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SN's TOP 75
Top 75 North American Food Retailers Supervalu and Metro both jumped in this year's Top 75 following acquisitions Supervalu, which moved up four places to No. 5, acquired 1,124 stores in the Albertsons breakup, while Metro, which purchased A&P's Canadian division, rose five places to 15th. Acquisitions also elevated Save Mart and Associated Wholesalers Inc. In the sales column: a=actual and e=estimate.
January 22, 2007
18 Min Read
Top 75 North American Food Retailers
Supervalu and Metro both jumped in this year's Top 75 following acquisitions — Supervalu, which moved up four places to No. 5, acquired 1,124 stores in the Albertsons breakup, while Metro, which purchased A&P's Canadian division, rose five places to 15th. Acquisitions also elevated Save Mart and Associated Wholesalers Inc. In the sales column: a=actual and e=estimate.
| RANK | COMPANY | TOP EXECUTIVE | CORPORATE/FRANCHISE STORES | SALES IN $ BILLIONS; DATE FISCAL YEAR ENDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wal-Mart Stores Bentonville, Ark. | H. Lee Scott Jr. president, CEO | 2,981 | 232.9e 1/31/07 |
| Volume total represents combined sales of Wal-Mart Supercenters, Sam's Clubs and Neighborhood Markets in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Wal-Mart operates 2,176 supercenters in the U.S., 118 supercenters in Mexico and three supercenters in Canada, which account for approximately $183.7 billion; 574 Sam's Clubs in the U.S. and six in Canada, which account for $42.2 billion, and 110 Neighborhood Markets in the U.S., which account for approximately $7 billion. Excluded from the totals are 1,100 U.S. discount stores, which account for approximately $63.2 billion; and 2,559 stores outside the U.S. that account for approximately $55.2 billion. Total Wal-Mart sales for the year were approximately $351.3 billion. (Note that in recent years, Wal-Mart's listing in the Top 75 had included total company store counts and sales.) | ||||
| 2 | Kroger Co. Cincinnati | David B. Dillon chairman, CEO | 4,276 | 66.6e 2/3/07 |
| Kroger sales encompass 2,477 supermarkets and multi-department stores; 773 convenience stores; 608 fuel centers; and 418 fine jewelry stores. Combined sales from convenience stores and jewelry stores accounted for approximately 5% of total volume. | ||||
| 3 | Costco Wholesale Corp. Issaquah, Wash. | Jim Sinegal president, CEO | 458 | 59.0a 9/30/06 |
| Groceries, encompassing food, sundries and fresh products, plus pharmacy and gasoline, accounted for 62% of Costco's total sales, or $36.6 billion. Of the company's total volume, 81% came from the U.S., 13% from Canada and 6% from overseas. | ||||
| 4 | Safeway Pleasanton, Calif. | Steve Burd chairman, president, CEO | 1,767 | 40.5e 12/31/06 |
| 5 | Supervalu Minneapolis | Jeff Noddle chairman, CEO | 2,567 | 37.0e 2/24/07 |
| Sales from 1,669 corporate stores, encompassing 1,368 conventional supermarkets (1,124 of which were acquired from Albertsons) and 301 Save-A-Lots, account for 80% of annual revenues. The company also licenses 867 Save-A-Lots and 31 Cub Foods stores. | ||||
| 6 | Loblaw Cos. Toronto | Mark Foote president, chief merchandising officer | 1,072 | 26.5e (U.S.) 12/31/06 |
| Loblaw operates 670 corporate stores and supplies 402 franchised stores. | ||||
| 7 | Ahold USA Retail Quincy, Mass. | Lawrence Benjamin chief operating officer | 827 | 24.0e 12/31/06 |
| Ahold USA Retail, the U.S. division of Amsterdam-based Ahold, encompasses 386 units of Stop & Shop, 192 Giant Foods of Landover, Md., 126 Giant Foods of Carlisle, Pa., and 123 Tops Markets. Ahold is in the process of selling all of its Tops stores. Retail sales of $24 billion represent approximately 54% of Ahold's total U.S. volume, with the balance coming from U.S. Foodservice, which is also for sale. Ahold USA accounts for 74% of the parent company's total sales, estimated to be $60.1 billion for 2006. | ||||
