Average size of Top 250 retailers has increased to USD19.4 billion - Global Powers of Retailing 2021

• Report shows Top 250 global retailers generated USD4.85 trillion in revenue
• Top 10 retailers continue to focus on global business operations
   

Published: 29 April 2021

The Top 250 global retailers generated aggregated revenues of USD4.85 trillion in fiscal year 2019, representing composite growth of 4.4%, according to Global Powers of Retailing 2021, a new report from Deloitte.

"The challenge for policymakers will be to control the pandemic outbreak, protect those who have been disrupted, and speed up the distribution of vaccines," says Dr. Ira Kalish, Deloitte Global Chief Economist. "The success of these imperatives will determine the path of the global economy in the year ahead."

Global Powers of Retailing Top 250

The world’s Top 10 retailers share of the Top 250's total revenue increased once again, rising to 32.7% from 32.2% the previous year. However, retail revenue growth of the Top 10 in FY2019 was down 1.9 percentage points from the previous year at 4.4%, level with that of the Top 250 retailers, on a composite sales-weighted, currency-adjusted basis. The Top 10 retailers remain dominated by American companies, with seven of the 10 based in the United States.

The minimum revenue for a company to enter the Top 250 rankings is now USD4.0 billion, up from USD3.9 billion the previous year, with an average company size of USD19.4 billion.

With the largest number of companies (135) in the Top 250, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)¹ segment generated 66% of retail revenue in FY2019. Retailers in this segment have the largest average revenue (USD23.7 billion), although it has the lowest net profit margin (2.0%).

Europe has the most Top 250 retailers, with 87 companies based in the region. North American retailers contributed nearly half of the total Top 250 revenue in FY2019, and had the largest average retail revenue of USD28.6 billion, much higher than USD19.4 billion average of the Top 250.

"E-commerce and discounters drove high retail revenue growth," says Evan Sheehan, Deloitte Global Retail, Wholesale & Distribution Sector leader. "Five out of the top 10 fastest-growing retailers were online retailers and seven out of the top 20 fastest-growing companies were discount retailers."

"Asia Pacific is emerging as a retail growth hotspot, with nine out of the 12 new entrants based in the region. Retailers in Asia Pacific also achieved the highest FY2019 YoY growth, at 7.1%, more than 1.5 times higher than the Top 250's composite growth," adds Tianbing Zhang, Deloitte APAC Consumer Product and Retail Sector leader.

"Fueled by the growth of domestic online retail giants, Chinese retailers' revenue rose 11.7% YoY, the highest among major countries. Online retail continues to surge, supported by strong infrastructure for mobile commerce that makes the transition online much easier. With the pandemic further accelerating the shift online, retailers must step up their digital transformation efforts or risk missing out on growth opportunities."

Notes：

1 Fast-moving consumer goods: Products that are sold quickly and at relatively low cost.
 

About Global Powers of Retailing

The report identifies the world's 250 largest retailers based on publicly available data for FY2019 (fiscal years ending through 30 June 2020), and analyzes their performance across geographies and product sectors. It also provides a global economic outlook, looks at the 50 fastest-growing retailers and highlights new entrants to the Top 250.