Who are the world’s biggest 50 retailers?
The retail industry is marked by intense competition and has undergone a significant transformation in less than a decade.
Almost all the leading retail brands worldwide including those with a dominantly physical presence have adopted digital format as demand and consumption patterns have shifted.
Globally, customers prefer digital channels for shopping since the pandemic.
The retailers that quickly pivoted to online solutions were able to capitalize upon the opportunities offered by the pandemic.
In 2020, most of the leading 25 retailers globally, who had existing strong digital capabilities experienced online sales growth of more than 50%.
Five of the US based retailers experienced more than double growth in their online sales during the pandemic.
Fashion retailers on the other hand were hurt badly by the reduced sales during the pandemic.
The list below includes the top 50 retailers of the world based on their 2019 revenues from retail operations.
The list is dominated by retailers based in the United States and includes some from other markets like United Kingdom, Canada, China, France and Japan.
| Retail Brand | 2019 Retail Revenues (Millions $) | Country of Origin |
| 1. Walmart | $523,964 | United States |
| 2. Amazon | $158,439 | United States |
| 3. Costco | $ 152,703 | United States |
| 4. Schwarz Group | $126,124 | Germany |
| 5. The Kroger Co. | $121,539 | United States |
| 6. Walgreens Boots Alliance | $115,994 | United States |
| 7. The Home Depot | $110,225 | United States |
| 8. Aldi | $106,326 | Germany |
Top 10 brands in the list include 8 brands based in the United States, with Walmart and Amazon at the top. Apart from these, there are two brands from Germany and one from United Kingdom that made it to the top ten list.
The top 25 list also includes retailers from China, Japan, Netherlands, France and Australia,
The US retail industry experienced several major changes in 2020 compared to the previous year.
The share of online retailing in 2020 grew to 16.1% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to 11.8% in the first quarter of 2020 according to a Deloitte report.
The US economy had grown weaker towards the end of 2020 despite the falling number of virus infections.
| 9. CVS Health corporation | $86,608 | United States |
| 10. Tesco PLC | $81,347 | United Kingdom |
| 11. Target Corporation | $77,130 | United States |
| 12. Ahold Delhaize | $74,160 | Netherlands |
| 13. JD.com | $73,909 | China |
| 14. Aeon co. | $72,711 | Japan |
| 15. Lowe’s | $72,148 | United States |
| 16. Albertson’s companies | $62,455 | United States |
For a large number of retailers included in this list, the pandemic was nothing less than a storm that disrupted physical operations and caused revenues and profits to decline.
| 17. Edeka verbund | $61,221 | Germany |
| 18. Seven & iHoldings | $58,552 | Japan |
| 19. Rewe Group | $55,772 | Germany |
| 20. Auchan Holding SA | $51,264 | France |
| 21. Best Buy | $43,638 | United States |
| 22. Centres Distributeurs E. Leclerc | $43,426 | France |
| 23. LVMH Moët HennessyLouis Vuitton S.A. | $41,810 | France |
| 24. Woolworths Limited | $41,778 | Australia |
| 25. The TJX Companies, Inc | $41,717 | United States |
| 26. IKEA | $41,580 | Netherlands |
| 27. Casino Guichard-Perrachon S.A. | $38,775 | France |
| 28. Publix Super Markets | $38,463 | United States |
| 29. Suning.com | $36,707 | China |
| 30. J Sainsbury Plc. | $36,303 | United Kingdom |
| 31. Loblaw companies ltd. | $35,493 | Canada |
| 32. ITM Développement International | $35,435 | France |
| 33. Inditex | $31,584 | Spain |
| 34. H-E-B Grocery Company LP | $28,200 | United States |
| 35. Dollar general | $27,754 | United States |
| 36. X5 retail group | $26,791 | Russia |
| 37. Mercadona SA. | $26,146 | Spain |
| 38. Metro AG | $25,350 | Germany |
| 39. Coles Group | $25,063 | Australia |
| 40. Migros-Genossenschafts Bund | $24,968 | Switzerland |
| 41. H&M | $24,688 | Sweden |
| 42. Macy’s | $24,560 | United States |
| 43. Groupe Adeo SA | $24,450 | France |
| 44. Ceconomy AG | $24,196 | Germany |
| 45. Dollar Tree | $23,611 | United States |
| 46. Coop Group | $23,339 | Switzerland |
| 47. Système U, Centrale Nationale | $22,922 | France |
| 48. Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC | $22,400 | United Kingdom |
| 49. A.S. Watson Group | $21,597 | HongKong |
| 50. Jeronimo Martins | $20,860 | Portugal |
There are 6 German brands that are included in the world’s top 50 retailers list.
They are Aldi, Metro AG, Ceconomy AG, Rewe group, Adeka Verbund, and Schwarz Group.