| 8 | Publix Super Markets Lakeland, Fla. | Charles Jenkins Jr. CEO | 885 | 21.7e 12/30/06 |
| 9 | C&S Wholesale Grocers Keene, N.H. | Rick Cohen chairman, CEO | 0 | 19.4e 9/30/06 |
| C&S supplies products to 10 Top 75 retailers (Kroger, A&P, Ahold USA, BJ's, Big Y, Demoulas Market Basket, Pathmark, Safeway, Save Mart and Shaw's), and volume from those companies is reflected in the sales totals for C&S and for each of those retailers individually on this list. C&S volume does not include retail sales from two C&S affiliates: GU Family Markets, which operates 35 former Grand Union locations, and Southern Family Markets, which encompasses 57 supermarkets and 11 liquor stores, most of which were formerly operated by the Bruno's/Bi-Lo divisions of Ahold USA. | ||||
| 10 | Delhaize America Salisbury, N.C. | Pierre Olivier-Beckers CEO | 1,544 | 17.3e 12/31/06 |
| Delhaize America, the U.S. division of Brussels-based Delhaize Group, encompasses 1,171 Food Lion stores, 158 Hannaford Bros. stores, 108 Sweetbay and Kash n' Karry locations, 68 Harvey's, 22 Bloom units and 17 Bottom Dollar stores. Delhaize America accounts for approximately 75% of Delhaize Group's sales. | ||||
| 11 | 7-Eleven Dallas | Joe DePinto president, CEO | 6,013 | 15.0e 12/31/06 |
| Merchandise at 7-Eleven accounts for 65% of total sales, and gasoline accounts for the other 35%. Excluding tobacco products, which account for approximately 29% of merchandise volume, sales from dairy, fresh foods, candy and snacks, beer and wine, beverages, food service and nonfood account for approximately 67.5% of the merchandise total. 7-Eleven operates 5,540 stores in the U.S. and 473 in Canada. All stores in Canada and 35% of those in the U.S. are corporate-owned, with the rest of the U.S. stores franchised. U.S. sales account for approximately 92% of the North American total, with Canadian sales accounting for the other 8%. | ||||
| 12 | Meijer Grand Rapids, Mich. | Hank Meijer CEO | 176 | 13.2e 2/3/07 |
| 13 | Sobeys Stellarton, Nova Scotia | Bill McEwan president, CEO | 1,296 | 12.5e (U.S.) 5/5/07 |
| Sobeys operates 543 corporate stores (encompassing 325 supermarkets, 158 convenience stores and 60 drug stores) and supplies 753 franchised stores. | ||||
| 14 | H.E. Butt Grocery Co. San Antonio | Charles C. Butt chairman, CEO | 303 | 12.4e 10/31/06 |
| Store total includes 25 units in Mexico, which account for approximately 26.7% of sales, and two convenience stores. | ||||
| 15 | Metro Montreal | Pierre Lessard president, CEO | 853 | 9.6a (U.S.) 9/30/06 |
| Metro operates 294 corporate stores that account for 80% of total sales and supplies 559 franchised stores, including 386 independent supermarket operators and 173 drug stores. | ||||
| 16 | Wakefern Food Corp. Elizabeth, N.J. | Joseph S. Colalillo chairman, CEO | 57 | 9.5e 9/30/06 |
| Wakefern supplies products to three Top 75 companies — Foodarama, Village Super Markets and Inserra Supermarkets — and volume from those companies is reflected in the sales totals for Wakefern and for each of those retailers individually. Wakefern declined to indicate what percentage of total sales are done by its corporate stores (29 ShopRites and 28 PriceRites.) | ||||
| 17 | Dollar General Corp. Goodlettsville, Tenn. | David Perdue chairman, CEO | 8,249 | 9.2e 2/2/07 |
| Consumables, including groceries, fresh and refrigerated foods and HBC products, account for approximately 66.5% of total sales. Store base includes approximately 50 Dollar General Markets that feature perishables, which are not offered at Dollar General Stores. | ||||
| 18 | BJ's Wholesale Club Natick, Mass. | Herb Zarkin chairman, interim CEO | 171 | 8.6e 2/3/07 |
