 Logo since 1997 | |
 Building 1 at Costco's headquarters campus inIssaquah, Washington | |
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | September 15, 1983; 42 years ago (1983-09-15) inSeattle |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 923 (2025) |
Area served | North America:
|
Key people | |
| Brands | Kirkland Signature |
| Services | |
| Revenue |  US$275.2 billion (2025) |
| US$10.4 billion (2025) | |
| US$8.1 billion (2025) | |
| Total assets | US$77.1 billion (2025) |
| Total equity | US$29.2 billion (2025) |
| Members | 145.2 million (2025) |
Number of employees | 341,000 (2025) |
| Website | costco.com |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3][4][5] | |
Costco Wholesale Corporation,doing business asCostco, is an Americanmultinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-onlybig-boxwarehouse clubretail stores.[6] As of 2021, Costco is thethird-largest retailer in the world,[7] and as of August 2024, Costco is the world's[citation needed] largest retailer of beef, poultry, organic produce, and wine, with just under a third of American consumers regularly shopping at Costco warehouses.[8] As of 2025[update], Costco is ranked 12th on theFortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[9]
Costco's worldwide headquarters are inIssaquah, Washington, aneastern suburb ofSeattle, but itsKirkland Signaturehouse label bears the name of its former location inKirkland. The company opened its firstwarehouse (the chain's term for its retail outlets) in Seattlein 1983.[10][11] Through mergers, however, Costco's corporate history dates back to 1976, when its former competitorPrice Club was founded inSan Diego, California.[12][13][14]
Costco originally began with awholesalebusiness 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 November 2025[update], Costco operates 923 warehouses worldwide, with 85% of them being in North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico).[16]
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 bySol Price and his son, Robert, after a dispute with the new owners ofFedMart, Price's previous membership-only discount store.[17] Price Club was among the first retailwarehouse clubs, beginning with its Morena Boulevard store inside a series of oldairplane hangars once owned byHoward Hughes.[18][19] The store, known as Costco Warehouse #401, is still in operation today.[20][21]
Price Club's sales model targetedsmall business owners, selling items in bulk for a discounted price at no-frills outlets that were accessible only with an annual membership fee.[22] The company launched aninitial public offering in 1980 and expanded to 24 locations in the Southwest and 1.1 million members by early 1986.[14][22] Price Club expanded into Canada in 1986, opening a store inMontreal,[23] followed by aMexico City store in 1992 as part of ajoint venture with hypermarket chainControladora Comercial Mexicana.[24] The company also announced plans to open stores in Spain and Portugal through their Canadian subsidiary.[24]
Jim Sinegal andJeffrey H. Brotman[25] opened the first Costco warehouse in Seattle on September 15, 1983.[26] Sinegal had started in wholesale distribution by working for Sol Price atFedMart; Brotman, anattorney from an old Seattle retailing family, had also been involved in retail distribution from an early age. Sinegal began his retail involvement as agrocery bagger.[27] At its launch, Costco sold goods to small businesses at amarkup of only 8 or 9 percent over the wholesale price.[28]
A second store opened inPortland, Oregon in October, and a third inSpokane inDecember 1983.[10] In December 1985, Costcowent public, opening on theNASDAQ at $10 per share; at the time, the company had 17 warehouses nationally and 1,950 employees.[26][29] The company was initially headquartered at its first warehouse in Seattle but moved its headquarters to Kirkland in 1987.[26]
In 1993, Costco and Price Club agreed to merge operations after Price declined an offer fromWalmart to merge Price Club with their warehouse store chain,Sam's Club.[30] 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 namePriceCostco, 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.[18] PriceCostco was initially led by executives from both companies, but in 1994, the Prices left the company to formPriceSmart,[14][31] a warehouse club chain in Central America and the Caribbean unrelated to the current Costco.[32]
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.[33] They had originally planned to move by December 1993 toRedmond, anotherEastside city, but delays in road construction near the warehouse site caused the company to reconsider.[34] The former Kirkland headquarters, a 10.7-acre (4.3 ha) campus, was sold in late 1996.[35]
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.[36][37] In March 2020, Costco announced the acquisition of Innovel, a logistics company, for one billion dollars.[38]
