Average revenue of top 250 retailers has risen to US$19.4 billion

The top 250 global retailers generated aggregated revenues of US$4.85 trillion in fiscal year 2019, representing composite growth of 4.4%, said Deloitte recently when releasing its Global Powers of Retailing 2021 report.

In addition, the world’s top 10 retailers share of the Top 250's total revenue increased once again, rising to 32.7% from 32.2% the previous year, Deloitte pointed out. 

However, retail revenue growth of the top 10 in FY2019 was down 1.9 percentage points from the previous year at 4.4%, level with that of the top 250 retailers, on a composite sales-weighted, currency-adjusted basis, the company noted. 

The top 10 retailers remain dominated by American companies, with seven of the ten based in the US.

The minimum revenue for a company to enter the top 250 rankings is now US$4.0 billion, up from US$3.9 billion the previous year, with an average company size of US$19.4 billion, according to the report.

Report highlights

• With the largest number of companies (135) in the top 250, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)1 segment generated 66% of retail revenue in FY2019. Retailers in this segment have the largest average revenue (US$23.7 billion), although it has the lowest net profit margin (2.0%).
• Europe has the most Top 250 retailers, with 87 companies based in the region. 
• North American retailers contributed nearly half of the total Top 250 revenue in FY2019, and had the largest average retail revenue of US$28.6 billion, much higher than US$19.4 billion average of the Top 250.
• Asia Pacific is emerging as a retail growth hotspot, with nine out of the 12 new entrants based in the region. 
• Retailers in Asia Pacific also achieved the highest FY2019 YoY growth, at 7.1%, more than 1.5 times higher than the Top 250's composite growth.
• Fuelled by the growth of domestic online retail giants, Chinese retailers' revenue rose 11.7% YoY, the highest among major countries. Online retail continues to surge, supported by strong infrastructure for mobile commerce that makes the transition online much easier. 

"E-commerce and discounters drove high retail revenue growth," said Evan Sheehan, Deloitte Global Retail, Wholesale & Distribution Sector leader. "Five out of the top ten fastest-growing retailers were online retailers and seven out of the top 20 fastest-growing companies were discount retailers."