COST meaning in Business ?

Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only (needing a membership to shop there) big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2020, Costco was the fifth largest retailer in the world, and the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016. In 2021, Costco was ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

Costco's worldwide headquarters are in Issaquah, Washington, an eastern suburb of Seattle, although its Kirkland Signature house label bears the name of its former location in Kirkland. The company opened its first warehouse (the chain's term for its retail outlets) in Seattle in 1983. Through mergers, however, Costco's corporate history dates back to 1976, when its former competitor Price Club was founded in San Diego, California. As of March 2021, Costco has 804 warehouses worldwide: 558 in the United States (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico), 103 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 29 in the United Kingdom, 27 in Japan, 16 in South Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 13 in Australia, 3 in Spain, 1 in Iceland, 1 in France, and 1 in mainland China. Costco regularly opens new locations. The company plans to open warehouses in 2022 for the first time in New Zealand, and Sweden.