The first Costco warehouse in Seattle was replaced with a new building on an adjacent lot to the north in March 2005;[39] the company was able to arrange to keep the same address for the new building, which was on land acquired fromSeattle Public Schools.[26][40] The original building was demolished and replaced by a parking lot, gas station, and car wash—the company's first—which opened in 2006.[41][42] In 2014, Costco was the third largest retailer in the United States.[43] That year Costco announced plans to open an online store in China usingAlibaba Group.[44]
Costco announced the opening of 29 new locations in 2016, the most in one year since 2007.[45][46] Span Construction, led byKing Husein, has constructed almost all of Costco's buildings since 1989.[47]
Costco opened its first warehouse in China on August 27, 2019, inShanghai. The store attracted so many customers that it had to close after only a couple of hours.[48] The first Costco in New Zealand opened atWest Auckland in September 2022,[49][50] delayed from mid-August due to theeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[51]
In the United States, Costco's main competitors operating membership warehouses areSam's Club (a subsidiary ofWalmart) andBJ's Wholesale Club.[52] Costco employs 316,000 full and part-timeemployees worldwide.[1] Costco had 90.3 million members in 2017.[53][54] In 2020, Costco had 105.5 million members.[55] In 2021, the company had 111.6 million members.[56] 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.[18] For the fiscal year ending on August 31, 2012, the company's sales totaled $97.062 billion, with $1.709 billion net profit.[57] As of 2019[update], Costco is ranked No. 14 on theFortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[58] The ACSI (The American Customer Satisfaction Index) named Costco number one in the specialty retail store industry with a score of 84 in 2014.[59]
From December 2013, Costco's board of directors was chaired by co-founder Jeffrey H. Brotman and included Sinegal, co-founder and director, and two officers of the company: president and CEOW. Craig Jelinek and CFO Richard A. Galanti. On August 1, 2017, Brotman died.[60] As of August 2017[update], Sinegal and Jelinek remained on the board. Jim Sinegal stepped down in 2018.[54]
During the 2010s, Costco outgrew its original three-building headquarters campus in the Pickering Place area ofIssaquah—known simply as Buildings 1, 2, and 3—and was forced to put new employees into various leased buildings throughout the city.[61] 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 toInterstate 90.[61] 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.[61] The three original buildings were repurposed for the use of Costco'sinformation technology department.[61]
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, will offer 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.[62][63][64]
In November 2025, Costco filed a lawsuit against the federal government seeking a complete refund oftariffs imposed by the Trump Administration. The lawsuit, filed with theUnited States Court of International Trade in New York, is asking the Supreme Court to find the administration's use of theInternational Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs, unlawful.[65]
As of November 2025[update], Costco operates 923 warehouses worldwide.[16]
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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.[66] Costco has contracted with architecture firmMG2 for over 800 of its locations, which are typically built within a 110-day schedule.[67][68]
Food court menus are tailored for local preferences, withmeat 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; andjacket potatoes in the United Kingdom.[69]
In Canada, the company participates in the voluntaryScanner Price Accuracy Code managed by theRetail Council of Canada.[70]
In September 2024, Costco broke ground on its first-evermixed-use development in the United States that combines a warehouse store with residential apartments above it. The project, developed in partnership with thereal estate developer Thrive Living, includes 800 rental apartments above the 185,000-square-foot (17,200 m2) Costco warehouse in theBaldwin Village neighborhood ofSouth Los Angeles, California. Of the 800 apartments, 184 (23%) will be dedicated tolow-income housing, with the remainder offered as workforce and unsubsidized housing. The project is made possible byCalifornia's state law AB 2011 for affordable housing, which went into effect on July 1, 2023.[71][72]
In 2005, Costco's largest store (by area) was inHillsboro, Oregon, with 148,663 sq ft (13,811.2 m2).[73][74] In 2015, Costco completed an expansion inSalt Lake City, Utah, making it the new largest Costco at 235,000 sq ft (21,800 m2).[75] 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.[75]
In 2023, Costco had planned on building a new warehouse store inFresno, California, which would have had a 241,000 sq ft (22,400 m2) footprint, making it the largest store.[76] But the city only approved 219,000 sq ft (20,300 m2).[77] In 2019, Costco opened its biggest store in Canada, inSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador; the store is 182,000 sq ft (16,900 m2).[78]
