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SN Off the Shelf: A closer look at this year’s Top 75 Retailers report

Supermarket News offers insights and background on the annual list, hosted by executive editor Mike Browne

Michael Browne, Executive Editor

April 8, 2020

2 Min Read
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Supermarket News’ annual Top 75 Retailers report has just come out, and in our latest SN Off the Shelf podcast, Senior Editor Russell Redman and Data Content Director Alan Liddle joined me for a discussion of the numbers and trends we found this year.

The Top 75 takes an annual look at the consumables sales and store counts of 75 of the largest supermarket and non-traditional retailers and wholesalers in the United States and Canada. Below, we offer a sampling of this year’s report with a look at the top 10 companies by sales on this year’s list:

  1. Walmart Inc. $277.22 billion

  2. The Kroger Co. $117.42 billion

  3. Costco Wholesale Corp. $75.92 billion

  4. Albertsons $61.34 billion

  5. Ahold Delhaize $44.84 billion

  6. Amazon.com $42.22 billion

  7. Publix Super Markets $38.11 billion

  8. Loblaw Cos. Ltd. $35.46 billion

  9. Target Corp. $33.76 billion

  10. C&S Wholesale Grocers $32.71 billion

For a complete look at the Top 75 sales overview, as well as year-over-year dollar and percentage changes and store counts, the full report and a slideshow of all 75 companies is available for Supermarket News subscribers now.

One of the first things we noticed about this year’s Top 75 is its consistency. While overall numbers are up for just about every company on the list, there are no new companies breaking in and — except for a big jump for UNFI, which we talk about in the podcast — most of the companies are in the same position this year.

In the podcast, we also talk about the strong position of Amazon, which broke into the top 10 of grocery retailers in 2019 and continues to perform strongly, with more than 60% sales growth this year. And that’s without a significant increase in physical stores, which includes Whole Foods and Amazon Go. Other retailers we take a look at include Walmart, Target, Kroger and nontraditional grocers such as Dollar General, which continues its growth in store numbers, with 915 new units last year and an expected 1,000 more this year.

While the Top 75 looks at 2019-20 numbers, the SN team also takes a look forward as we discuss what next year’s Top 75 might look like, as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc. Based on initial year-over-year sales increases in March, we’ll probably see some huge sales jumps next year but less store growth. So far in March, we’ve seen double-digit sales growth at grocery retail — Kroger, for instance, reported a 30% increase last month. How sustainable these sales can be, and what the rest of the year might look like are still open questions.

Don't forget to subscribe to all the SN Off the Shelf podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Soundcloud.

About the Author

Michael Browne

Executive Editor, Supermarket News

Michael Browne joined Supermarket News in 2018 after serving in managing and executive editor capacities at leading B2B media brands including Convenience Store NewsLicense Global and Travel Agent. He also previously served as content production manager for print and digital in the Business Intelligence division of Informa, parent company of Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News.

As executive editor, Mike oversees the editorial content of supermarketnews.com as well as the monthly print publication. He also directs all content-based brand-related projects including the annual Top 75 Retailers report, Category Guide, Retailer of the Year, research surveys and special reports, as well as podcast and webinar content. Mike has also presented and moderated at industry events.

In addition to the positions mentioned above, Mike has also worked as a writer and/or editor for special projects at American Legal Media (ALM), managing editor for Tobacco International, special projects editor at American Banker • Bond Buyer, and as production editor for Bank Technology News and other related financial magazines and journals published by Faulkner & Gray.

A graduate of Fordham University, Mike is based in New York City, where he was born and raised.

Contact Mike at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

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