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Costco Opens First Warehouse Store in England: Offering bargains on items ranging from canned beans to Margaret Thatcher’s memoirs, Costco of Kirkland, Wash., opened Britain’s first warehouse shopping club at a site near London to spearhead the company’s planned expansion into Europe. Costco, recently merged with Price Club of San Diego, overcame legal challenges from Britain’s major supermarket chains to open the store. The U.S. group will own 60% of the new venture, while Britain’s largest privately owned company, Littlewoods, and French retail giant Carrefour SA will each have 20%.