Global Powers of Retailing Geographical Analysis

Sponsored by

U.S. share slides with the dollar The number of U.S. companies in the Top 250, and their collective share of Top 250 sales, continued to decline in fiscal 2008. Eighty-four U.S. retailers (down from 87 in 2007 and 93 in 2006) captured 41.2 percent of Top 250 sales, compared with 42.1 percent in 2007. Part of this decline resulted from the falling U.S. dollar relative to many other major currencies, allowing more non-U.S. retailers to “make the cut.” U.S. retailers also experienced significantly weaker growth compared with other countries and regions as the U.S. economy deteriorated ahead of the rest of the world. Aggregate retail sales for the U.S. companies in the Top 250 increased 4.5 percent, down from 6.6 percent in fiscal 2007. By comparison, composite sales rose 7.2 percent for the European companies on a currency-adjusted basis as economic momentum remained fairly high in Europe during the first half of the reporting period.

The Asia/Pacific region posted above-average composite retail sales growth of 7.3 percent despite Japan’s anemic 1.4 percent year-over-year growth. Nevertheless, this is only about half the region’s robust 13.9 percent rate of growth in fiscal 2007. Many of the Chinese retailerscontinued to grow at double-digit rates in 2008. Also boosting the overall growth rate for the region was Wesfarmers of Australia, whose acquisition of Coles Group helped advance its fiscal 2008 retail sales by 63 percent.

Japan represents the second-largest group of retailers by country of origin (after the United States). Following several years of decline, Japan’s share of Top 250 companies and sales rebounded in 2008. Of the 24 companies that joined or rejoined the Top 250 in fiscal 2008, nine are based in Japan (see Top 250 Newcomers list on page #). Again, it should be noted that Japan’s resurgence in the rankings has much more to do with the strength of the yen against the dollar and relatively little to do with real sales growth among Japanese retailers.

Composite retail sales jumped 26.3 percent for Latin America’s Top 250 retailers. Acquisitions by Chile’s Cencosud and Falabella, Mexico’s Soriana and Brazil’s Pão de Açúcar, among others, contributed to the region’s leading growth rate, as did strong organic growth. All six Top 250 retailers from the Africa/Middle East region also continued to perform well above average in fiscal 2008.