The Top 20 Highest-Grossing Retailers and Their Real Estate Power
The retail industry reported its highest inventory levels relative to sales since the end of 2013, according to a UBS analyst note this week. The department store slump is caused by retail's slow adjustment to e-commerce, leading to sluggish in-store traffic. To combat the online threats, big retailers like Macy's and Nordstrom are leveraging their real estate with new distribution centers, warehouses and overall accessibility. Here's the breakdown of the top 20 highest-grossing US chain retailers ranked by the NRF and their retail strategies.
Chain: Wal-Mart
Location: Bentonville, AR 72712
US Retail Sales: $343B
US Sales Growth: 2.8%
US Stores: 5,109
With a market cap of $261B, it's no wonder that over 11,000 units of this neighborhood staple exist worldwide. The merchandising giant also saves money and lives better by paying rent to a REIT that's 99% owned by another Wal-Mart subsidiary in order to earn tax breaks.
Chain: Kroger
Location: Cincinnati
US Retail Sales: $103B
US Sales Growth: 10.1%
US Stores: 3730
Kroger is projected to beat Whole Foods as the organic go-to seller in two years, Business Insider reports. The brand is expanding fast; last year, it bought North Carolina-based Harris Teeter Supermarkets for $2.5B. This year, Kroger is eyeing Floridian company Bi-Lo Holdings, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Chain: Costco
Location: Issaquah, WA
US Retail Sales: $79B
US Sales Growth: 6.6%
US Stores: 464
This membership wholesale retailer operates throughout Asia, North America, Australia and the UK. It makes sense that in 2014, the company owned 663 warehouses worldwide.
Chain: The Home Depot
Location: Atlanta
US Retail Sales: $74B
US Sales Growth: 3.6%
US Stores: 1,965
The popular home improvement retailer for both homeowners and professionals earned a market cap of $149.2B for May 2015. The company’s net property and equipment was recorded at $22B in February 2015.
Chain: Walgreens
Location: Deerfield, IL
US Retail Sales: $72B
US Sales Growth: 5.8%
US Stores: 8,157
This drugstore chain serves 6.2 million customers per day, with average annual sales revenue of $8.5M per store. It’s no surprise that the giant was able to invest $1.1B into property and equipment in 2014.
Chain: Target
Location: Minneapolis
US Retail Sales: $72B
US Sales Growth: 1.9%
US Stores: 1,790
This general merchandise chain regards itself as an upscale discount store, and has mastered the power of branding, allowing it to have almost 2,000 stores in North America—good for net of $25B for property and equipment.
Chain : CVS
Location: Woonsocket, RI
US Retail Sales: $67B
US Sales Growth: 3.6%
US Stores: 7,808
The drugstore company accounted for 22.6% of the nation’s total prescription revenues in 2013. But at the end of last year, CVS owned only 5% of its 7,800 stores.
Chain: Lowe's
Location: Mooresville, NC
US Retail Sales: $54B
US Sales Growth: 5.1%
Lowe’s gross profit margin has improved by .52% from 2014 to 2015. To stay on top of the retail game, Lowe's is entering the urban market, with its first Manhattan store opening in August 2015.
Chain: Amazon.com
Location: Seattle
US Retail Sales:$49B
US Sales Growth: 22.6%
US Stores: Wherever there's an Internet connection.
Amazon’s on fire. So is its storage. An online retailer, the Seattle giant has amassed over 90 warehouses to help accomplish its impressive customer service. The retail king is predicted to outgrow Macy’s by 2017.
Chain: Safeway
Location: Pleasanton, CA
US Retail Sales: $36B
US Sales Growth: -2.1%
US Stores: 1,326
The American grocerer opened in 1915, and just last year it sold $830M worth of real estate assets from its subsidiary to Terramar Retail Centers.
Chain: Best Buy
Location: Richfield, MN
US Retail Sales: $35B
US Sales Growth: 0.1%
US Stores: 1445
Best Buy is considered to be one of the leading e-retailers, having generated almost $3B through online sales in 2012. Still, the company managed to build a store within 15 minutes of 70% of North America’s population.
Chain: McDonald's
Location: Oak Brook, IL
US Retail Sales: $35B
US Sales Growth: -1.1%
US Stores: 14,350
With over 36,000 locations worldwide, McDonald’s is without a doubt the leading global food retailer. But it’s also one of the biggest global real estate companies, and owned $28.4B of land and buildings in February 2015.
Chain: Publix
Location: Lakeland, FL
US Retail Sales: $30B
US Sales Growth: 5.7%
US Stores: 1,296
Starting in Florida, Publix Super Markets was founded in 1921. The grocery store chain has been buying up the shopping centers of their stores, having set aside $1.3B to purchase six this year.
Chain: Apple Store/ iTunes
Location: Cupertino, CA
US Retail Sales: $28B
US Sales Growth: 6.5%
US Stores: 259
Over 100 billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store since its 2008 launch. Unknown to many, Apple just purchased 43 Californian acres for more than $138M for its new HQ.
Chain: Macy's
Location: Cincinnati
US Retail Sales: $28
US Sales Growth: 0.6%
US Stores: 821
With more than 800 stores in operation since its founding in 1851, Macy’s is a tried and true fashion retailer. Investment adviser Starboard Value estimates Macy’s to be sitting on $21B worth of real estate, including its historical New York flagship.
Chain: Rite Aid
Location: Camp Hill, PA
US Retail Sales: $26B
US Sales Growth: 3.9%
US Stores: 4,570
Rite Aid is the third-largest drugstore retailer in the country. Rite Aid is in the midst of closing down and revamping stores to improve wellness services—1,600 stores have seen the transformation so far.
Chain: Stop & Shop, Giant Food, Giant Food Stores, Martin’s Food Markets, Peapod
Location: Carlisle, PA
US Retail Sales: $25B
US Sales Growth: -0.5%
US Stores: 768
Ahold operates three American grocery chains on the East Coast, as well as Peapod, the largest online grocery delivery service. Ahold purchased Delhaize Group, which owns Food Lion, for $10.4B to then possess over 6,500 stores in both the US and across Europe.
Chain: Sears, Kmart
Location: Hoffman Estates, IL
US Retail Sales: $25B
US Sales Growth: -11.8%
US Stores: 1659
Despite being a long-standing general merchandising retailer, Sears is threatened by competition from Wal-Mart and Best Buy. To stay above water, the company sold 254 of its stores to a self-created REIT, which resulted in oversold stock.
Chain:T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and Sierra Trading Post
Location: Framingham, MA
US Retail Sales: $22B
US Sales Growth: 5.7%
US Stores: 2,569
The company behind T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods increased its sales by 6.2% from last year. But it recently also opportunistically purchased Australian off-price retailer Trade Secret and its 35 store locations for AUD$80M.
Chain: Central Market, H-E-B Plus!, Mi Tienda, Joe V's Smart Shop
Location: San Antonio
US Retail Sales: $19B
US Sales Growth: < 5.7%
US Stores: 317
Despite being hyper-local to Northern Texas, H-E-B Grocery was dubbed the "Smartest Supermarket" by Forbes in 2014 due to its strategic marketing and in-store sales. The company is slowly and quietly buying up land in Dallas.
