NRF’s 2023 Top 100 Retailers: Few anomalies

“The National Retail Federation’s annual look at the top U.S. retailers based on sales rankings showed that retailers grew at about the same rate.

Walmart maintained the top billing in the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Top 100 Retailers 2023 list, compiled by Kantar, growing 7.8% to $499.65 billion in U.S. retail sales in 2022.

Following years of change, the Top 100 retailers had greater consistency than expected, according to a NRF’s blog post.

“Collectively, retailers were consistent across the board last year because most everybody grew, and at more or less the same rate,” said David Marcotte, Kantar’s senior vice president, in a press release.“ The dynamic category to watch is big box, particularly as customers become more comfortable with the value proposition of membership fees.”

Amazon.com ranked second with sales of $232.46 billion and sales growth of 6.7%. Costco Wholesale, The Kroger Co. and The Home Depot once again completed the top five. This year, though, the grocer — thanks to the impact of the supply chain and other factors in the supermarket sector — moved ahead of the home improvement store. Some slight shifts:

  • Target — No. 7 to No. 6).
  • CVS Health Corp. — No. 8 to No. 7.
  • Walgreens Boots Alliance — No. 6 to No. 8.

bright spot in the research included a 10-place rise by Signet Jewelers, which continued its growth trajectory by moving 10 spots on the list to No. 56. Signet Jewelers’ jump reflects the recent acquisition of Blue Nile and Diamonds Direct, Marcotte said, and also showed the benefit of a larger supply chain.

Additionally, international investment in the U.S. was increasingly noticeable. For example, Grupo Comercial Chedraui’s acquisition of Smart & Final Holdings Inc., which ranked No. 93 last year, has landed the company at No. 57 this year.

On the other hand, Dell Technologies (No. 39) dropped 20.3% in U.S. sales between 2022 and 2021. Kohl’s (No. 30) was also notable with a drop of 7.1%, dipping to $17.19 billion in 2022 U.S. sales.

Completely missing from the list is Bed, Bath & Beyond, which ranked No. 64 on last year’s list. The retailer filed for bankruptcy protection this year, and its digital assets were recently acquired by Overstock.com.”

*This article is excerpted from retailleader.com website, published 5th July 2023