| Groceries, encompassing food and sundries, account for approximately 72.5% of BJ's total sales. | ||||
| 19 | Albertsons LLC Boise, Idaho | Robert Miller CEO | 391 | 8.0e 2/24/07 |
| Sales totals exclude 132 stores in Northern California and northern Nevada that were scheduled to be sold to Save Mart Supermarkets, Modesto, Calif., by late February 2007; those stores account for volume of approximately $2.4 billion. Sales totals also exclude 46 stores across the U.S. being sold to Ross Stores and 92 stores around the country that have been closed and are for sale. Albertsons LLC was operating 661 stores at the time it was sold to Cerberus and other partners last June. | ||||
| 20 | Winn-Dixie Stores Jacksonville, Fla. | Peter Lynch chairman, president, CEO | 522 | 7.5e 6/27/07 |
| Winn-Dixie emerged from 22 months in Chapter 11 on Nov. 21, 2006, after closing 398 stores. | ||||
| 21 | A&P Montvale, N.J. | Eric Claus president, CEO | 403 | 6.9e 2/24/07 |
| 22 | Giant Eagle Pittsburgh | David Shapira chairman, president, CEO | 218 | 6.5e 6/30/07 |
| Volume encompasses sales from 147 corporate stores and sales to 71 franchised independent stores. Store totals include 11 of 14 Tops Markets in northeastern Ohio that Giant Eagle acquired from Ahold, one of which opened in late 2006 and 10 of which are scheduled to open in January 2007. (The other three will not open until next summer, after the end of the company's fiscal year.) | ||||
| 23 | Whole Foods Market Austin, Texas | John Mackey chairman, CEO | 188 | 5.6a 9/24/06 |
| 24 | Aldi Batavia, Ill. | Charles Youngstrom president | 820 | 5.3e 12/31/06 |
| Aldi is the U.S. subsidiary of Aldi Group, Muelheim, Germany. | ||||
| 25 | Hy-Vee Food Stores West Des Moines, Iowa | Ric Jurgens chairman, CEO | 223 | 5.3a 10/1/06 |
| Hy-Vee operates 197 supermarkets and 26 drug stores. | ||||
| 26 | Associated Wholesale Grocers Kansas City, Kan. | Gary Phillips president, CEO | 65 | 5.0e 12/31/06 |
| Corporate stores at AWG account for 6.2% of total sales. | ||||
| 27 | Trader Joe's Co. Monrovia, Calif. | Dan Bain chairman, CEO | 262 | 5.0e 6/30/06 |
| Trader Joe's is wholly owned by the Albrecht family of Germany. | ||||
| 28 | Save Mart Supermarkets Modesto, Calif. | Robert M. Piccinini chairman, CEO | 256 | 5.0e 12/31/06 |
| Save Mart store totals and sales volume reflect the acquisition of 132 stores from Albertsons LLC — a pending deal expected to close in late February. That deal will add an estimated $2.4 billion to Save Mart's 2006 volume of $2.6 billion. | ||||
| 29 | Nash Finch Co. Minneapolis | Alec Covington president, CEO | 62 | 4.8e 12/30/06 |
| Corporate stores at Nash Finch account for 14% of total sales. | ||||
| 30 | Wawa Wawa, Pa. | Howard Stoeckel president, CEO | 556 | 4.4e 12/31/06 |
| Merchandise and services account for an estimated 80% of Wawa's sales. | ||||
| 31 | Pathmark Stores Carteret, N.J. | John Standley CEO | 141 | 4.1e 1/27/07 |
| 32 | Roundy's Supermarkets Milwaukee | Robert A. Mariano chairman, CEO | 147 | 3.9e 12/30/06 |
| 33 | Bi-Lo/Bruno's Greenville, S.C. | Dean Cohagen president, CEO | 308 | 3.6e 12/31/06 |
| 34 | Wegmans Food Markets Rochester, N.Y. | Danny Wegman CEO | 71 | 4.1e 12/31/06 |
| 35 | Stater Bros. Markets Colton, Calif. | Jack Brown chairman, CEO | 182 | 3.5a 9/24/06 |
| 36 | Raley's Supermarkets Sacramento, Calif. | William Coyne president, CEO | 139 | 3.4e 6/30/07 |
| 37 | Overwaitea Food Group Langley, British Columbia | Steve van der Leest president | 108 | 3.3e (U.S.) 12/31/06 |
| 38 | Price Chopper Schenectady, N.Y. | Neil Golub president, CEO | 115 | 3.1e 4/28/07 |
| 39 | Unified Western Grocers Los Angeles | Al Plamann president, CEO | 0 | 3.0a 9/30/06 |
| 40 | Harris Teeter Matthews, N.C. | Fred Morgenthall president | 152 | 2.9a 10/1/06 |