As of 2019[update], the smallest Costco is inJuneau, Alaska at 76,696 sq ft (7,125.3 m2).[79] The warehouse is the only one left from a 1993 initiative in which Costco experimented with small-format warehouses.[79] Although the company concluded that the small format does not work for most markets, it determined that the format was acceptable for Juneau.[79]
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 toenterprises, with a focus onsmall businesses. Business Centers do not carry most consumer items like clothing, jewelry, media, and tires, while carrying larger quantities and more options for business products which they carry.[80] More than 70% of the items that can be acquired from a Costco Business Center are not found in a typical Costco store.[81] Some locations have a food court, a gas station, or both. They have largeparking 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.[81] Costco Business Center operating hours[82] 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.[83][84]
The first Business Center was a converted Costco warehouse inLynnwood, Washington, which reopened in October 1996, following renovations; the change was made after a conventional Costco warehouse had opened in nearbyEverett.[85][86]
As of August 2022[update], there are 26 Costco Business Centers in the United States.[87]
The first Costco Business Centre outside the US opened in Canada inScarborough, Ontario, in March 2017.[88] In September 2020, the second Canadian Costco Business Centre opened inSaint-Hubert, Quebec, near Montreal.[89] A third Canadian Business Centre opened in the Ottawa neighbourhood ofGloucester in March 2021.[90]
In 2022, Costco opened a Costco Home Showroom inSan Juan, Puerto Rico,[91] and then opened a second one inAnchorage, Alaska, in 2024.[92][93] A third one opened inPearl City, Hawaii, in 2024.[94]
Unlike traditional Costco warehouses and the defunct Costco Home format, the Home Showroom format is not a cash-and-carry store.[93] The showroom cannot sell goods on the spot to members to take home with them that same day; members must place orders to be delivered to their homes.[93] It is merely a showroom for "expensive, large, and bulky items" like furniture and appliances.[93] Costco had already begun to offer a broader selection of furniture and appliances through Costco.com than it could fit into its traditional warehouses, but found that it was "daunting" for many people to order those items online without having first touched, felt, and seen the goods in person.[93]
| Business | Share |
|---|---|
| Food and sundries | 40.5% |
| Non-foods | 25.6% |
| Warehouse ancillary and other | 20.5% |
| Fresh foods | 13.5% |
| 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)[96] | Warehouses | Employees | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 52,935 | 1,063 | 33.80 | 433 | 115,000 | [97] |
| 2006 | 60,151 | 1,103 | 36.47 | 458 | 127,000 | [98] |
| 2007 | 64,400 | 1,083 | 48.58 | 488 | 127,000 | [99] |
| 2008 | 72,483 | 1,283 | 36.93 | 512 | 137,000 | [100] |
| 2009 | 71,422 | 1,086 | 42.23 | 527 | 142,000 | [101] |
| 2010 | 77,946 | 1,303 | 52.22 | 540 | 147,000 | [102] |
| 2011 | 88,915 | 1,462 | 60.96 | 592 | 164,000 | [103] |
| 2012 | 99,137 | 1,709 | 78.29 | 608 | 174,000 | [104] |
| 2013 | 105,156 | 2,039 | 95.38 | 634 | 184,000 | [105] |
| 2014 | 112,640 | 2,058 | 114.90 | 663 | 195,000 | [106] |
| 2015 | 116,199 | 2,377 | 136.72 | 686 | 205,000 | [107] |
| 2016 | 118,719 | 2,350 | 137.10 | 715 | 218,000 | [108] |
| 2017 | 129,025 | 2,679 | 167.77 | 741 | 231,000 | [108] |
| 2018 | 141,576 | 3,134 | 185.54 | 768 | 245,000 | [54] |
| 2019 | 152,703 | 3,659 | 270.33 | 782 | 254,000 | [109] |
| 2020 | 166,761 | 4,002 | 358.50 | 795 | 273,000 | [55] |
| 2021 | 195,929 | 5,007 | 544.25 | 815 | 288,000 | [56] |
| 2022 | 226,954 | 5,844 | 440.54 | 838 | 304,000 | [110][111] |
| 2023 | 242,290 | 6,292 | 656.27 | 871 | 316,000 | [2] |
| 2024 | 254,453 | 7,367 | 954.07 | 890 | 333,000 | [112] |
| 2025 | 275,235 | 8,099 | 914 | 341,000 | [4] |
In 2011, Costco's highest-volume store was inSeoul, South Korea.[113] In 2018, the store inTaichung, 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 ranked in the top 10 in the world in sales volume: Taichung,Neihu, andChungho.[114]
Costco is mainly owned by institutional investors, who own over 70% of shares. The largest shareholders as of September 2024 are:[115]
Costco is a membership-only warehouse in which customers must buy a membership to access the warehouse and make purchases. Revenue from membership fees accounts for the majority of the company's profits, accounting for over 72% of the company'snet operating income in fiscal years 2022 and 2023, and 65.5% in fiscal year 2024.[116][a]
Costco divides its business into three segments for the purpose of reporting revenue and operating income. The segments, ordered by size, are:[117]
One company rule states that no regular item may bemarked up more than 14% over cost and noKirkland Signature item may be marked up more than 15% over cost.[118] The company runs very lean, withoverhead costs at about 10% of revenue and profit margins at 2%.[118] For example, Costco has nopublic relations department and buys no outside advertising.[118]
