Following is a chart of the largest global food retailers. Sales figures are for the latest financial year. Companies included must have a third of their sales from food.
| Rank | Company | Headquarters | Top Executive | Sales in Billions | No. of Stores | Countries of Operation | |
| 1 | Wal-Mart Stores | U.S. | H. Lee Scott Jr. | $312.40 | 6,380 | Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, United States | |
| 2 | Carrefour | France | José Luis Duran | $92.6 | 12,179 | Argentina, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Guadeloupe, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Martinique, New Caledonia, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates | |
| 3 | Tesco | U.K. | Terry Leahy | $69.6 | 2,365 | China, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Slovakia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Metro Group | Germany | Hans-Joachim Körber | $69.3 | 2,458 | Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vietnam | |
| 5 | Kroger | U.S. | David B. Dillon | $60.6 | 3,726 | United States | |
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| 6 | Ahold | Netherlands | Anders Moberg | $55.3 | 6,422 | Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, United States | |
| 7 | Costco | U.S. | James Sinegal | $52.9 | 460 | Canada, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States | |
| 8 | Rewe | Germany | Achim Egner | $51.8 | 11,242 | Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine | |
| 9 | Schwarz Group | Germany | Klaus Gehrig | $45.8e | 7,299 | Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Aldi | Germany | Hartmuth Wiesemann | $45.0e | 7,788 | Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States | |
| 11 | Walgreens | U.S. | David W. Bernauer | $42.2 | 4,953 | Puerto Rico, United States | |
| 12 | Auchan | France | Gérard Mulliez | $41.8 | 2,686 | Angola, China, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Taiwan | |
| 13 | Edeka | Germany | Alfons Frenk | $41.3e | 19,001 | Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Russia | |
| 14 | Albertsons | U.S. | Larry Johnston | $40.4 | 2,541 | United States | |
| 15 | AEON | Japan | Motoya Okada | $40.2 | 10,132 | Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States | |
| 16 | Safeway (USA) | U.S. | Steven A. Burd | $38.4 | 1,914 | Canada, Mexico, United States | |
| 17 | ITM (Intermarché) | France | Michel Pattou | $37.7 | 3,932 | Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Serbia and Montenegro | |
| 18 | Leclerc | France | Michel-Edouard Leclerc | $35.4 | 581 | France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain | |
| 19 | Seven & I | Japan | Toshifumi Suzuki | $35.3 | 21,136 | Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United States | |
| 20 | Tengelmann | Germany | Karl-Erivan W. Haub | $29.8e | 7,730 | Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United States | |
| 21 | Sainsbury | U.K. | Justin King | $29.2 | 808 | United Kingdom | |
| 22 | Casino | France | Jean-Charles Naouri | $28.3 | 9,388 | Argentina, Bahrain, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Comoros, France, Guadeloupe, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Madagascar, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Poland, Reunion, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam | |
| 23 | Woolworths (AUS) | Australia | Roger Corbett | $28.0e | 2,744 | Australia, New Zealand | |
| 24 | Coles Myer | Australia | John Fletcher | $27.9 | 2,775 | Australia, New Zealand | |
| 25 | Delhaize Group | Belgium | Pierre-Olivier Beckers | $23.1 | 2,637 | Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Romania, United States | |
e=estimate.
Carrefour: Includes franchises; in 2005, sold Japan, Mexico
operations, split with franchise partner Norges Gruppen in Norway; in 2006,
will exit Czech R. and Slovakia (agreed in 2005 to asset swap with Tesco, pending
approval), plans to sell S. Korean operation, enter Algeria.
Tesco: Exiting
Taiwan, entering U.S., 2007.
Metro: Held 40.5% stake in Praktiker DIY, 2005;
sales, stores and countries exclude Praktiker; entry planned for Pakistan.
Ahold:
2005 market exits from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua.
Costco: Exploring entry in Australia.
Rewe: Sold French, Swiss retail operations,
2005; focusing on food service.
Schwartz Group: Entry expected in Bulgaria,
Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine.
Aldi: Entry
expected in Greece, Hungary, Poland, New Zealand, Portugal.
Edeka: Acquired
ITM's German operations, 2005; withdrawal from Czech R., 2006.
Albertsons: Sale
pending to SuperValu, investment consortium, 2006.
Safeway USA: Stores include
Mexican chain Casa Ley.
Auchan: Exited Argentina, 2005; entry in Romania planned,
2006.
ITM: Exited Germany, 2005.
Seven & I: Stores exclude franchises in Europe,
Hong Kong, S. Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand; plans to franchise stores
in Germany.
Tengelmann: Left Canada, late 2005, and China.
Casino: Planned 2006 entry in Czech R.; 2005, opened stores in UAE (franchise partnership with Fu-Com), Latvia, Lithuania (with IKI), Switzerland (with Magro) and Leader Price operations in Togo, Cameroon, Belgium, etc., through acquisition of stake in Geimex.
Woolworths: Entry into India imminent.
Source: M+M Planet Retail, www.planetretail.net; SN research
