Sol Price and Robert Price, Sol’s son, decided to open the first Price Club in San Diego on July 12, 1976. This is the beginning of Costco’s history. That event was the start of a new idea called “retail warehouse club,” which didn’t exist back then. The family’s first Price Club was in a couple of old plane hangars that Howard Hughes used to own. There is still a Costco warehouse there, and it is now called the Costco Warehouse No. 401. (instead of the Price Club Warehouse No. 1).

costco locations

In 1983, Jeffrey H. Brotman and James Sinegal opened the first Costco warehouse in Seattle, Washington. Sinegal had worked for Sol Price at FedMart before. In the meantime, Walmart asked the Price Club to merge with its chain of warehouse stores called Sam’s Club, but the Price Club said no. In 1993, both Costco and the Price Club decided to join together. Their business models and sizes were pretty similar, so this decision didn’t seem strange. The company changed its name to PriceCostco, and club members could use their cards at both Price Club and Costco warehouses. But the Price brothers left the company in 1994 to start their own. After that, the company changed its name to the one we know today and all of its warehouses were rebranded as Costco.

Costco can now say that it has 86 million members and as many as 205,000 employees around the world. In 2012, a documentary called “The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant” came out in the United States. It was about this company. In 2016, the company made 118.7 billion dollars in sales, and Costco is worth almost 66 billion dollars on the stock market.

Costco Location Near Me

There are as many as 729 Costco warehouses in the world right now. 508 of those warehouses are working in 44 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Maine are the only U.S. states that definitely don’t have a single Costco warehouse. There are also a lot of Costco warehouses in North America and Asia. For example, there are 94 warehouses in Canada, 37 warehouses in Mexico, 25 warehouses in Japan, 13 warehouses in Taiwan, and 13 warehouses in South Korea. In addition to these warehouses, there are 28 warehouses in the UK, 8 in Australia, 2 in Spain, 1 in Iceland, and 1 in France.

So, if you want to find a Costco near me or the nearest Costco warehouse, use this map:

Costco Near Me: Membership

As it was stated above, this discount chain of warehouses is membership-only, which means that customers without a membership cannot buy almost anything in Costco warehouses – the exceptions are prescription drugs, optical prescriptions, liquor, and gasoline in American and Canadian states. Even though guests are allowed to accompany members of the club, only club members are able to pay for the goods.

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Apart from being able to buy goods in Costco warehouses, Costco cards often carry additional benefits, such as the ability to buy more Costco cards, vehicle insurance, travel benefits, home loans, and check printing services. As of 2017, the cost of membership equaled:

  • $60 in the United States for a Gold Star individual card, as well as $60 for Business membership, which can be upgraded a year later to Executive membership for an additional $60 per year.
  • Only certain groups of people can apply for a Costco membership in the United Kingdom: trade membership costs 20 GBP and is available to owners and managers of businesses, while qualified and skilled professionals (solicitors, magistrates, surveyors, pharmacists, opticians, engineers, doctors, dentists, architects, and accountants) may apply for individual membership for them and their partners/spouces for 25 GBP.
  • In Spain, Business membership costs 25 Euro per year and Gold Star membership costs 30 Euro per year.
  • Gold Star membership in Mexico costs 450 Mexican pesos, while Executive membership is priced at 1000 Mexican pesos.
  • In Canada, Gold Star and Executive memberships cost 60 and 120 Canadian dollars respectively.
  • In Australia, Gold Star and Business memberships cost 60 and 55 Australian dollars respectively.

Costco Opening Hours

Once you have found Costco near me, you may need to get to know when a particular Costco warehouse is open. Even though it would be better for you to check the official website for this information (because this information may change and Costco warehouses in different places tend to function according to different schedules), typical Costco warehouse hours are the following:

  • From 10:00 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. on workdays;
  • From 9:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. on Saturdays;
  • From 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. on Sundays.

Costco Coupons, Promo Codes & Deals

You can do more than just take advantage of the obvious deals that come with being a member of the Costco club. First, read this information on the website of company. You can also find really good deals (saving up to 80% on each product) on the following websites:

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