Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world. As of August 2024, Costco is the world's largest retailer of beef, poultry, organic produce, and wine, and just under one-third of American consumers regularly shop at Costco warehouses. Costco is ranked #11 on the
Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Costco originally began with a wholesale business model aimed at enrolling businesses as members, then also began to enroll individual consumers and sell products intended for them, including its own private label brand.