Value Links Top Retailers of 2007 ; Wal-Mart is No. 1 Once Again
By JOAN VERDON, STAFF WRITER
Discounters, supermarkets and wholesale clubs were the biggest winners in 2007 as cash-strapped consumers saved their money for necessities, while clothing and department stores suffered, according to the annual retail report card issued today by the National Retail Federation.
The NRF released its 16th-annual list of the top 100 retailers, along with revenue scorecards for each retailer. Retailers were ranked by annual sales, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. the largest retailer every year since the NRF began the list in 1991 held on to the top spot, with sales of $378 billion.
“As the economy slowed, it was really a boon for Wal-Mart and they have truly run with it,” said Susan Reda, executive editor of the NRF’s STORES magazine, which compiles and publishes the annual ranking. Wal-Mart’s revenue increased 8.6 percent in 2007, and profit rose 12.8 percent to $12.7 billion.
Discounters such as Wal-Mart benefited because of their emphasis on low prices and value, winning over consumers worried about climbing gasoline and food prices. Supermarket profits also rose at healthy rates in 2007, reflecting Americans’ decision to spend for necessities rather than buy apparel or luxuries, Reda said.
Supermarkets, she said, also have been among the country’s more innovative retailers, and that has allowed them to build sales even in a lackluster economy.
But 2007 was tough “for Home Depot, for Lowe’s, for anybody that touched the housing market,” Reda said. Home-improvement giant Home Depot Inc. dropped to the third spot on the list, bumped out of No. 2 by supermarket chain Kroger Co.
Pharmacy group CVS Caremark Corp. rose to fourth because of the CVS merger with Caremark Rx that boosted its 2007 sales by 74.2 percent and profit by 93.6 percent.
One of the fastest-growing retailers on the list Amazon.com doesn’t have any traditional retail stores. It rang up $14.8 billion in sales in 2007 and lifted profits by 150.5 percent to $476 million, to land at No. 25 on the top 100 list. “Number 25, with no stores that’s pretty good,” Reda said.
This year, the NRF added four non-traditional entertainment and telecommunications retailers to the list. Apple Stores was 52nd, with sales of $6.6 billion, followed by Dell Retail (56), Verizon Wireless (61) and AT&T Wireless (81).
Reda said 2008 also is shaping up as a challenging year for many retailers.
The good news about the current economy, she said, is retailers are more willing to innovate and change when the economy turns tough. Reda said it will be interesting to see new strategies that “arise from the turmoil that’s hitting us now.”
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New Jersey retail rankings
Company Rank 2007 sales Change from 2006
Toys “R” Us 26 $13 billion Up 5.7 percent
Bed Bath & Beyond 48 $7 billion Up 6.5 percent
A&P 55 $6 billion Up 19.2 percent
Verizon Wireless 61 $5 billion Up 11.8 percent
Burlington Coat Factory 95 $3 billion Down 0.3 percent
Source: National Retail Federation, STORES.org
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The power players
How the top 20 retailers fared in 2007:
Company 2007 sales Change from 2006
1. Wal-Mart $378 billion Up 8.6 percent
2. Kroger $79 billion Up 19.9 percent
3. Home Depot $77 billion Down 2.1 percent
4. CVS Caremark $76 billion Up 74.2 percent
5. Costco $64 billion Up 7.1 percent
6. Target $63 billion Up 6.5 percent
7. Walgreen $53 billion Up 13.4 percent
8. Sears Holdings $50 billion Down 4.4 percent
9. Lowe’s $48 billion Up 2.9 percent
10. Supervalu $44 billion Up 17.8 percent
11. Safeway $42 billion Up 5.2 percent
12. Best Buy $40 billion Up 11.4 percent
13. Macy’s $26 billion Down 2.4 percent
14. Rite Aid $24 billion Up 39.8 percent
15. Publix $23 billion Up 6 percent
16. McDonald’s $22 billion Up 9.1 percent
17. Ahold USA $21 billion Down 12.5 percent
18. JC Penney $19 billion Down 0.2 percent
19. Staples $19 billion Up 6.7 percent
20. TJX $18 billion Up 7.1 percent
Source: National Retail Federation, STORES.org
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E-mail: verdon@northjersey.com
(c) 2008 Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.