Costco's sales model is to focus on limited selection over variety.[118] Although consumer products often come inmany 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.[118] Thus, a typical Costco warehouse carries only 3,700 distinct products, while a typicalWalmart Supercenter carries approximately 140,000 products.[118] If thewholesale 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 sellingCoca-Cola products because the soft-drink maker refused to lower its wholesale prices.[119] Costco resumed selling Coca-Cola products the following month.[120][121] Finally, Costco insists that manufacturers must package their products in large sizes and properly arrange them on pallets suitable for deployment to its warehouses.[122] However, unlike most chain stores, Costco does notsell shelf space to manufacturers.[8]
Due to its size and its selective approach to buying products, Costco has become an "arbiter" between manufacturers and consumers.[8] To some small manufacturers, the reward for jumping through numerous hoops to sell products to Costco opens the possibility of obtaining international distribution through the company's warehouses in other countries.[123] 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.[123]
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.[124]
The cost is partly driven by the cost ofreal 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.[124] Lighting costs are reduced on sunny days because most Costco locations have severalskylights. During the day, electroniclight 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.[125]
Rotisserie chickens are a major driver of customer traffic and sales for Costco, which has sold them since 1994 amid the then-rising popularity ofBoston Market.[126][127] In response to the annual growth of per-capitachicken consumption in the United States,[128] Costco opened a factory inNebraska in 2019 that implementedvertical integration across all aspects of poultry production in a bid to keep their pricing intact while maintaining consistent quality control of them.[129][130] In some international markets, Costco also offerssushi that is made in-house; the Issaquah warehouse became the first US store to have in-house sushi in 2023.[131]
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 inSeattle in 1983.[132]
Costco is known for a strongcorporate culture which encourages and rewards loyalty and promotes from within.[8][133] As of 2024, Costco claims to have a retention rate over 90% for new employees who make it to one year.[133] Many of its senior executives started 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][133] 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.[133]
At Costco headquarters in Issaquah, all 7,000 headquarters employees sit in cubicles, including the chief executive officer.[133] However, the CEO does get to have a slightly larger cubicle.[133] 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.[133] 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.[133]
Costco primarily focuses on getting members to come in to a warehouse for purchases, instead of ordering products online.[134] In November 1998, the company launched Costco Online, itsonline shopping site.[135] The site expanded to incorporateB2B e-commerce on April 17, 2001.[136][137] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Costco's online sales increased dramatically, with more online sales growth in 2020 than the previous five years combined.[138]
Costco operates online stores in only some of the countries in which it has warehouses: the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia.[5]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.[139][failed verification] In Canada, Costco usesInstacart for online grocery delivery for non–dry goods, pantry staples and household essentials.[140]
Similarly, in March 2017, Costco initiated a partnership withShipt, 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.[141] In October 2017, Costco launched same-day and two-day grocery delivery options for members.[142] 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.[143]
Costco frequently rotates its inventory, often stocking items temporarily or seasonally.[144] In 2017, Sinegal described this as a "treasure-hunt atmosphere".[8] This model creates a "sense of urgency" in shoppers toimpulsively buy a good deal as soon as they spot one because it may not be available at the next visit.[8]
Over the years, Costco has significantly expanded its range of products.[145] 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,[146][147] and clothing, tocomputer 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 inAfrica.[148]
Beyond products, many Costco warehouses feature additional services includinggas stations,pharmacies,[149]hearing aid centers,optometry and eyewear departments, and tire installationgarages.[150]
