The 10 largest retail chains in the world have sold more than $ 1.4 trillion in goods over the past 12 months. And 70% of this amount, or about $ 1 trillion, fell on the 5 largest representatives of the United States.
At the same time, at the end of 2017, a record number of stores were closed in the United States – 6,885 points were closed. In mid-October 2018, the American retail chain Sears Holding filed for bankruptcy.
The undisputed leaders are companies selling consumer goods. Another trend in recent years is the active development of online trading. Traditional retailers are forced to spend huge amounts of money on the development of Internet services and digital technologies in order to maintain an advantage over the growing Internet retailers such as Amazon. By the way, we did not include it in the rating, because the company’s business is very diversified and it generates its revenue ($ 752 billion) not only through retail, but also through other industries, for example, cloud technologies.
Largest Retail Chains
10th place
In 10th place is the American multi-brand retailer Target with revenue of $ 75.1 billion over the past 12 months. The company owns a large chain of economy class retail hypermarkets, which are popular in the United States and around the world due to affordable prices and the widest range of general goods. Her motto remains unchanged: “Expect more, pay less.”
9th place
The largest Japanese retailer Aeon ranked 9th in the ranking. The company’s revenue for the year reached $ 775 billion. Aeon operates a retail chain of stores that sell a variety of goods, including food and home furnishings. The chain stores are located in Japan, Malaysia, China (including Hong Kong), Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc. The bulk of the revenue is generated by department stores and supermarkets.
8th place
Tesco is the UK’s largest grocery and non-food retailer. Its revenue over the past 12 months amounted to $ 82.4 billion. The company has more than 6,800 stores of various formats: from a hypermarket to a convenience store. Tesco employs 300,000 employees in the UK alone and over 440,000 people worldwide.
7th place
The French retailer is Carrefour (Crossroads) is one of the largest retailers in Europe. Over the past year, the company’s revenue amounted to $ 92.4 billion. The network has 12 350 points of sale in more than 30 countries and regions, which are visited daily by 1.3 million customers.
6th place
Home Depot Inc, an American hypermarket chain that is the world’s largest selling repair tools and building materials, took 6th place in the ranking. The company’s revenue was $ 105.6 billion. The company owns 2,284 retail outlets in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China. Home Depot also offers equipment rental and professional renovation services to its customers.
5th place
The Schwarz Group is a German family-owned company with brands such as Lidl and Kaufland. Lidl is a supermarket chain with more than 10,000 stores in 29 countries. In addition to a wide range of food products, Lidl stores also sell clothes and shoes, household goods and cosmetics, children’s clothing and toys, household appliances and electronics. Kaufland is a hypermarket chain with a presence in Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Romania, Australia and Bulgaria. The entire group operates 3,200 stores. The retail network has been holding the lead among retailers in terms of revenue in the eurozone for several years. In the 2017/2018 fiscal year, the company’s revenue was $ 115.9 billion, of which Lidl accounted for $ 89.2 billion, and Kaufland’s sales amounted to $ 26.7 billion.
4th place
The 4th place is occupied by the American supermarket chain – Kroger Co. The company’s revenue over the past 12 months amounted to $ 124.2 billion. 94% of the company’s total sales come from grocery retail. Kroger Co owns 2,769 grocery stores under various brands. The company also owns a chain of jewelry stores, food businesses and pharmacies.
3rd place
Walgreens Boots Alliance – the world’s largest pharmacy company – came in third with a record of $ 131.5 billion in the last 12 months. The WBA operates more than 18,000 pharmacies and cosmetics, perfumery and personal care stores in 11 countries. The company is also the largest pharmaceutical distributor, owning about 390 distribution centers, from where medicines and other goods are delivered to more than 200 thousand pharmacies and medical centers located in 20 countries.
2nd place
The second largest cash & carry chain in the United States – Costco Wholesale Corp. Over the past 12 months, the company has generated revenues of $ 141.5 billion. The format of wholesale stores for small businesses, which can also be available to individuals, continues to be popular. By purchasing an annual card, a club member gets access to goods with very attractive prices. As of August 2018, the company has 762 warehouses, of which 527 are in the USA and Puerto Rico, 100 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 28 in the UK, 26 in Japan, 15 in South Korea, 13 in Taiwan, 10 in Australia. , 2 in Spain, 1 in France and 1 in Iceland.
1 place
American Walmart has been holding the palm for many years. The chain’s revenues over the past 12 months amounted to $ 511.8 billion. Today this retailer has 11,700 retail stores, represented under 55 trademarks in 27 countries. There are retail outlets in the USA, Canada, Mexico, as well as in China, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, India, Japan and Great Britain.