20 things you didn’t know about Costco
If there’s one word that most accurately describes Costco, it’s big. Its stores are big; its products are big; it’s the second-biggest retailer in the world (after Walmart); and it sells more prime and choice beef, rotisserie chicken, organic foods, and wine than any other retailer. So yeah, it’s big. But even if you’re an Executive Member who knows exactly what time to arrive for that rotisserie-roasted fowl, we bet that there’s still a lot you didn’t know about this big-box chain.
20 Things You Didn’t Know About Costco (Gallery)
If you’ve been shopping at Costco since the ‘90s, you probably remember its original name: Price Club. Founded by an entrepreneur named Sol Price (yes, there was an actual Price) in 1976 in San Diego, in 1993, Price Club acquired a competitor called Costco, which was founded in 1983 by two wholesale and retail distributors named Jim Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman. The new company was called PriceCostco for a few years after the merger, but since 1997 all locations have just been called Costco.
Today, there are 746 Costco locations around the world (518 of those in the US), and walking into one is like stepping into a whirlwind. Palettes of all kinds of merchandise are stacked as high as the tall ceilings, the food court is always bustling, hawkers are tempting you with free samples, and seemingly every type of merchandise, from furniture to books to electronics to baked goods to (in many locations) liquor, is there for the taking. Good luck sticking to your shopping list!
Read on for 20 things you didn’t know about Costco.
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