Alcohol sales at Costco vary by location due to differing regulations. In some places, separateliquor stores exist to adhere tolicensing laws, whereas in others, alcohol is available within the main warehouse alongside general merchandise. In certain states, likeTexas, liquor sales must be conducted by a separate business entity with its own staff.[151]
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 ofWashington's requirement for retailers to buy wine through thestate-controlled system.[152] 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.[153] 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.[154]
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.[155] As of October 2024, Costco employed about 30 wine stewards at its US warehouses.[155] In the 21st century, Costco has made its store openings into special events by featuring special selections of whiskey, wine, and other alcoholic beverages that are extremely rare and not normally sold at its warehouses, or extremely cheap, or both.[156][157] For the October 2024 opening of Costco's first warehouse inNapa, California, die-hard whiskey fans began camping out on the sidewalk six days in advance.[156]
International operations must navigate regional laws as well.[158] For example, Costco's first store inVictoria, 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 inWest Auckland is restricted from selling alcohol due to alocal monopoly on liquor retail.[159]
For its first four decades, Costco was a major American bookseller in its own right, in an era in which e-commerce giantAmazon and big-box bookstore chainBarnes & 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.[160][161] 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.[162]
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.[160][161] New books must be unpacked and laid out by hand on tables when released each Tuesday, while books that failed to sell must be manually collected and returned to their publishers.[160][161]
In 2022, Costco quietly closed the year-round book sections in its Alaska and Hawaii warehouses.[161] In June 2024, several publishing executives warned that in January 2025, Costco was planning to do the same across its 600 warehouses in thecontiguous United States.[160][161] 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.[160][161] This was deeply alarming to a publishing industry already facing stagnating book sales.[160] In November 2024, Costco agreed to keep year-round book sections for the time being in 100 of its 600 mainland US warehouses.[163]
Costco began selling one-ounce, 24-karatgold bars in October 2023.[164][165] While typically selling for about 2% above thespot 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[166] and aloss leader for increasing store memberships.[167]
In 2024, following the success of the gold bar products being sold, Costco began sellingplatinum.9995 fine bars as a direct-to-consumer product eligible for purchase on their website.[168]
Kirkland Signature is Costco'sprivate 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 inKirkland, Washington.[169][170] It accounts for nearly one-third of the company's sales and outpaces the growth of Costco's overall sales.[171]
In 2024, the Kirkland Signature brand recorded $86 billion in revenue.[172]
The aim of the Kirkland Signature brand was to offer products with name brand quality at discounted prices.[172][173] Costco has adopted a strategy ofco-branding certain items with well-known manufacturers to bolster consumer trust.[174] Notable co-branded products include those fromChinet,Jelly Belly,Keurig Green Mountain,Ocean Spray,Stearns & Foster,Walker's Shortbread andStarbucks.[175] Additionally, while some Kirkland Signature products maintain ageneric label, they are produced in partnership with other companies.[175]
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 establishbrand awareness among consumers.[176]
Costco Connection is a magazine sent free to Costco executive members; it can also be accessed online by anyone, free of charge.[177] 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 twoAARP magazines.[178]
The magazine was established in 1987 as a newsprint publication and converted to a magazine in 1997.[179] 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 asProcter & 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."[180]
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.[181]
Costco has an agreement withCONNECT, powered by American Family Insurance, forauto insurance,home insurance, andumbrella insurance.[182]
Costco Optical ranks as the fifth-largest optical company in the US, as of 2015[update].[183]Optometrists working at Costco locations will see patients without Costco memberships,[184] although a membership is required to fill a prescription at the optical department.[185]
Costco Travel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Costco Wholesale and offers leisure travel to Costco members of the United States and Canada.[186] The program offers vacation packages to the Caribbean, Europe, Florida, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico, and the South Pacific.[187]
If you raise the [price of the] effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.
