James Sinegal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids James Sinegal
James Sinegal in 2013
Born	James D. Sinegal (1936-01-01) January 1, 1936 (age 89) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	San Diego City College (AA) San Diego State University (BA)
Occupation	Retired businessman and retail executive
Known for	Co-founder and former CEO of Costco
Successor	W. Craig Jelinek
Spouse(s)	Janet Sinegal
Children	3

James D. Sinegal was born on January 1, 1936. He is an American businessman. He is best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Costco Wholesale Corporation. Costco is a huge international store chain. James Sinegal was the president and CEO of Costco from 1983 until 2011. He was known for caring a lot about his customers and employees. He believed that happy employees would make customers happy too.

Early Life and School

James D. Sinegal was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His family was Catholic and worked hard. He went to St. Lawrence O'Toole primary school. He also attended Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh) and Helix High School in La Mesa, California.

After high school, he earned an Associate's degree from San Diego City College in 1955. He then went to San Diego State University. He graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Building a Career in Retail

James Sinegal started working in stores in 1955. His first job was bagging groceries at a store called FedMart. He quickly realized he loved the retail business. He was excited by how fast the company was growing. He worked his way up to a high position there. He became an executive vice president. He was in charge of how products were sold and how the stores operated.

Later, he worked for other companies. He was a vice president for Builders Emporium from 1977 to 1978. Then he was an executive vice president for the Price Company from 1978 to 1979. From 1979 to 1983, he worked with his own company. It helped other businesses sell food and other products.

Founding Costco

In 1983, James Sinegal teamed up with Jeff Brotman. Jeff Brotman was a retailer from Seattle. Together, they started Costco. James Sinegal was Costco's president and CEO from 1983 until he retired in 2011.

As CEO, Sinegal was famous for visiting every Costco store each year. He wanted to check on them himself. He brought new ideas to Costco. It was the first "warehouse club" to sell fresh food. It also added eye-care clinics, pharmacies, and gas stations.

A Special Way of Leading

Sinegal learned a lot from Sol Price. Sol Price is known as the "father" of the "warehouse club" idea. Sinegal said he "learned everything" from Price. Sinegal believed in treating employees well. He thought that if employees were happy, they would treat customers well too.

Costco paid its employees much better than most other retail stores. They also offered great benefits. For example, over 90% of Costco employees could get health insurance through the company. This is much higher than the average for retail stores in the U.S. Because of this, very few employees left Costco. In 2006, only 17% of employees left the company. Only 6% left after working there for more than a year.

Changes and Growth

In 1993, Costco and Price Club faced a lot of competition. They decided to combine some of their businesses. The new company was called PriceCostco, Inc. This new company focused on opening stores in other countries. They opened stores in Mexico, South Korea, and England.

However, the two companies had different ideas about how to run things. In 1994, they decided to split up. Sinegal continued to manage PriceCostco, Inc. In 1997, the company's name was changed to Costco Wholesale.

Sinegal was not worried about people who criticized him. Some people thought he cared too much about employees and customers. They wanted him to focus more on making money for investors. But Sinegal said, "We want to build a company that will still be here 50 and 60 years from now." His focus on long-term success paid off. Costco's stock value grew a lot over the years.

In 2009, Sinegal was named a "TopGun CEO." This is a special award for top business leaders.

Retirement

James Sinegal retired as CEO of Costco Wholesale on January 1, 2012. His long-time colleague, W. Craig Jelinek, took over as CEO. Sinegal continued to advise the company and serve on its Board of Directors. He fully retired from the Board in January 2018.

Personal Life

James Sinegal is married to Janet Sinegal. They have three children. His son, David, owns a winery in St. Helena, California.

Sinegal is a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. He even spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. He has also hosted President Barack Obama at his home.

In June 2017, Sinegal received an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College. This is a special degree given to people who have achieved great things.