* Applied Materials
* AppLovin
* Arm
* ASML
* AstraZeneca
* Atlassian
* Autodesk
* Axon
* Baker Hughes
* Biogen
* Booking Holdings
* Broadcom
* Cadence
* CDW
* Charter Communications
* Cintas
* Cisco
* Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
* Cognizant
* Comcast
* Constellation Energy
* Copart
* CoStar
* Costco
* CrowdStrike
* CSX
* Datadog
* Dexcom
* Diamondback Energy
* DoorDash
* Electronic Arts
* Exelon
* Fastenal
* Fortinet
* GE HealthCare
* Gilead
* GlobalFoundries
* Honeywell
* Idexx Laboratories
* Intel
* Intuit
* Intuitive Surgical
* Keurig Dr Pepper
* KLA
* Kraft Heinz
* Lam Research
* Linde
* Lululemon
* Marriott International
* Marvell
* Mercado Libre
* Meta
* Microchip
* Micron
* Microsoft
* MicroStrategy
* Mondelez International
* Monster Beverage
* Netflix
* Nvidia
* NXP
* O'Reilly Auto Parts
* Old Dominion
* onsemi
* Paccar
* Palantir
* Palo Alto Networks
* Paychex
* PayPal
* PDD Holdings
* PepsiCo
* Qualcomm
* Regeneron
* Roper Technologies
* Ross Stores
* Shopify
* Starbucks
* Synopsys
* Take-Two Interactive
* T-Mobile US
* Tesla
* Texas Instruments
* Thomson Reuters
* Trade Desk
* Verisk
* Vertex
* Warner Bros. Discovery
* Workday
* Xcel Energy
* Zscaler

* v
* t
* e

Major retail companies

Companies with global retail sales of over US$25 billion (according to Kantar Group, in order of decreasing revenue)

* Walmart
* Amazon (incl. Whole Foods Market)
* Costco
* Schwarz Gruppe (incl. Lidl and Kaufland)
* Kroger
* Walgreens Boots Alliance
* Aldi
* The Home Depot
* Carrefour
* JD.com
* Seven & i
* Tesco
* CVS Pharmacy
* Ahold Delhaize
* Target Corporation
* AEON
* Lowe's
* Auchan
* Edeka
* Albertsons
* Apple
* IKEA
* REWE Group
* Groupe Casino
* Alibaba Group
* E.Leclerc
* Intermarché
* Best Buy
* Woolworths Group
* Metro AG
* TJX Companies
* Publix
* Sainsbury's
* FamilyMart
* Mercadona
* Loblaw Companies
* Coles Group
* H&M
* Suning.com
* China Resources Enterprise
* X5 Group (incl. Pyaterochka and Perekrestok)
* H-E-B
* Dollar General
* Ceconomy (incl. MediaMarkt)
* Macy's

* v
* t
* e

Supermarkets in the United States

Kroger|

* Dillons
* Baker's
* Gerbes
* Food 4 Less
* Fred Meyer
* Fry's
* Harris Teeter
* King Soopers
* City Market
* Kroger
* Jay C
* Pay Less
* QFC
* Ralphs
* Roundy's
* Ruler Foods
* Smith's

Albertsons|

* Acme
* Andronico's
* Albertsons
* Balducci's
* Carrs
* Haggen
* Jewel-Osco
* Kings Super Markets
* Lucky
* Pavilions
* Randalls
* Safeway
* Shaw's and Star Market
* Super Saver
* Tom Thumb
* United Supermarkets
* Vons

United Natural Foods|

* County Market
* Cub
* Shoppers

Ahold Delhaize|

* Food Lion
* Giant Food
* Giant Food Stores
* Hannaford
* Stop & Shop

Save Mart|

* Save Mart Supermarkets
* Lucky Stores
* Lucky California
* Food Maxx
* MaxxValue Foods

Amazon|

* Amazon Fresh
* Amazon Go
* Whole Foods

SpartanNash|

* D&W Fresh Market
* Family Fare
* Martin's Super Markets
* No Frills Supermarkets

Other national|

* Aldi
* Trader Joe's
* Costco
* Comissary/DeCa (military)
* The Fresh Market
* IGA
* Save-A-Lot
* Sprouts
* Target
* Walmart
* Sam's Club

Regional|

| Asian|

* 99 Ranch Market
* Great Wall Supermarket
* H Mart
* Hong Kong Supermarket
* Island Pacific Supermarket
* Kam Man Food
* Marukai
* Mitsuwa Marketplace
* Nijiya Market
* Patel Brothers
* Seafood City
* SF Supermarket
* Uwajimaya
* Zion Market

|

Hispanic|

* Bravo
* El Ahorro Supermarket
* Fiesta Mart
* La Perla Tapatía Supermarkets
* Sedano's
* Supermercados Teloloapan
* Vallarta Supermarkets