In 1985, Costco began to sell freshly prepared food through ahot dog cart at its original Seattle warehouse.[26] Most Costco locations now have afood court.[189] They can be indoors or outdoors,[190] but the menu is essentially the same: hot dog with drink (one of the most popular items), pizza, frozen yogurt/ice cream,Coca-Cola beverages, baked items, and sandwiches.[191][192] Costco offersits signature quarter-pound 100% beef hot dog and 20 US fluid ounces (590 ml) drink (with refills) forUS$1.50, the same price since 1985. Some US locations also offerPolish sausage orbratwurst in addition to hot dogs, at the same $1.50 price.[193][194][195]
The hot dog sausages werekosher and supplied byHebrew National and Sinai Kosher until 2009, when supply issues[196] and low profit margins[188] led Costco to start producing them in-house under the Kirkland Signature label to maintain the $1.50 price.[195] 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 isC$1.50.[197] In Mexico, the hot dog is made of 100% beef and includes a drink (with refills) forMXN$35. In the UK, the hot dog is also made from beef, and customers 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.[195] 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.[198]
In a July 2024 interview, CEO Ron Vachris reiterated Costco's commitment to theUS$1.50 price point for the hot dog combo and promised that the price would not rise on his watch.[133]
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, fruitsmoothies,latte freeze (without chocolate), mocha freeze (with chocolate), and chocolate chunkcookies (replacement of twistedchurros) are offered at all United States locations.[199] Some food court items are only available in certain countries.[200] For example, thebulgogi bake and mango boba tea are only available in Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan;[201]poutine is available in Canada and France. There are, however, temporary menu items available exclusively in several countries, like thepastor taco-toppedpizzas in Mexico.[202][203]
| Original Item | Replacement Item |
|---|---|
| Frozen yogurt | Vanillaice cream (with addition of chocolate saucesundae) in mid-2021[204] |
| Turkey provolone | No longer offered |
| Twisted churro | Replaced with dual-flavor churro in late 2020/early 2021,[204] but was discontinued and was replaced by chocolate chunkcookies in January 2024[205] |
| Chicken Caesar salad | New version introduced in late 2023[206] |
| Chicken bake | Reintroduced in late 2020;[207] 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, thepretzel was replaced by the churro.[208] In April 2013,Pepsi replaced allCoca-Cola fountain drinks sold at US locations because Coke had raised its prices; this helped keep the hot dog combo with soda at its originalUS$1.50 price;[209] however, in late 2024, it was reported that Costco would be reverting to Coca-Cola products in early 2025.[210] Warehouses began the transition in July 2025.[192]
Costco started selling acheeseburger with a1⁄3-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 ofShake Shack.[211][212] The cheeseburger was not successful; its availability only spread to around a dozen locations before it was discontinued in 2020.[213] Amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, Costco enacted safety measures for its food courts in March 2020, removing the seating areas and drastically reducing the food court menu to just hot dogs and pizza.[204] Diced onion returned as a topping in May 2023, but it was offered in plastic cups instead of thecrank-driven onion dispensers present pre-pandemic.[214][215] The combo pizza was also removed as a menu item in 2020; it was indirectly replaced in May 2025 by a combocalzone, which received mixed reception regarding its $6.99 price.[216][217]
On April 1, 2016, in the US,Citigroup became the exclusive issuer of Costco's branded credit cards. Before that, Costco credit cards had been issued byAmerican Express since 2001, and Costco acceptedonly 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.[218][219][220] In Canada, Costco ended its AmEx relationship in 2014, and starting in 2015,[221] it partnered withCapital One Mastercard for branded credit cards.[222] In 2020, Capital One announced it would be ending the partnership in late 2021.[223] It was announced that beginning in March 2022, Costco will begin a partnership with CIBC Mastercard.[224] Costco branded credit cards from both issuers also serve as alternate Costco membership cards, with a customized reverse side containing membership info.[225]
In March 2021, Costco started selling audiobooks and launched a corresponding iOS and Android app to listen to purchases.[226] 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.[227]
