Top Retailers Focus On Food To Fuel Growth & Profits.

Last year, U.S. consumers made an average of 75 trips to supermarkets, beating out any other type of retail store by a ratio of three-to-one. And, not surprisingly, the nation’s top retailers are making headlines by aggressively vying for those same customers, with the same food products, and hoping for the same return – more frequent shopping trips and bigger profits. The 2002 Triversity Top 100 Retailers ranking, based on an annual survey and published in the July issue of STORES magazine, reveals a retail landscape irrevocably changed by the world’s largest retailer.

“This past year, the cross-category and cross-format race definitely heated up,” said Rick Gallagher, STORES Publisher and Vice President. “The current Top 100 ranking shows grocery stores battling discount supercenters, while drug stores go head-to-head with them both. Department stores strive to reinvent themselves, and apparel retailers try to combat falling prices and merchandising missteps. There is no doubt that for retailers and the nation, 2001 was a challenging year both economically and emotionally.”

Arkansas-based Wal-Mart once again heads the list as the nation’s largest retailer with 2001 sales of $219.8 billion, a 13.7 percent increase over the previous year. Growth was driven by expansion into foreign food markets, as well as merchandise and format changes. And, for the first time, a home-improvement retailer has taken over the #2 spot, with Home Depot turning in 2001 sales of $53.6 billion and forcing food retailer Kroger to drop a notch to #3. Sears, Roebuck and Company held onto its #4 position this year. But, both Home Depot and competitor Lowe’s (#14) have avowed to steal market share away from Sears in the major appliance segment.

Meanwhile, license-savvy Target moved up to the #5 spot amid talks of divesting its department store brands. Target replaces a battle-torn Kmart, which dropped to #7 after several miscues and finally filing for Chapter 11 in January. Albertson’s hung onto the #6 position by selling off stores and exiting markets. And, food-heavy Costco moved up two notches to #8, ahead of Safeway (#9), and pushing JCPenney down to the #10 spot.

Among the retail segments, several “Power Players” continue to dominate the landscape. Even after several months of same-store sales declines, The Gap (#21) remains the top U.S. apparel specialty retailer. Plus-size specialist Charming Shoppes (#88) has now become the leading store in that market, and expects plus-size merchandise to account for 90 percent of its sales within five years.

In the traditional department store sector, Sears (#4) leads the pack, but challenges of differentiation face companies across the segment. The only bright spot here in 2001 was the darling of Wall Street, Kohl’s (#35). With sales up 21.7 percent last year, this chain of junior department stores has spurred envy and format imitation among its competitors.

And, in the world of Internet retailing, only one true Power Player has emerged – Amazon.com (#60). After debuting two years ago at #93, this online bookseller has become a partner in multi-channel retailing ventures, expanded its merchandise offerings to cover everything from Barbie to barbeque grills, and has finally turned a profit. After the dot-com bubble burst, Amazon.com taught the retail and investment public that successful online retailing is indeed just successful retailing after all.

“As a leader in providing integrated customer-centric retail solutions, Triversity understands the challenges and opportunities facing executives leading these retail companies,” said Sydney Day, Director of Marketing for Triversity Inc. “We are pleased to continue our sponsorship with STORES of the authoritative Top 100 Retailers ranking, and congratulate these retailers on this accomplishment.”

To view Top 100 Stores CLICK above on ‘More Images’.