If you want to grow your international turnover, the first thing you do is to look at the world’s leading retailers. If you can deal with their negotiation power, handle their pressure on margins and their volumes, these are the players to do business with.
Here is the top 50 list of retailers in the world, as compiled by Kantar:
| Rank | Retailer | Headquarters | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | United States | https://www.walmart.com |
| 2 | Amazon | United States | https://www.amazon.com |
| 3 | Costco | United States | https://www.costco.com |
| 4 | Schwarz Group | Germany | https://www.lidl.com |
| 5 | The Home Depot | United States | https://www.homedepot.com |
| 6 | Aldi | Germany | https://www.aldi.com |
| 7 | Ahold Delhaize | Netherlands | https://www.aholddelhaize.com |
| 8 | Carrefour | France | https://www.carrefour.com |
| 9 | JD.com | China | https://www.jd.com |
| 10 | Lidl | Germany | https://www.lidl.com |
| 11 | Seven & I Holdings | Japan | https://www.7andi.com |
| 12 | Target | United States | https://www.target.com |
| 13 | A.S. Watson Group | China | https://www.aswatson.com |
| 14 | CVS Health | United States | https://www.cvshealth.com |
| 15 | Walgreens Boots Alliance | United States | https://www.walgreens.com |
| 16 | Alibaba | China | https://www.alibaba.com |
| 17 | Tesco | United Kingdom | https://www.tesco.com |
| 18 | Adeo | France | https://www.adeo.com |
| 19 | Mercadona | Spain | https://www.mercadona.es |
| 20 | Best Buy | United States | https://www.bestbuy.com |
| 21 | Wesfarmers | Australia | https://www.wesfarmers.com.au |
| 22 | E.Leclerc | France | https://www.e.leclerc |
| 23 | Woolworths | Australia | https://www.woolworths.com.au |
| 24 | TJX | United States | https://www.tjx.com |
| 25 | Sainsbury’s | United Kingdom | https://www.sainsburys.co.uk |
| 26 | Publix Super Markets | United States | https://www.publix.com |
| 27 | Rewe Group | Germany | https://www.rewe-group.com |
| 28 | Metro Group | Germany | https://www.metro.com |
| 29 | Apple | United States | https://www.apple.com |
| 30 | Intermarché | France | https://www.intermarche.com |
| 31 | Edeka | Germany | https://www.edeka.de |
| 32 | Dollar General | United States | https://www.dollargeneral.com |
| 33 | Casino Group | France | https://www.groupe-casino.fr |
| 34 | Magnit | Russia | https://www.magnit.com |
| 35 | Inditex | Spain | https://www.inditex.com |
| 36 | H&M | Sweden | https://www.hm.com |
| 37 | Dollar Tree | United States | https://www.dollartree.com |
| 38 | IKEA | Netherlands | https://www.ikea.com |
| 39 | Marks & Spencer | United Kingdom | https://www.marksandspencer.com |
| 40 | Lotte Shopping | South Korea | https://www.lotteshopping.com |
| 41 | Ross Stores | United States | https://www.rossstores.com |
| 42 | Auchan | France | https://www.auchan.com |
| 43 | Reliance Industries | India | https://www.ril.com |
| 44 | Sephora | France | https://www.sephora.com |
| 45 | Kroger | United States | https://www.kroger.com |
| 46 | El Corte Inglés | Spain | https://www.elcorteingles.com |
| 47 | Morrisons | United Kingdom | https://www.morrisons.com |
| 48 | Système U | France | https://www.systeme-u.com |
| 49 | BIM | Turkey | https://www.bim.com.tr |
| 50 | Spar International | Netherlands | https://www.spar-international.com |
Some major retailers described more in detail
Target
Next to Walmart, Target is the second largest retailer in the United States with 1,948 stores in the United States and a satellite corporate headquarters in Bangalore, India. To date, India is Target’s lone active overseas distributor with 3,000 team members. Digital marketing and online shopping largely contributed to the 3.4 percent growth of Target’s total revenues as of 2023. Source
Casino
Casino is France’s ancient gold mine in the retail world. It is the oldest among the top retailers and currently holds a network of 10,800 stores in France alone with international markets in South America and Asia. It is a leader or a co-leader in companies in several countries and has generated net sales of €30.5 billion in 2022. Source
Metro Group
Metro Group is a retail group in Germany that runs hypermarkets, stores, and department stores. Most of its stores are cash-and-carries that was able to break the €29.8 billion mark in revenues as of 2023. On the same year, Metro Group became operational in 34 countries. Source
Aldi
Aldi, another popular retail store in Germany, runs 11,235 stores in twenty countries across the globe. Its products consist of food, toilet paper, beverage, household essentials, and sanitary articles. As of 2022, Aldi generated a global turnover of €120 billion. Source
Kroger
Kroger is an American multi-brand group that operates in 35 states in the United States. It is a manufacturer and a retail giant with a large network of supermarkets with a revenue of $137.9 billion in 2022. Source
Lidl
Lidl is another German global discount retail chain that runs over 12,000 stores in 32 countries across Europe. It is very secretive and opts to forgo publishing of any official figures in gross sales and revenues. Source
Carrefour
It is the pioneer of globalization that started its infancy in France. Carrefour now caters to 12,225 locations worldwide. Source
Costco
Although it does not operate many stores, Costco is the world’s second largest retailer in terms of sales. It primarily caters to large-scale wholesale clubs that generate significant revenues. Initially founded in the United States, it now has 847 warehouses worldwide. Source
Walmart
Walmart is the top private employer in the world and currently holds the number one spot in sales. It is an American multinational retail corporation in the United States and has been difficult to dethrone since its globalization in 1991. Currently, Walmart has 10,586 retail stores worldwide. Source
Tesco
Tesco is one of the oldest top retailers in the world and runs several stores in Europe and Asia. Tesco initially gained traction in Great Britain in 1919 and now has over 4,673 stores worldwide. Source
Don’t forget the second tier!
Doing business with these top-tier retailers provides huge chances, but may put pressure on your margins and imply taking bigger risks. There is however a second tier of retailers where you may get in easier and this way build the experience in a country needed to convince a top player.