 | This section needs to beupdated. 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 byTeamsters,[228] the majority of Costco locations are not unionized, although there was a drive in 2012 to unionize some locations in Canada.[229] The Teamsters report that over 15,000 Costco employees are union members.[230] 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 hadhealth insurance, compared with less than fifty percent at Walmart and Target.[231] Health benefits include coverage throughAetna,[232] remote primary care throughTeladoc, second opinions and clinical navigation by Grand Rounds, varieties of health insurance agencies with Custom Benefit Consultants Inc. (CBC),[232] 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 its minimum wage, starting with $14 in 2018 to $15 in 2019. They further add that 20% of their hourly employees will be subject to the minimum wage change.[233]
A location inNorfolk, Virginia, unionized with the Teamsters in 2023.[234] The vote in Norfolk was the first successful Costco union drive in over twenty years.[235] In January 2025, the Teamsters union representing over 18,000 Costco employees voted to strike, demanding "fair wages and benefits."[236]
Costco contracts exclusively with two independent companies to provide employees forproduct demonstrations (e.g.,food samples) at Costco stores: Club Demonstration Services (CDS)[237] and Warehouse Demo Services (WDS).[238][239] 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.[240] Product demonstrations at Costco stores in the United States were halted in March 2020 amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, with some Costco CDS employees shifted to cleaning tasks before all were laid off when CDS temporarily ceased operations the following month;[241][242] they were rehired as Costco started resuming demonstrations at select stores in June 2020, with all US stores resuming demonstrations by June 2021.[243][244]
The first Costco Home warehouse opened in December 2002, inKirkland, Washington.[245][246] 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 asFortunoff orCrate & Barrel. The Costco Home warehouses sold furniture, housewares, kitchen products and accessories from higher-end brands such as Lexington,Ralph Lauren andWaterford[247] in a warehouse-club setting. Like traditional Costco warehouses, Costco Home was a cash-and-carry format with onsite inventory available for immediate pickup, meaning that members could collect and take items home with them that same day.[245] A second warehouse opened in 2004 inTempe, Arizona.[246]
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 inPortland, Oregon.[246][248]
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.[249] The company pulled out of an agreement to build the Manhattan store later that year after cost increases and local protests.[250] The concept was revived in late 2002 for a store inBellevue, Washington, near its Issaquah headquarters, at a formerKmart. 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.[251] 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 requireddaylighting an underground creek.[252][253]
In 2010,Mercy for Animals conducted an undercover investigation at Buckeye Veal Farm, aveal supplier to Costco.[254] Immediately following the investigative release, Costco adopted a policy against purchasing veal from producers that use the crate-and-chain production method.[255] The case prompted Ohio lawmakers to vote in favor of a veal crate phase-out in the state.[256] In 2012, Mercy for Animals conducted another undercover investigation of a pork supplier to major retailers such as Costco,Walmart,Safeway,Kroger, andKmart.[257] Before the public release of the investigation, Costco announced they would begin requiring their pork suppliers to phase outgestation crates.[258][259]
In 2015, theHumane Society of the United States conducted an undercover investigation at a Costco egg supplier.[260] An undercover worker atHillandale Farms, a major egg supplier to Costco, filmed conditions in which egg-laying hens lived intiny wire cages.[261] Following the investigations, several celebrities includingBrad Pitt andRyan Gosling publicly wrote to Costco to address this issue.[262] In December 2015, following efforts by animal protection nonprofits includingThe Humane League,[263] Costco released an updated commitment to source exclusively cage-free eggs in its operations.[264]
In 2016, theanimal rights groupDirect Action Everywhere (DxE) reported cannibalism and high mortality at a cage-free Costco egg supplier.[265][266] Costco denied the allegations, but the video sparked a discussion aboutanimal welfare problems continuing to exist at cage-free egg farms.[265] Writing inThe Huffington Post, DxE co-founderWayne 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.[267]
