Name: The Costco Story || Learn English With Podcast || Level 2 || Improve Your English Fluency ✅
Uploaded: 2026-02-27T15:40:40.000Z
Duration: 41 min 49 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Today you're going to discover the full story of Costco.

How a simple warehouse became a $240 billion global empire built on honesty and trust.

This video will not only inspire you, but it will also help you improve your English.

Through real storytelling, clear sentences, and

powerful vocabulary, you'll also learn about business leadership, loyalty, and why millions of people love Costco.

So before we begin, make sure to subscribe for more stories that grow your mind and your English.

The Birth of an idea 1950s-1983 the story of Costco doesn't start with Costco.

It begins much earlier, in 1954, with a man named Saul Price.

Saul Price was a lawyer from San Diego who didn't come from a rich family, but

he had a strong sense of justice and fairness.

He believed that business shouldn't be about tricking people.

In 1954, Sol founded a store called Fedmart.

It was one of the first stores in the US to use the membership model.

Customers had to be part of a group, like government workers, to shop there.

But fedmart was more than just a discount store.

No fancy advertising, no unnecessary decorations.

Just bulk products sold at low prices inside a warehouse setting.

But years later, after Saul lost control of the company, he left and started something even bolder.

In 1976, Saul Price, now in his late 50s, started a new store called Price Club in San Diego, California.

This was the real beginning of the model that would later become Costco.

Price Club was different from any store in the country at that time.

The store was in a converted airplane hangar.

The products were sold in bulk, meaning large quantities.

Customers had to pay for membership to shop.

There were no ads, no decorations, no music.

Just concrete floors, metal shelves, and big packs of useful things.

But what shocked the industry was Price Club sold items so close to the actual cost that it barely made profit on products.

It made its money from the membership fees, not from overcharging.

At first, it was created for business owners.

Only small restaurants, offices, and local shops came to Price Club to buy things in bulk.

Everyday families started asking for membership, too.

They wanted lower prices, bigger savings, no nonsense.

Sol Price agreed, and the business exploded in popularity.

While all this was happening in San Diego, a young man named Jim Sinegal had started working in the retail business.

He had started his career at fedmart, the same company Saul Price had started.

deeply Inspired by Saul Price's values, he believed in treating customers fairly, keeping prices low, keeping things simple, respecting employees.

Jim worked for years under Saul Price, learning every detail about how ethical warehouse retail worked.

Later, he also worked at Price Club, gaining more experience.

But in the early 1980s, Jim Sinegal met another man, a wealthy businessman named Jeff Brotman from Seattle.

Jeff had a vision, Jim had the experience.

Together, they were about to create something massive.

In September 1983, in Seattle, Washington, Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman opened the very first Costco warehouse.

It was built on the same core idea as Price Club.

But with a few changes, they allowed both businesses and individual customers to join.

They had even fewer products than other stores, focusing on best quality plus low prices.

They introduced the Kirkland signature idea.

They kept everything efficient, clean and fast.

Costco was not created by marketing experts.

It was created by a team who believed in fairness, logic and long term loyalty.

What Costco offered in 1983, a membership fee of $25 per year.

Concrete floors, industrial shelves, large items like toilet paper, cereal, TVs, diapers, frozen food.

Staff that were paid better than average.

0 advertisements, bulk packages, free samples.

Some didn't understand it at first, but those who walked in saw the savings and never looked back.

In just a few months, the first Costco was a success.

By the end of 1984, there were nine warehouses.

The company began expanding across the west coast of the United States, Oregon, California, Arizona.

The growth was slow compared to today's startups, but very strategic and careful.

Jim Sinegal believed in getting every detail right before opening new stores.

We're not trying to be the biggest, we're trying to be the most trusted.

Meanwhile, Price Club was still operating and it was also doing well.

But in the early 1990s, it faced some problems, including management issues and financial challenges.

Instead of becoming rivals, Costco and Price Club made a bold move.

The two companies combined under the name Price Costco.

Same values, same vision, same structure.

Saul Price's model and Jim Sinegal's leadership, United.

Price club had around 94 locations in the US and Canada.

Costco had about 77 locations, mostly in the Western US together, they now had over 170 warehouses, thousands of employees and millions of members.

There were different management styles, different supplier contracts, different systems and different visions.

Behind the scenes, there were quiet disagreements between Saul Price's family, who founded Price Club, and

they had different ideas about how fast to grow, how to handle operations and who should lead.

Eventually, the two sides peacefully separated again.

The Price family went on to start Price Smart, a separate international business.

And Costco became the final name of the unified brand.

From that point forward, it was clear Jim Sinegal was in charge.

After two years of operating under the mixed price Costco brand, the company officially changed its name in 1995 to Costco wholesale Corporation.

It was a message to the world that this company was serious about wholesale, that it would now grow with one identity and that Jim Sinegal's vision would lead the way.

Costco began streamlining operations, creating a single buying team, consolidating warehouses and training managers under one system.

This set the stage for Costco's next phase.

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The Costco Story || Learn English With Podcast || Level 2 || Improve Your English Fluency ✅

massive

panic

term

experience