46 | theceomagazine.com
TIMELINE OF COSTCO
1976 – Price Club opens in a remodelled
airplane hangar in San Diego,
California.
1979 – Second location opens, and sales
reach US$1 million.
1983 – The first Costco store opens
in Seattle, Washington.
1984 – Price Club’s sales reach
US$1 billion.
1985 – Costco opens its first Canadian
outlet in British Columbia.
1989 – The Price Company, the corporate
parent of Price Club, becomes the
third most profitable company in
the US.1992 – Price Club opens its first outlet
in Mexico City.
1993 – Price Company and Costco merge
to form PriceCostco.
1995 – Kirkland Signature, Costco’s private
label, is founded.
1997 – PriceCostco changes its name to
Costco, and opens its first location
in Taiwan.
1999 – Average annual sales per warehouse
reaches US$100 million.
2004 – Costco is listed on the Fortune
500 list at 29th place.
2007 – Costco.com sales exceed
US$1 billion.
2008 – Costco opens its first Australian
office in Sydney.