Organic|

* Earth Fare
* Fresh Thyme
* Natural Grocers

Wholesale|

* BJ's Wholesale Club
* Chef'Store

Other
regional|

* Acme Fresh Market
* Amigo
* Big Y
* Boyer's
* Bristol Farms
* Brookshire Brothers
* Brookshire's Food & Pharmacy
* Buehler's
* C-Town
* Central Market
* D'Agostino
* Dave's Markets
* Dean & DeLuca
* DeMoulas Market Basket
* Dierbergs
* Don Quijote
* Times Supermarkets
* Dorothy Lane Market
* Fairway Market
* Fareway
* Farm Fresh
* Festival Foods
* Festival Foods (Minnesota)
* Food Giant
* Food City
* Foodarama
* FoodLand
* Foodtown
* Pathmark
* Gelson's
* Gerland Corporation
* Gerrity's
* Giant Eagle
* Grand Union
* Gristedes
* Grocery Outlet
* Harmons
* Harps Food Stores
* H-E-B
* Heinen's
* Highland Park Market
* Homeland
* Hornbacher's
* Houchens
* Hugo's
* Hy-Vee
* Ingles
* Jerry's Foods
* Jungle Jim's International Market
* Karns Quality Foods
* Key Food
* Super Fresh
* The Food Emporium
* KJ's Market
* King Kullen
* Kowalski's Markets
* Kuhn's Quality Foods
* Lewis Food Town
* Lidl
* Lowe's Market
* Lowes Foods
* Lucky's Market
* Lunds & Byerlys
* Magruder's
* Marc's
* Market Basket (Louisiana and Texas)
* Market of Choice
* Masons Red Owl
* Meijer
* Met Foods
* Mollie Stone's Markets
* Morton Williams
* Mother's Market & Kitchen
* New Grand Mart
* New Seasons Market
* Niemann Foods
* Northeast Grocery
* Tops Friendly Markets
* Price Chopper Supermarkets
* Market 32
* Nugget Markets
* PCC Community Markets
* Petrini's
* Piggly Wiggly
* Pink Dot
* Price Chopper / Price Mart
* Publix
* Pueblo
* Raley's Supermarkets
* AJ's Fine Foods
* Bashas'
* Reasor's
* Redner's Markets
* Remke Markets
* Rice Epicurean Markets
* Ridley's Family Markets
* Roche Bros.
* Rosauers Supermarkets
* Rouses
* Russ's Market
* Schnucks
* Scolari's Food and Drug
* Seabra Foods
* Sellers Bros.
* Sendik's Food Market
* Sentry Foods
* Seven Mile Market
* Shop 'n Save
* Smart & Final
* Southeastern Grocers
* Harveys Supermarkets
* Winn-Dixie
* Stater Bros.
* Stew Leonard's
* Strack & Van Til
* Straub's Markets
* Sullivan Family of Companies
* Foodland Hawaii
* Supermercados Econo
* Supermercados Selectos
* Super Dollar Discount Foods
* Super King Markets
* Super One Foods
* Super Saver Foods (B&R Stores)
* United Grocery Outlet
* URM Stores
* Wakefern
* The Fresh Grocer
* Price Rite
* ShopRite
* Weaver Street Market
* Wegmans
* Weis Markets
* Westborn Market
* Western Beef
* WinCo Foods
* Woodman's Markets
* Yoke's Fresh Market
* Zabar's
* Zupan's Markets

Defunct|

* 365 by Whole Foods Market
* A-Mart
* A&P
* Food Basics
* Pathmark
* Waldbaum's
* ABCO Foods
* Alpha Beta
* AppleTree Markets
* Belle Foods
* Best Market
* Big Bear Stores
* Big Star Markets
* Bloom
* Bottom Dollar Food
* Bruno's
* Buttrey Food & Drug
* Byrd's
* Carter's Foods
* Chatham
* Clemens Markets
* Colonial Stores
* Dahl's Foods
* Daniel Reeves Stores
* David's Supermarkets
* Davis Food City
* Delchamps
* Dick's Supermarket
* Dominick's
* Eagle Food Centers
* Easy-Way Store
* Eberhard's
* Eisner Food Stores
* Farmer Jack
* Fazio's Shopping Bag
* Felpausch
* Finast
* Fisher Foods
* Food Fair
* Food World
* Food-a-rama
* Fresh & Easy
* Furr's
* Genuardi's
* Giant Open Air
* Glen's Markets
* Hamady
* Henry's Farmers Market
* Hills Supermarkets
* Hinky Dinky
* Jewel T
* Jitney Jungle
* Johnnie's Foodmaster
* Kohl's Food Stores
* Kessel Food Markets
* Laneco
* Market Basket (California)
* Marketside
* Mars
* Marsh Supermarkets
* Más Club
* Mi Pueblo Food Center
* Minyard Food Stores
* National Supermarkets
* National Tea
* Omni Superstore
* Owen's
* Penn Fruit
* Penn Traffic
* Pick-N-Pay Supermarkets
* Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co.
* Plus
* Purity Supreme
* Quality Markets
* QFI
* Rainbow Foods
* Red Food
* Reid's
* SaveRite
* Sage's
* Schaffer Stores Company
* Scott's
* Seaway Food Town
* Seessel's
* Shop 'n Save
* Simon David
* Skaggs Companies
* Southern Family Markets
* Stanley Stores
* Sunflower Farmers Market
* Sunflower Market
* Super Duper
* Sweetbay Supermarket
* Tidyman's
* Twin Valu
* Ukrop's Super Markets
* Valu King
* Victory Supermarkets
* Weingarten's
* Wild Oats Markets
* Xpect Discounts

