Wal-Mart, Kroger, Target Lead Top 100 Retail List
STORES magazine released its annual list of the Top 100 Retailers , compiled by Kantar Retail and ranked by 52/53-week annual retail sales. In all instances, sales used to rank companies are for retail activity in the United States only.
The first 10 spots on the list hold the same names as last year in pretty much the same order, except that Sears Holdings and Best Buy swapped the ninth and tenth positions. While they operate in a variety of retail sectors — and some showed sales gains while others sustained a drop in revenues — all experienced positive earnings in their most recently completed fiscal years.
The Top 10 list is published here. Scroll down for an abbreviated version of the full STORES magazine article on why these leaders lead and how they plan to address growth challenges.
| Rank | Company | 2010 U.S. Retail Sales | Change (’09 vs.’10) |
| 1 | Wal-Mart | $307,736,000 | 0.6% |
| 2 | Kroger | $78,326,000 | 6.4% |
| 3 | Target | $65,815,000 | 3.8% |
| 4 | Walgreen | $61,240,000 | 6.3% |
| 5 | The Home Depot | $60,194,000 | 2.2% |
| 6 | Costco | $58,983,000 | 5.5% |
| 7 | CVS Caremark | $57,464,000 | 3.5% |
| 8 | Lowe’s | $48,175,000 | 2.8% |
| 9 | Best Buy | $37,110,000 | -0.4% |
| 10 | Sears | $35,362,000 | -2.2% |
Wal-Mart, whose performance has been treated by some economists as a proxy for the behavior of U.S. consumers, has been experiencing weakness in its domestic stores, though both the Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club divisions generated operating profits last year. The company’s top 2011 priority is to achieve positive comparable store sales. At the same time, there’s a tremendous opportunity to grow in the United States through supercenters and new store formats like Walmart Express. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart announced it was buying social media company Kosmix, which is expected to boost the retail giant’s capabilities online and with smartphone applications.
Much of No. 2 Kroger’s success has been attributed to sophisticated customer data collection efforts that allow it to target core customers with promotions and offers. Kroger also continues to innovate in the sale of non-food merchandise in supermarket settings. It recently partnered with a restructured The Bombay Company to sell home furnishings products in several of its Marketplace stores.
No. 3 Target’s rollout out of fresh food and other grocery merchandise to its traditional discount stores is producing some immediate gains, and its U.S. operations are performing better than rival Walmart’s by a small degree.
Housing news doesn’t seem to be getting any better, and that’s not good for No. 5 Home Depot or No. 8 Lowe’s. Robert A. Niblock, chairman and CEO of Lowe’s, recently told shareholders that the company plans to transform the organization from a home improvement retailer into a home improvement company by providing inspiration, products and support to customers whenever and wherever they interact with Lowe’s.
To bolster revenues (if not margins), Costco will begin selling gasoline in some new markets, as lower pump prices helps recruit and retain members.
The focus for No. 7 CVS has been on righting things on the pharmacy benefits management side at Caremark Rx. A major score came recently when Caremark won a $3 billion contract to provide pharmacy benefits to federal employees.
Resting in the ninth position, Best Buy is a retailer in transition, squeezed by online competitors led by Amazon.com. As Best Buy officials have noted, the company is “increasing our presence in small format stores like Best Buy Mobile and moderating large-format store growth.”
Sears has experienced sales declines every year since merging with Kmart in 2005. President and CEO Lou D’Ambrosio says the company is “taking actions intended to leverage our suite of assets, including extending our leadership position in appliances, capitalizing on the scope of our portfolio and marquee brands … extending our lead in home services, revitalizing our Sears’ apparel business and delivering extraordinary customer experience at the store, online and in home.”
Click here to view the full Top 100 list, plus get analysis of the nation’s economy impact on the retail market.