Visualize Costco’s global presence
Costco is a membership-based retail chain founded in 1983 in Seattle, Washington. Costco is known for its unique stores and high-quality products, offering everything from electronics to groceries.
Since its founding, Costco has become a major retailer in the United States, while greatly expanding its international presence. As of August 2023, the company has 859 global locations, with a division of 69% local (591 stores) and International 31% (268 stores).
In this graphic, we visualize Costco’s global presence through an org chart diagram.
The number of Costco stores around the world
The following table lists the number of Costco stores by country, as of August 17, 2023.
nation | Number of sites |
---|---|
๐บ๐ธ United States | 591 |
๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 107 |
๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | 40 |
๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 32 |
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | 29 |
๐ฐ๐ท Korea | 18 |
๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 15 |
๐น๐ผ Taiwan | 14 |
๐ช๐ธ Spain | 4 |
๐จ๐ณ China | 4 |
๐ซ๐ท France | 2 |
๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland | 1 |
๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | 1 |
๐ธ๐ช Sweden | 1 |
the total | 859 |
From this data we can see that Costco’s largest markets outside the United States are Canada, MexicoAnd Japan.
In fact, Costco’s first location outside the United States opened near Vancouver, British Columbia in 1985. The company expanded to Mexico several years later in 1992, and then Japan in 1999.
Costco recently turned its attention to Chinaand has opened four stores in areas around Shanghai since 2019. The reception has been very positive – as CNBC mentioned, huge crowds at the grand opening of Costco’s first store led to its early closure. The company plans to grow its Chinese presence further, with new locations planned in Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Nanjing.
For context, Costco is not the first US retail chain to break into the Chinese market. Walmart first expanded into China in 1996 with a store in Shenzhen, and as of January 2023, operates 365 stores in the country.
Sweden and New Zealand locations will open in 2022, showing that Costco’s international expansion is still very much underway.
Number of Costco stores by state
Focusing on the United States, here are the number of locations in each state.
state | number of stores |
---|---|
California | 134 |
Texas | 38 |
Washington | 33 |
Florida | 31 |
illinois | 23 |
New Jersey | 21 |
Arizona | 20 |
New York | 19 |
Georgia | 17 |
Virginia | 17 |
Michigan | 16 |
Colorado | 16 |
Utah | 14 |
Oregon | 13 |
Minnesota | 13 |
Ohio | 13 |
Maryland | 11 |
Pennsylvania | 11 |
wisconsin | 10 |
North Carolina | 10 |
Missouri | 9 |
Connecticut | 8 |
Nevada | 8 |
Indiana | 8 |
Hawaii | 7 |
Idaho | 7 |
Massachusetts | 6 |
South Carolina | 6 |
Tennessee | 6 |
Montana | 6 |
Puerto Rico | 5 |
Alabama | 4 |
Oklahoma | 4 |
Alaska | 4 |
yeah | 4 |
Kentucky | 4 |
Louisiana | 3 |
Nebraska | 3 |
New Mexico | 3 |
Kansas | 3 |
North Dakota | 2 |
Arkansas | 1 |
Mississippi | 1 |
South Dakota | 1 |
Delaware | 1 |
District of Columbia | 1 |
Vermont | 1 |
New Hampshire | 1 |
who | 0 |
rhode island | 0 |
West Virginia | 0 |
Wyoming | 0 |
The most populous US state, California, leads the nation with 134 spots (23% of the total). This is likely due to Costco’s business strategy, which relies more on membership fees and sales volume rather than high premiums on products. According to a Forbes analysis, Costco’s average profit margin is estimated at 11%while standing at Walmart at 24%.
This may explain why who, rhode island, West VirginiaAnd Wyoming You don’t have any Costco locations. Most of these states are relatively low in population density, with the exception of Rhode Island which is geographically very small.
Editor’s Note: According to local news sources, Maine is scheduled to receive its first Costco location later in 2023.
Local adaptations
While Costco locations in the United States often take the form of a traditional warehouse with ample roof-level parking, some stores in other countries deviate from this formula.
In Mexico City’s Santa Fe neighborhood, Costco’s retail space and parking are located underground, while the building’s roof serves as an extension of the building. Adjacent parkIt includes sports fields and a green roof.
Vancouver, Canada, is home to Urban Costcowhich blends into its high-density surroundings and is covered by multiple residential towers.
While the price of the company’s popular hotdog and soda range may remain the same, the company continues to adapt to changing preferences and new locations.