<Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> www.costco.com </Td> </Tr> <P> Costco Wholesale Corporation, trading as Costco, is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership - only warehouse clubs . As of 2015, Costco was the second largest retailer in the world after Walmart, and as of 2016, Costco was the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine . </P> <P> Costco's worldwide headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington, but the company opened its first warehouse in nearby Seattle in 1983 . Through mergers, Costco's corporate history dates back to 1976, when its former competitor Price Club was founded in San Diego, California . As of March 7, 2018, Costco had a total of 749 warehouses; In the United States (519), Canada (98), Mexico (38), United Kingdom (28), Japan (26), South Korea (14), Taiwan (13), Australia (9), Spain (2), Iceland (1) and France (1). </P> <P> Costco's history began with Sol Price and his son, Robert, opening the first Price Club warehouse on July 12, 1976, on Morena Boulevard in San Diego, California, thus giving birth to a new concept: a retail warehouse club . The Price family placed Price Club Warehouse #1 inside a series of old airplane hangars previously owned by Howard Hughes; that warehouse, now known as Costco Warehouse #401, is still in operation today . </P>

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