The History of Costco

In 1976, Sol Price opened Price Club in a converted airplane hangar on Morena Boulevard in San Diego, California. Originally, the store only served small businesses but soon expanded its customer base to include club members who paid a fee to shop at the warehouse. In doing so, Price Club became the world’s first membership warehouse club. Jim Sinegal served as Price Club’s Executive VP of Merchandising, Distribution, and Marketing and played a key role in the store's success. Then in the early '80s, he co-founded Costco with Jeff Brotman. The first Costco location opened in Seattle in 1983. Costco quickly rocketed to success, becoming the first-ever company to grow from $0 to $3 billion in sales in under 6 years. In 1993, Costco and Price Club merged and began operating under the name PriceCostco; at the time, there were 206 stores in operation. In 1997, the chain switched back to using the Costco name. Since then, the warehouse retail chain has expanded worldwide and continued to grow in popularity. Today, Costco is one of the world’s most successful membership warehouse clubs with a very loyal customer base and is known for its quality products and employee-focused practices.