Not to be confused with Cosco or Cusco. Costco’s worldwide headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington, an eastern suburb of Seattle, although its Kirkland Signature house label bears the costco brisket of its former location in Kirkland. Through mergers, however, Costco’s corporate history dates back to 1976, when its former competitor Price Club was founded in San Diego, California. Brotman opened the first Costco warehouse in Seattle on September 15, 1983.

The company went public in 1985. The company was initially headquartered at its first warehouse in Seattle, but moved its headquarters to Kirkland in 1987. In 1993, Costco and Price Club agreed to merge operations themselves after Price declined an offer from Walmart to merge Price Club with their warehouse store chain, Sam’s Club. Costco’s business model and size were similar to those of Price Club, which made the merger more natural for both companies. In 1996, Costco moved its headquarters from Kirkland to Issaquah. In 1997, Costco changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation, and all remaining Price Club locations were rebranded as Costco.

In 2005, Costco replaced its first Seattle warehouse with a new warehouse on an adjacent lot. The company was able to arrange to keep the same address for the new building. On April 26, 2012, CNBC premiered its documentary, The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant. In 2014, Costco was the third largest retailer in the United States. That year Costco announced plans to open an online store in China using Alibaba Group.