Top 250 Newcomers

 
 
 
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Fourteen retailers joined the ranks of the Top 250 in 2010, nine for the first time. Most debuted near the bottom of the list, but there were three notable exceptions. Karstadt Warenhaus (180), the German department store retailer, was sold by insolvent Arcandor to private investor Nicolas Berggruen in April 2010. Ranking 183rd, Netherlands-based Jumbo Supermarkten launched itself into the Top 250 with the December 2009 acquisition of rival Dutch chain Super de Boer. British apparel retailer Arcadia Group (195) returned to the Top 250 following a big jump in fiscal 2010 sales as a result of the integration of Bhs (British Home Stores) in July 2009.

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Perhaps the most striking feature of the 2010 “newcomers” list is that six of the retailers are Japanese. Strong sales lifted most of these companies, assisted by a favorable exchange rate.

Composite sales for the newcomers grew more than three times as fast (16.6 percent) as the Top 250 overall in 2010, which allowed them to displace slower-growing companies that were near the bottom of last year’s list. Nevertheless, only five of the newcomers were also among the 50 fastest-growing retailers on the Top 250 list, which is ranked on the basis of sustained growth over a five-year period.