Info

Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) operates membership warehouses that offer a selection of nationally branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories in self-service warehouse facilities. The Company buys the majority of its merchandise directly from manufacturers and routes it to a cross-docking consolidation point (depot) or directly to its warehouses. Costco's depots receive container-based shipments from manufacturers and reallocate these goods for combined shipment to its individual warehouses, generally in less than 24 hours. As of September 3, 2006, the Company operated 487 warehouses, including 354 in the United States and four in Puerto Rico, 68 in Canada, 18 in the United Kingdom, five in Korea, four in Taiwan, five in Japan and 29 warehouses in Mexico (through Costco Mexico, a 50%-owned joint venture).