Costco co-founder James Sinegal, who earned wide respect for building a multibillion-dollar business with an innovative operation and a loyal customer base, will talk about his entrepreneurial journey at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17 at Loyola Marymount University’s Hilton Center for Business.
How did he manage to generate profits while keeping prices low and offering employees fair wages and benefits – resisting pressures from Wall Street to mark up products and make cutbacks? Sinegal, who retired from Costco in late 2012 and today serves as a board member, will give students a unique take on his career struggles and business philosophies.
The event is part of the Hilton Distinguished Entrepreneur Lecture series sponsored by the College of Business Administration’s Fred Kiesner Center for Entrepreneurship.
“I am thrilled that Jim is our Hilton Distinguished Entrepreneur,” said David Choi, Ph.D., director of the Center for Entrepreneurship. “He is an incredible entrepreneur and a responsible business leader. He exemplifies what we try to do at LMU, which is to educate the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs with a commitment to social responsibility.”
Sinegal’s retail career began in 1954, when he got a job at 18 at Sol Price’s discount store FedMart in San Diego. He worked for Price, a pioneer of the warehouse store retail model, for almost 30 years before striking out on his own to start Costco with business partner Jeff Brotman. Their first warehouse opened in 1983 in Seattle.
Last fiscal year, Costco generated annual revenues of $116 billion. The company operates nearly 700 warehouses across the United States and Puerto Rico and in eight other countries.
