Costco is a multinational corporation owned by Americans, which deals with warehouse clubs that are only restricted to members. In other words, Costco is known as the Costco wholesale corporation. The corporation has many openings worldwide and in many locations as well. Many exclusive products can be found in one place with a large variety of selections. All merchandise sold at Costco is discounted for all the members, for they all pay a membership fee.
In some countries, wholesale, retail corporations are referred to as supermarkets, and they operate like Costco. Costco deals with a variety of products merchandise, among others. Examples of what is retailed under Costco include; furniture, groceries, automotive supplies, office supplies, housewares, books, jewelry, beauty products, toys, appliances, hardware, candy, and tires, among others. All the above-mentioned products have a 100% guarantee to satisfy clients, and that is the joy of purchasing products from Costco.
Currently, Costco is one of the largest retailer corporations in the world, with its headquarters based at Issaquah, Washington. The beginning of Costco can be traced from 1976, and this is the year when Sol Price, which is one of the earliest warehouse retailing clubs, opened its first club in San Diego.
In 1983 however, the first Costco was opened by both Jeffry H. Brotman and James D. Sinegal in Seattle. In 1993, the Price Company and Costco merged, forming the Costco Companies, Inc. The adoption of the current corporate name was done in the year 1999.
The founders of Costco
Costco was founded by two gentlemen that is Jeffry H. Brotman and James D. Sinegal, in 1983.
Jeffry H. Brotman
Jeffry was born in 1942 in Tacoma to both Bernie and Pearl Brotman. He has one brother named Michael. Unfortunately, his father and mother died in 1975 and 1996, respectively. His father was a retailer, and he dealt with 18 stores in Washington and Oregon together with his brothers. In addition to the stores, his father owned the Seattle Knitting Mills.
The idea of Costco belonged to Jeffry’s father. Jeffry attended the University of Washington, where he graduated with a degree in political science in 1964. Later, he also attended the University of Washington School Of Law and graduated in 1967. He decided to do law to escape the retail business, but eventually, he and his brother Michael started a jeans store where they sold young women’s jeans around the 1980s.
In the mid-1990s, the two brothers also operated a store that dealt with men’s wear. In 1983, he became the co-founder of Costco and eventually the chairperson of the Costco wholesale corporation. He dealt with the real estate side of the Costco business, while his co-founder dealt with the finances and the company’s operations. He died at the age of 74 in 2017 in the United States.
James D. Sinegal
James was born in 1936 in Pittsburgh. His father worked as a steelworker and a coal miner. He attended San Diego University in 1959; at the same time, he worked at Fed-Mart as a bagger. He is the co-founder of Costco alongside Jeffry H. Brotman. He was also the director of Costco Wholesale Corporation before he retired in December 2012.
He started in retail when he was 18 years old back in college when he worked for Sol Price. He worked there for 30 years before starting Costco together with his co-founder. Under his leadership, Costco has opened up stores in 42 states with around 649 warehouses/stores.
The corporation is known widely as a good employer, with James as its CEO earning less than other CEOs. James believed that there should not be a large margin in salaries between the executive employees and other employees. He has an estimated net worth of $ 2 billion. Since his retirement as CEO, he now works as an advisor at Costco.
Who owns Costco?
Ownership of Costco is distributed among shareholders and investors. The shareholders with the most shares own a large part of the corporation. Most of the company’s stock is associated with institutional investors. Currently, the biggest shareholder is the Vanguard Group, Inc., with around 8.9 %. The shareholders include some public ownership as well as insider ownership.
There are more than 25 shareholders in Costco. The second shareholder has 6.3% ownership/shares of the corporation, while the third-largest shareholder has ownership of 4.2%.
Shareholders of COSTCO
- The Vanguard Group, Inc.
- BlackRock Fund Advisors
- SSgA Funds Management, Inc.
- Fidelity Management & Research Co.
- Bank of America Corp.
- Geode Capital Management LLC
- Northern Trust Investments, Inc.
- Capital Research & Management Co.
- Norges Bank Investment Management
Costco Memberships
- Business Executive Membership
- Gold Star Executive Membership
- Business Membership
- Gold Star Membership
- Gift of Gold Star Membership
- Costco Shop Card
What makes Costco stand out from other retailing corporations?
- Costco earns most of its money from membership since money made from sales is little. This means that Costco makes a profit before it even sells anything.
- The corporation focuses on its member’s loyalty, and that has helped it beat most of its competitors.
- Costco does not budget for advertisements. Many organizations and businesses need to advertise their goods to get good sales; in Costco, the membership fee does all the magic. Most of the members always go back to the shops to get justice for their membership, and as a result, sales are taken good care of.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is the Costco Member Prescription Program?
This is a form of discount card program that enables Costco members and their dependents the chance to get medications that have lower prices.
2. Who qualifies as an eligible dependent?
Any individual under the age of 18 and whose parent or guardian is a member of Costco.
3. What is Costco known for?
Costco is known for its warehouse clubs that provide merchandise that is discounted for members. It is also known for being one of the largest and best retailers in the world.
4. What is the best day to shop or go to Costco?
According to most Costco members, between Tuesday and Thursday would be the best time.
