Walmart, Costco, and Amazon dominate the retail sector not only in the US but also in many other countries. The growth rate of Walmart and Costco has slowed in recent years. But Amazon continues to grow rapidly despite its gargantuan size. Is Amazon the fastest growing retailer in the world? No. The fastest growing retailers are relatively smaller companies, and most of them are outside the US.
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Ranked: The fastest growing retailers
The ranking is based on the consulting firm Deloitte's 2020 Global Powers of Retailing report. Deloitte ranked 250 of the world's largest retailers based on their revenues in FY2018 (fiscal years ended through 30 June 2019). The combined retail revenue of the 250 largest retailers was $4.74 trillion. Topping the list was Walmart with $514.4 billion in retail revenue in FY2018.
Among the top 250 largest retailers, the company with the lowest revenue was China's Chongqing Department Store at $3.9 billion in FY2018. The Deloitte report also looked at 50 fastest growing retailers globally that recorded the highest compounded annual growth rates (CAGR) between FY2013 and FY2018.
10- Dollar Tree, Inc.
The Chesapeake, Virginia-based discount store chain operates more than 15,000 stores in the US and Canada. It posted retail revenue of $22.8 billion in FY2018. According to Deloitte, its annual retail revenue growth between FY2013 and FY2018 was 23.8%. It was formerly known as 'Only $1.00.'
9- Albertsons Companies, Inc.
Founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson in Boise, Idaho, Albertsons is one of the largest privately-owned companies in the world. Its FY2018 revenue was $60.53 billion. It has more than 2,300 stores and 400 gas stations in the US. It is currently owned by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. The supermarket chain has grown at 24.7% CAGR between FY2013 and FY2018.
8- Zalando SE
Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Zalando is a rapidly growing e-commerce player. It sells fashion and lifestyle products in more than a dozen European countries. Zalando posted a revenue of $6.35 billion in FY2018, and has grown its revenue at 25% CAGR between FY2013 and FY2018.
7- JD Sports Fashion Plc
Bury, England-based JD Sports operates more than 2,500 stores across the UK, US, Europe, and Asia. It sells sports fashion products. The retailer is part of the FTSE 100 Index. JD Sports generated $6.06 billion revenue in FY2018. Its retail revenue has grown at an impressive 28% CAGR between FY 2013 and FY2018.
6- Action Nederland BV
The Dutch discount store chain sells low-budget, non-food items through its 1,325 retail stores. Owned by private equity firm 3i, Action operates in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Poland, and Luxembourg. Its revenue growth rate between FY2013 and FY2018 was 29.6%. The company generated $4.97 billion revenue in FY2018, according to Deloitte.
5- A101 Yeni Mağazacılık A.S
A101 is a Turkish discount store chain with $4.12 billion revenue in FY2018. Though it's a retail chain, it has significantly beefed up its e-commerce business in the last few years. A101 has grown at 43.6% CAGR between FY2013 and FY2018.
4- JD.com
JD.com doesn't get as much attention as Alibaba, but the Beijing-based e-commerce behemoth has been clocking an impressive growth rate. JD.com is the biggest competitor of Alibaba-owned Tmall. Its revenue in FY2018 was $62.8 billion. The company grew at an annualized rate of 44.1% between FY2013 and FY2018. Walmart and Tencent are among the largest shareholders of JD.com.
3- Vipshop Holdings
The Chinese online discount retailer has grown its revenue at 47.8% CAGR between FY2013 and FY2018. According to Deloitte, Vipshop's retail revenue in FY2018 was $11.8 billion. Launched in 2008, it has become the third largest e-commerce player in China after Tmall and JD.com.
2- Wayfair Inc
Formerly known as CSN Stores, Wayfair is a Boston-based online retailer. It sells furniture and other home merchandise from more than 11,000 suppliers. Wayfair has offices in the US, UK, Germany, Canada, and Ireland. With 49.2% annualized revenue growth between FY2013 and FY2018, it's the second fastest growing retailer on the planet. Wayfair posted a revenue of $6.77 billion in FY2018, according to Deloitte.
1- Reliance Retail
Reliance Retail is the world's fastest growing retailer. It's a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries. Reliance Retail's FY2018 revenue stood at $18.5 billion, up 88.4% from the previous year. The company's retail revenue has grown at 55.8% CAGR between FY2013 and FY2018. It also jumped from 94th place in Deloitte's Top 250 list in 2019 to 56th spot in 2020. The company operates more than 10,000 retail stores in India.