In October 2020, Costco dropped Chaokohcoconut milk over allegations offorced 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.[268]
In December 2020, Costco announced plans to end the use ofbattery 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.[269][270] 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%."[271]
In February 2021, an undercover investigation byMercy for Animals showed chickens at a Costco facility inNebraska unable to move, sitting in feces, and covered withchemical burns.[272]New York Times opinion columnistNicholas Kristof covered the investigation, accusing Costco of keeping prices low "in part by developing chickens that effectively are bred to suffer."[273] In June 2022, two Costco shareholders represented by theanimal rights organizationLegal Impact for Chickens sued Costco executives for breach offiduciary duty. The lawsuit claimed that the company's use of fast-growing breeds violatesanimal welfare laws inNebraska andIowa, undermining Costco's appeal to consumers.[272]
In 2014, theUS Department of Justice and theUnited States Environmental Protection Agency alleged that Costco had failed to promptly repair leaks from its refrigeration equipment of the refrigerantchlorodifluoromethane at its stores. Costco paid a fine ofUS$335,000 and agreed to spend $2 million over three years to fix refrigerant leaks and make improvements at 274 stores.[274]
Costco was criticized in 2019 by theNatural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) andSumOfUs for using virgin Canadianboreal 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.[275][276]
In August 2023, theEnvironment Agency of Iceland fined CostcoISK 20 million for a diesel spill originating from a gas station inGarðabær, which contaminated theHafnarfjörður sewage system.[277]
In 2014,The Guardian reported that Costco was a client ofCharoen 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.[278][279][280][281]
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.[282][283] The company was later fined ₩30 million by theMinistry of Employment and Labor.[284]
In November 2025,California fined Costco and its delivery contractors US$868,128 for labor violations involving the misclassification of delivery drivers as independent contractors.[285]
In September 2016, Costco self-disclosed conduct to theOffice of Inspector General after its pharmacy inWaltham, Massachusetts improperly altered prescription drug claims toMedicare Part D and the Massachusetts Medicaid program that resulted in higher reimbursement than was appropriate. They paid a fine of US$340,157.25.[286] In January 2017, Costco was brought to court in the US for lax pharmacy controls in violation of theControlled 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 paidUS$11.75 million.[287]
In 2019, theOntario 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 theOntario College of Pharmacists and were fined for the misconduct.[288]
In July 2015, theUS Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled the EKO Sensible Eco Living Trash Can that Costco was selling because the black plastic protective collar in the opening on the back of the trash can could be dislodged, exposing a sharp edge. Costco was fined US$3.85 million for failing to notify the commission about the defect, despite receiving 92 complaints about the trash can, including 60 complaints from those who sustained injuries.[289]
In 2017, Costco and Acushnet Holdings sued each other over their golf balls.[290][291]
In August 2017, a federal judge ordered a "deceptive" Costco to payTiffany & Co. US$19.4 million for misleading consumers into thinking they could buy legitimate Tiffany merchandise at warehouse club prices.[292][293] The decision was vacated in the appeals court which noted that Tiffany did not prove that customers were actually misled, and the case was later settled out of court.[294]
In September 2020,CBS News reported that Costco had stopped sellingPalmetto Cheese after the owner of thepimento cheese brand calledBlack 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.[295]
In 2023, theKaohsiung Department of Health fined Costco numerous times for selling bags of mixed berries imported into Taiwan that tested positive forHepatitis A. Costco was fined a total of NT12.5 million and was temporarily barred from selling mixed berries in the country.[296] 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".[297]
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.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
