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Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the world based on sales volume, headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, United States, with its flagship warehouse in nearby Seattle. Costco's Canadian operations are based near Ottawa, Ontario, and Vancouver, British

Columbia.

Costco’s business model was similar to that of Price Club, which was founded by Sol Price in 1976 in San Diego, California. Both companies charged a membership fee and catered primarily to small-business owners.

The two retailers were similar in size when they merged in 1993; thus, the combined company, PriceCostco, was effectively double the size of each of its parents. At that time, PriceCostco had 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales.

PriceCostco was initially led by executives from both companies, but then Sol and his son Robert Price founded Price Enterprises and left in 1994. The company changed the name to Costco Wholesale in 1997.

The main competitor in the membership warehouse space is Sam's Club. Although Sam's Club has more warehouses than Costco, Costco has higher total sales volume. Costco employs about 127,000 full- and part-time employees, including seasonal workers, and for fiscal year 2006, ended in September, the company's store sales totaled $59 billion of which $1.1 billion was net profit. Costco is #28 on the Fortune 500.

Costco currently operates two other retail formats, a home furnishings concept known as "Costco Home," and a strictly business operation known as "Costco Business Center."

There are currently two Costco Home locations (Washington State & Arizona, both in former HomeBase warehouse stores) with plans for a third on the west coast. Costco membership is required, and hours of operation are identical to that of regular Costco warehouses.

There are a handful of Business Centers, all of which offer delivery via a private fleet of trucks. Some locations have a retail selling floor open to Costco members who wish to shop in person, while others are strictly delivery only.

Plans for Costco Fresh, a gourmet supermarket, were shelved in 2004.

Over the years, Costco has gradually expanded its range of products and services. Initially it preferred to sell only boxed products that could be dispensed by simply tearing the shrinkwrap off a pallet. It now sells many other products that are more difficult to handle, such as fresh produce, meat, dairy, seafood, fresh baked goods, flowers, clothing, books, software, home electronics, jewelry, art, hot tubs, and furniture. Many stores have tire garages, pharmacies, hearing aid centers, optometrists, photo processors, and gas stations.

Source: Wikipedia - News Reports

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