The first Costco store opened in Seattle in 1983. However, the company‘s roots trace back to Price Club, which pioneered the membership-based warehouse club concept in 1976. These two companies merged in 1993 to form Costco Wholesale Corporation. The business model is built on charging customers an annual membership fee in exchange for offering a limited selection of high-quality products at prices very close to wholesale.

Today, Costco is one of the largest retailers in the world, boasting an incredibly stable revenue stream and high customer loyalty thanks to the membership fees at the core of its business model. The fact that it derives most of its profit from memberships, not product sales, allows it to sell products at almost cost. The company is known for offering high quality at low prices, especially through its private-label brand “Kirkland Signature,” and for paying its employees wages above the industry average.