| Harris Teeter is a division of Ruddick Corp., Charlotte, N.C., and accounts for approximately 90% of Ruddick's sales. | ||||
| 41 | United Natural Foods Dayville, Conn. | Michael F. Funk president, CEO | 12 | 2.8e 7/28/07 |
| Corporate stores at United Natural account for 1.5% of total sales. | ||||
| 42 | Alex Lee Inc. Hickory, N.C. | Boyd George chairman, CEO | 106 | 2.7a 9/30/06 |
| Sales at Alex Lee Inc. include $1.2 billion from Lowes Food Stores, Winston-Salem, N.C.; $1.7 billion from Merchants Distributors, Hickory, a wholesaler (approximately 46% of whose sales go to Lowes), and $500 million from Institution Food House, a food-service distributor based in Hickory. | ||||
| 43 | WinCo Foods Boise, Idaho | Steven L. Goddard president, CEO | 54 | 2.7e 3/31/07 |
| 44 | Ingles Markets Asheville, N.C. | Robert P. Ingle 2d chairman | 197 | 2.6a 9/30/06 |
| 45 | Houchens Industries Bowling Green, Ky. | Jimmie Gipson chairman, CEO | 411 | 2.5a 9/30/06 |
| Houchens operates 147 conventional supermarkets under several banners (Houchens, Food Giant, IGA, IGA Crossroads, Piggly Wiggly and Mad Butcher); 224 Save-A-Lot stores; and 40 convenience stores, which combine to account for approximately 60% of total corporate sales. Houchens' other revenue sources include warehousing, construction and recycling. | ||||
| 46 | Associated Wholesalers Inc. Robesonia, Pa. | J. Chris Michael president, CEO | 9 | 2.3e 7/31/07 |
| Corporate stores at AWI account for 3% of total sales. AWI acquired White Rose Foods, Carteret, N.J., from DiGiorgio Corp. in June 2006, which boosted volume by approximately $1.2 billion. | ||||
| 47 | Schnuck Markets St. Louis | Scott Schnuck chairman, CEO | 101 | 2.3e 9/30/06 |
| 48 | Spartan Stores Grand Rapids, Mich. | Craig Sturken chairman, president, CEO | 87 | 2.3e 3/31/07 |
| Corporate stores at Spartan, encompassing 68 supermarkets and 19 deep-discount drug stores, account for 50% of total sales. | ||||
| 49 | Demoulas Market Basket Tewksbury, Mass. | William J. Shea chairman | 58 | 2.2e 12/30/06 |
| 50 | Smart & Final Los Angeles | Etienne Snollaerts president, CEO | 251 | 2.2e 12/31/06 |
| Smart & Final operates 198 warehouse stores and 53 cash-and-carry stores. | ||||
| 51 | Weis Markets Sunbury, Pa. | Norman Rich president, CEO | 156 | 2.2e 12/30/06 |
| 52 | Bashas' Chandler, Ariz. | Eddie N. Basha Jr. chairman, CEO | 156 | 2.1e 12/31/06 |
| 53 | Brookshire Grocery Co. Tyler, Texas | Bruce Brookshire chairman | 155 | 2.1e 9/30/06 |
| 54 | Grocers Supply Co. Houston | Max Levit president, CEO | 50 | 2.0e 12/31/06 |
| Grocers Supply Co. declined to pinpoint what percentage of total sales its corporate stores account for. | ||||
| 55 | K-VA-T Food Stores Abingdon, Va. | Steve Smith president, CEO | 95 | 1.6e 12/31/06 |
| 56 | Marsh Supermarkets Indianapolis | Frank Lazaran chairman, president, CEO | 252 | 1.6e 3/31/07 |
| Marsh operates 104 supermarkets and 148 convenience stores, plus a food-service company and a floral business. | ||||
| 57 | Associated Food Stores Salt Lake City | Rich Parkinson president, CEO | 23 | 1.5e 3/31/07 |
| Corporate stores at Associated Food Stores account for 32% of total sales. | ||||
| 58 | Penn Traffic Co. Syracuse, N.Y. | Bob Panasuk president, CEO | 111 | 1.3e 2/3/07 |
| Penn Traffic also serves as a wholesaler to 74 licensed franchisees and 49 independent operators, which combined to account for approximately 20% of total sales. | ||||
| 59 | Big Y Foods Springfield, Mass. | Donald D'Amour chairman, CEO | 56 | 1.3e 12/31/06 |
| Big Y operates 54 conventional supermarkets and two fine wine, liquor and gourmet food stores under the banners Table & Vine and Town & Country. | ||||
| 60 | Foodarama Freehold, N.J. | Richard Saker president, CEO | 26 | 1.3e 10/28/06 |