* List of supermarket chains in the United States

* v
* t
* e

Supermarkets in Canada

Loblaw Companies|

* Dominion (NL)
* Fortinos
* Freshmart
* Loblaws
* Maxi
* No Frills
* Provigo
* Real Atlantic Superstore
* Real Canadian Superstore
* SuperValu
* T&T
* Valu-mart
* Wholesale Club
* Your Independent Grocer
* Zehrs

Metro Inc.|

* Food Basics
* Metro
* Super C
* Marché Adonis

Pattison Food Group|

* Choices Market
* PriceSmart Foods
* Save-On-Foods
* Urban Fare

Sobeys|

* Farm Boy
* Foodland
* FreshCo
* Chalo FreshCo
* IGA (except in BC)
* Longo's
* Safeway
* Sobeys
* Thrifty Foods

Other national chains|

* Costco
* Walmart
* Northern/Northmart

Regional chains|

| Federated Co-operatives
members (Western Canada)|

* Lake Country Co-op (SK: Prince Albert/North Central area)
* Otter Co-op (BC: Langley area)
* Red River Co-op (MB: Winnipeg area)
* Saskatoon Co-op (SK: Saskatoon area)
* Sherwood Co-op (SK: Regina area)

|

* Calgary Co-op (AB: Calgary area)
* Co-op Atlantic (Atlantic Canada, QC)
* Coppa's Fresh Market (ON: Greater Toronto Area)
* Fairway Markets (BC: Victoria area)
* Galati Market Fresh (ON: Toronto)
* Grande Cheese (ON: Greater Toronto Area)
* H Mart (BC, AB, & ON)
* Highland Farms (ON: Greater Toronto Area)
* IGA (BC)
* Kin's Farm Market (BC)
* Spud (BC & AB)
* Whole Foods Market (BC & ON)

Defunct banners|

A&P

Dominion
Loeb
Sav-A-Centre
Ultra Food & Drug
Ayre's Supermarkets
Commisso's Food Markets
Extra Foods
Food City
Galati Brothers
Héritage
Knob Hill Farms
Marché Frais
Overwaitea Foods
Cooper's Foods
SaveEasy
Steinberg's

Miracle Food Mart
Super Centre
Target
Village Food Stores
Zellers

* List of supermarket chains in Canada

* v
* t
* e

Supermarkets in the United Kingdom

'Big four'|

* Asda
* Morrisons
* Sainsbury's
* Tesco

Convenience|

* Amazon Fresh
* Bargain Booze
* Best-one
* Budgens
* Co-op Food
* Costcutter
* KeyStore
* Kwik Save
* Londis
* Mace
* Nisa
* One Stop
* Premier
* Spar

Discount|

* Aldi
* Bargain Buys
* B&M
* Home Bargains
* Lidl
* Poundland
* Poundstretcher

Frozen specialists|

* Farmfoods
* Heron Foods
* Iceland

Online|

* Ocado

Premium|

* Marks & Spencer
* Waitrose
* Whole Foods Market

Regional|

* Booths
* Dunnes Stores
* Filco
* Planet Organic
* Proudfoot
* SuperValu

* Category
* Supermarkets

* v
* t
* e

Supermarkets in Australia

Defunct retailers in italics

Hypermarket|

* Coles Group
* Pick n Pay
* Wesfarmers
* Super Kmart
* Woolworths Group
* Woolworths Family Centre

