Kantar: Walmart top global retailer, revenue nearly three times that of Amazon

Amazon may be the darling of Wall Street but the technology company and online retailer remains a distance second to Bentonville-based Walmart when it comes to overall revenue, according to Kantar Consulting.

Kantar released its list of Top 50 global retailers and in the U.S. when ranked by annual revenue. Walmart leads the pack with revenue totaling $519.918 billion last year from its 11,942 stores and online operations.

Walmart has grown global sales by 2% annually over the past five years,  with 27% of the sales was generated outside the U.S, according to the report. Kantar expects Walmart will grow sales at 3% annually through 2023. Kantar also gives Walmart a stable outlook through 2023.

Amazon continues to have an impressive run as the No. 2 retailer in the report. Amazon grew sales by 23% annually since 2013. Last year Amazon had sales of $187.338 billion which included Whole Foods acquired a year ago, giving Amazon 503 store locations. Amazon’s sales outside the U.S. were 34% of its total revenue. Kantar expects Amazon to grow annual sales revenue by 17% through 2023 giving the company a stable outlook.

Costco ranks third with sales of $137.72 billion and 764 locations across the globe. Costco grew sales at 6% annually since 2013. Over the next five years Kantar expects Costco to grow sales by 8% annually. About one-quarter of the company sales are generated outside its U.S. home base.

German retail group Schwarz, parent of Lidl and Kaufland brands, ranked fourth in the Kantar report with total revenue of $123.562 billion last year. The retailer has 12,530 store locations and 65% of the revenue was generated outside its home country. The group has been able to grow sales by 5% annually over the past five years with expansion of the Lidl brand into the United Kingdom and the U.S. Over the next five years Kantar expects sales will grow by 7% annually. Kantar also gives Schwarz a stable outlook through 2023.

Cincinnati-based Kroger ranked fifth on the Kantar list with sales revenue of $122.987 billion. Kroger has 3,254 stores in the U.S. with no exposure elsewhere. Kroger grew sales by an average 6% annually over the past five years, expected to decrease to 3% through 2023 as more grocery sales move online.

Following are the remainder of the top 10 global retailers.
• Walgreen Boots Alliance – $109.718 billion and 15,460 stores
• Aldi  (Germany)- $108.146 billion and 11,616 stores
• Home Depot – $106.217 billion and 2,287 stores
• Carrefour (France) – $105.148 billion and 12,607 stores
• Tesco (United Kingdom) – $101.197 billion and 13,049 stores

Aldi was the only retailer among the 10 to be given a growth outlook over the next five years by Kantar. Aldi is expected to grow sales by 7% annually through 2023, compared to 5% growth since 2013.

Other retailers among the top 50 also given a growth outlook include China’s JD.com who recorded sales of $71.825 billion last year, and ranking 16th on the list. Kantar expects JD.com will see annual sales growth of 19% through 2023. Walmart has invested heavily in JD.com and the two retailers are e-commerce partners in China.The other major player in China, Alibaba, ranked No 33 on the list with sales revenue of $37.519 billion. It too is projected to see annual sales grow by 17% through 2023.

Following are other U.S. retailers on the top 50 list.
• No.12: CVS – $82.837 billion
• No. 14: Target – $73.277 billion
• No. 18: Lowe’s – $70.048 billion
• No. 19: Albertson’s – $59.019 billion
• No. 24: Apple – $48.507 billion
• No. 29: Best Buy – $42.153 billion
• No. 32: TJX – $38.508 billion
• No. 34: Publix – $36.022 billion
• No. 47: Dollar General – $25.751 billion
• No. 50: H-E-B -$24.056 billion