The price acquisition was the most significant event in Costco's history. Walmart had made Sol Price an offer to merge with Price Club. Walmart had planned to combine Price Club and its warehouse shop, Sam's Club. Costco, on the other hand, invested heavily in a merger. Price ultimately chose Costco since the two stores were comparable in size and had a similar business model. It would make the merger easier in the end. In 1993, the company was renamed PriceCostco as a result of the merger. Memberships have been mandatory at all Price Club and Costco stores. Those with Price Club memberships could also shop at Costco, and vice versa. The two stores would expand significantly and eventually have 206 locations. They generated a total of $16 billion in sales. The company's direction was set by executives from both companies. However, by 1994, the Price brothers had opted to hand up control of the company to Costco management. They focused their efforts on launching a new company named PriceSmart. Another warehouse store, but this one specialized in Central America and the Caribbean islands. It has nothing to do with the PriceCostco corporation. The PriceCostco corporation saw a few adjustments during the next few years. It decided to relocate its headquarters from Kirkland to Issaquah. In 1997, it also changed its name. PriceCostco simply changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation. All Price Club sites were renamed Costco.