Supermarket|

| Discount|

* Aldi
* Coles Group
* Bi-Lo
* Newmart
* Shoeys
* Metcash
* Dewsons
* Franklins No Frills
* Jewel Food Barn
* Supa Valu IGA
* SuperValue
* JB Young's
* Owl Discount Market
* Woolworths Group
* Flemings
* Food For Less
* Jack the Slasher

|

Traditional|

| National|

* Australian United Retailers
* FoodStore
* FoodWorks
* FoodWorks Asian
* Coles Group
* Bi-Lo Mega Frrresh
* Coles
* Coles New World
* Metcash
* Franklins Big Fresh
* Jewel Country Fresh
* Supa IGA
* SPAR
* SUPERSPAR
* Wesfarmers
* Kmart Food
* Woolworths Group
* Foodtown
* Safeway
* Woolworths

|

Regional|

| ACT|

* Foodmaster
* Harris Farm Markets
* Metcash
* Festival IGA
* Welcome Mart
* Permewans
* G & G Group
* Supabarn
* Woolworths Group
* Cannon

|

NSW|

* Australian United Retailers
* Banana Joe's
* Bernardi's
* Coles Group
* Matthews Thompson
* Farr's Market
* Fresh & Save
* Harris Farm Markets
* Maloneys Grocer
* Metcash
* Action
* Festival IGA
* Foodland IGA
* Romeo's Food Hall IGA
* Romeo's Locali IGA
* Ritchies IGA
* Welcome Mart
* Miracle
* Outback Stores
* Panetta
* Permewans
* G & G Group
* Moran & Cato
* Supabarn
* Owl Stores
* Tong Li
* Warmans

NT|

* Metcash
* Foodland IGA
* Independent Grocers
* Outback Stores

Qld|

* Australian United Retailers
* 7"2"7 Foodstore
* Drakes
* Harris Farm Markets
* Metcash
* Action
* Ritchies IGA
* Outback Stores

SA|

* Coles Group
* Beilby's
* Drakes
* Metcash
* Foodland IGA
* Romeo's Foodland IGA
* Romeo's Food Hall
* Outback Stores

Tas|

* Hill Street Grocer
* Permewans
* Moran & Cato
* Woolworths Group
* Purity
* Roelf Vos

Vic|

* Australian United Retailers
* Grocery & Liquor Co.
* Koh's Marketplace
* Market Europa
* The Happy Apple
* Your Go To Grocer
* Coles Group
* Crittendens
* Dickins
* Metcash
* Champions IGA
* Foodtown
* Nancarrows
* Ritchies IGA
* Permewans
* Moran & Cato
* Sims

WA|

* Australian United Retailers
* Blackwood Fresh
* Farmer Jack's
* Hannan's Marketplace
* Four Square
* Metcash
* Action
* Eziway
* Foodland IGA
* Outback Stores
* Spudshed

Grocery|

* Aldi
* Aldi Corner Store
* Australian United Retailers
* FoodWorks Local
* Coles Group
* Coles Local
* Four Square
* Friendly Grocer
* Metcash
* Franklins Fresh
* IGA
* IGA Local Grocer
* Jewel Food Stores
* Village Grocer
* SPAR
* SPAR
* Woolworths Group
* Woolworths Metro

Convenience|

* Ampol
* Ampol Foodary
* Ampol Woolworths MetroGo
* Caltex Star Mart
* Caltex Star Shop
* Australian United Retailers
* FoodWorks Express
* BP
* BP Connect
* David Jones Food
* X Convenience
* Coles Group
* Coles Express
* David Jones
* David Jones Food
* EG Group
* EG Ampol
* EzyMart
* Lucky 7
* Metcash
* Franklins Mini Fresh
* IGA Express
* Night Owl
* Seven & I
* 7-Eleven
* SPAR
* SPAR express
* Supabarn
* Supaexpress
* United Petroleum
* Quick Stop
* Viva Energy
* Fast & ezy
* OTR
* Reddy Express
* Shell
* Time Saver
* Woolworths Group
* Ampol Woolworths MetroGo

Health food|

* Metcash
* IGA Fine Food Market
* Woolworths Group
* Macro Wholefoods
* Thomas Dux Grocer

Wholesale|

* Costco
* Metcash
* Campbells
* C-Store
* Woolworths Group
* Brisbane Cash & Carry

* Category
* Commons
* Supermarkets

* v
* t
* e

Supermarkets in Taiwan

Convenience stores|

* Supermarkets portal

* 7-Eleven
* FamilyMart
* Hi-Life
* OK Mart

Supermarkets|

* a.mart
* Carrefour
* Carrefour Market
* c!ty'super
* Costco
* Funcom Supermarket
* Mia C'bon
* PX Mart
* RT-Mart
* Taiwan Fresh
* Don Don Donki
* Lopia

Retailer chains|

* Eslite Bookstore
* Muji
* Watsons
* Simple Mart
* LEEZEN

Former|

* ampm
* JUSCO
* Makro
* Matsusei
* Page One
* ParknShop
* Taisuco
* Tesco
* Wellcome

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* 2
* FAST

National|

* Germany
* United States
* 2
* Japan

Other|

* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[NL]: Newfoundland and Labrador
*[BC]: British Columbia
*[SK]: Saskatchewan
*[MB]: Manitoba
*[AB]: Alberta
*[QC]: Quebec
*[ON]: Ontario