News Release

February 6, 2003 at 4:04 AM EST

Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports January Sales Results

ISSAQUAH, Wash., Feb 6, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Costco Wholesale Corporation (Nasdaq: COST) today reported net sales of $2.97 billion for the four weeks ended February 2, 2003, an increase of 9 percent from $2.73 billion in the same four-week period of the prior fiscal year.

For the first 22 weeks of its 2003 fiscal year ended February 2, 2003, the Company reported net sales of $17.39 billion, an increase of 8 percent from $16.13 billion during the comparable period of the prior fiscal year.

Comparable sales for the 4-week and 22-week periods ended February 2, 2003 were as follows:

                   4 Weeks        22 Weeks
                 ------------  --------------
US                         4%              3%
International             13%              6%
Total Company              5%              3%
                 ============  ==============

The Company plans to release its February sales results and its second quarter fiscal year 2003 operating results on March 5, 2003. A conference call to discuss these second quarter results is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. (PST) on March 5th, and will be available via a webcast on www.costco.com (click on Customer Service, Investor Relations, Financial Releases and lastly the "Live Webcast" icon).

Costco currently operates 412 warehouses, including 304 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 61 in Canada, 15 in the United Kingdom, five in Korea, three in Taiwan, three in Japan and 21 in Mexico. The Company also operates Costco Online, an electronic commerce web site, at www.costco.com. The Company plans to open an additional 12 to 14 new warehouses, including the relocation of 4 warehouses to larger and better-located facilities, prior to the end of its fiscal year 2003 on August 31, 2003.

CONTACT: Costco Wholesale Corporation Richard Galanti, 425/313-8203 Bob Nelson, 425/313-8255 Jeff Elliott, 425/313-8264 URL: http://www.businesswire.com Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet with Hyperlinks to your home page.