| 61 | Affiliated Foods Amarillo, Texas | George Lankford president, CEO | 0 | 1.2a 9/30/06 |
| 62 | Bozzuto's Cheshire, Conn. | Michael Bozzuto chairman, president | 8 | 1.2a 9/30/06 |
| Corporate stores at Bozzuto's account for 1.5% of total sales. | ||||
| 63 | Wild Oats Markets Boulder, Colo. | Greg Mays chairman, interim CEO | 116 | 1.2e 12/30/06 |
| 64 | Central Grocers Franklin Park, Ill. | Joe Caccamo president, general manager | 30 | 1.1a 7/29/06 |
| Corporate stores at Central Grocers account for approximately 55% of total sales. | ||||
| 65 | Brookshire Bros. Lufkin, Texas | Jack Gabriel, Donny Johnson and Jerry Johnson, executive committee | 73 | 1.1e 4/28/07 |
| 66 | United Supermarkets Lubbock, Texas | Gantt & Matt Bumstead co-presidents | 48 | 1.1e 1/27/06 |
| 67 | Associated Grocers Seattle | John Runyan president, CEO | 1 | 1.08e 9/30/06 |
| 68 | Affiliated Foods Midwest Norfolk, Neb. | Martin Arter president | 0 | 1.05e 6/30/07 |
| 69 | 99 Cents Only Stores Commerce, Calif. | Eric Schiffer CEO | 232 | 1.04e 3/31/07 |
| Consumables at 99 Cents Only account for approximately 55% of total sales. | ||||
| 70 | Village Super Market Springfield, N.J. | James Sumas chairman | 23 | 1.04e 7/28/07 |
| 71 | Inserra Supermarkets Springfield, N.J. | Lawrence R. Inserra Jr. chairman, CEO | 22 | 1.0e 12/30/06 |
| 72 | Purity Wholesale Grocers Boca Raton, Fla. | Jeff Levitetz chairman | 0 | 1.0e 6/30/07 |
| 73 | Minyard Food Stores Coppell, Texas | Michael Byars president, CEO | 65 | 0.85e 6/30/06 |
| 74 | Haggen Inc. Bellingham, Wash. | Dale C. Henley president, CEO | 33 | 0.83e 12/31/06 |
| Haggen operates 32 supermarkets and one freestanding pharmacy. | ||||
| 75 | King Kullen Grocery Co. Bethpage, N.Y. | Bernard D. Kennedy & Ronald Conklin, co-chairmen | 48 | 0.80e 9/29/06 |
| King Kullen operates 45 supermarkets and three Wild by Nature natural food stores. | ||||
| ADDITIONAL NOTES: IGA, the Chicago-based voluntary network of independent operators, accounted for U.S. sales of $6 billion in 2006 and Canadian sales of $3 billion. IGA members are supplied by 13 licensed wholesalers in the U.S. and two in Canada. Sales figures for IGA's international operations in 40 countries were not available. Piggly Wiggly LLC, a Dallas-based umbrella organization for approximately 600 licensed and franchised independent operators in 16 states across the mid-South, Illinois and Wisconsin, had 2006 volume estimated at $3.4 billion. Piggly Wiggly stores are supplied by a variety of wholesalers. The company is an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Keene, N.H. | ||||
Top Wholesalers
| RANK | COMPANY | STORES OWNED | SALES IN $ BILLIONS | TOP 75 RANKING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supervalu | 2,567 | 38.0e | 5 |
| Sales from 1,669 corporate stores, encompassing 1,368 conventional supermarkets (1,124 of which were acquired from Albertsons) and 301 Save-A-Lots, account for 80% of annual revenues. The company also franchises 867 Save-A-Lots and 31 Cub Foods stores. | ||||
| 2 | C&S Wholesale Grocers | 0 | 19.4e | 9 |
| C&S supplies products to 10 Top 75 retailers (Kroger, A&P, Ahold USA, BJ's, Big Y, Demoulas Market Basket, Pathmark, Safeway, Save Mart and Shaw's), and volume from those companies is reflected in the sales totals for C&S and for each of those retailers individually. C&S volume does not include retail sales from two C&S affiliates: GU Family Markets, which operates 35 former Grand Union locations, and Southern Family Markets, which encompasses 57 supermarkets and 11 liquor stores formerly operated by the Bruno's/Bi-Lo divisions of Ahold USA. | ||||
| 3 | Wakefern Food Corp. | 57 | 9.5e | 16 |
