Global Powers of Retailing 2014

Executive summary

The 17^th annual Global Powers of Retailing report identifies the 250 largest retailers around the world for the past fiscal year-  but it is much more than a list. It also examines trends for retailers to consider as they plan their growth strategies; provides a global economic outlook for retail; and discusses "Q" ratio - a way of drawing inferences about the future performance of retailers based on current financial information.

This year’s report includes two exciting features. Its section on “Retail Beyond” takes a provocative look at how existing technologies could conceivably converge and further transform the already complex relationship between retailers and consumers. And, for the first time ever, the report includes a list and analysis of the world’s top 50 e-retailers.

European retailers faced another year of tough trading as the region fell back into recession when austerity measures, put in place to cope with the Eurozone credit crisis, resulted in low growth and high unemployment in many European countries. Retailers based in Germany and particularly the UK underperformed on the top line compared with Europe’s top 250 retailers as a whole. Asia/Pacific retailers (excluding Japan) posted solid gains, but not at the double-digit level seen in the prior two years. Japanese retailers recovered from a devastating fiscal year 2011 but continued to trail the other countries and regions analyzed.

In the United States, growth cooled to 4.3 percent for the top 250 U.S. retailers, down from 6.3 percent in fiscal year 2011. For the North American region as a whole, and Canada in particular, revenue growth got a boost from c-store operator and licensor Alimentation Couche-Tard. As a result of a significant acquisition in 2012, Couche-Tard is now the largest retailer based in Canada.