| Wakefern supplies products to three Top 75 companies — Foodarama, Village Super Markets and Inserra Supermarkets — and volume from those companies is reflected in the sales totals for Wakefern and for each of those retailers individually. Wakefern declined to indicate what percentage of total sales are done by its corporate stores (29 ShopRites and 28 PriceRites.) | ||||
| 4 | Associated Wholesale Grocers | 65 | 5.0e | 26 |
| Corporate stores at AWG account for 6.2% of total sales. | ||||
| 5 | Nash Finch Co. | 62 | 4.8e | 29 |
| Corporate stores at Nash Finch account for 14% of total sales. | ||||
| 6 | Roundy's Supermarkets | 147 | 3.9e | 32 |
| 7 | Unified Western Grocers | 0 | 3.0a | 39 |
| 8 | United Natural Foods | 12 | 2.8e | 41 |
| Corporate stores at United Natural account for 1.5% of total sales. | ||||
| 9 | Alex Lee Inc. | 106 | 2.7a | 42 |
| Sales at Alex Lee Inc. include $1.2 billion from Lowes Food Stores, Winston-Salem, N.C.; $1.7 billion from Merchants Distributors, Hickory, N.C., a wholesaler (approximately 46% of whose sales go to Lowes), and $500 million from Institution Food House, a foodservice distributor based in Hickory. | ||||
| 10 | Associated Wholesalers Inc. | 9 | 2.3e | 46 |
| Corporate stores at AWI account for 3% of total sales. AWI acquired White Rose Foods, Carteret, N.J., from DiGiorgio Corp. in June 2006, which boosted volume by approximately $1.2 billion. | ||||
| 11 | Spartan Stores | 87 | 2.3e | 48 |
| Corporate stores at Spartan, encompassing 68 supermarkets and 19 deep-discount drug stores, account for 50% of total sales. | ||||
| 12 | Grocers Supply Co. | 50 | 2.0e | 54 |
| Grocers Supply Co. declined to pinpoint what percentage of total sales its corporate stores account for. | ||||
| 13 | Associated Food Stores | 23 | 1.5e | 57 |
| Corporate stores at Associated Food Stores account for 32% of total sales. | ||||
| 14 | Penn Traffic Co. | 111 | 1.3e | 58 |
| Penn Traffic also serves as a wholesaler to 74 licensed franchisees and 49 independent operators, which combined to account for approximately 20% of total sales. | ||||
| 15 | Affiliated Foods | 0 | 1.2a | 61 |
| 16 | Bozzuto's | 8 | 1.2a | 62 |
| Corporate stores at Bozzuto's account for 1.5% of total sales. | ||||
| 17 | Central Grocers | 30 | 1.1a | 64 |
| Corporate stores at Central Grocers account for approximately 55% of total sales. | ||||
| 18 | Associated Grocers | 1 | 1.08e | 67 |
| 19 | Affiliated Foods Midwest | 0 | 1.05e | 68 |
| 20 | Purity Wholesale Grocers | 0 | 1.0e | 72 |
Top Canadian Food Companies
| RANK | COMPANY | STORES OWNED | SALES IN $ BILLIONS | OP 75 RANKING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loblaw Cos. | 1,072 | 26.5e (U.S.) | 6 |
| Loblaw operates 670 corporate stores and supplies 402 franchised stores. | ||||
| 2 | Sobeys | 1,296 | 12.5e (U.S.) | 13 |
| Sobeys operates 543 corporate stores (encompassing 325 supermarkets, 158 convenience stores and 60 drug stores) and supplies 753 franchised stores. | ||||
| 3 | Metro | 853 | 9.6a (U.S.) | 15 |
| Metro operates 294 corporate stores that account for 80% of total sales and supplies 559 franchised stores, including 386 independent supermarket operators and 173 drug stores. | ||||
| 4 | Overwaitea Food Group | 108 | 3.3e (U.S.) | 37 |
Top Alternative Formats
| RANK | COMPANY | STORES OWNED | SALES IN $ BILLIONS | TOP 75 RANKING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wal-Mart Stores | 2,981 | 232.9e | 1 |
| Volume total represents combined sales of Wal-Mart Supercenters, Sam's Clubs and Neighborhood Markets in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Wal-Mart operates 2,176 supercenters in the U.S., 118 supercenters in Mexico and three supercenters in Canada, which account for approximately $183.7 billion; 574 Sam's Clubs in the U.S. and six in Canada, which account for $42.2 billion, and 110 Neighborhood Markets in the U.S., which account for approximately $7 billion. Excluded from the totals are 1,100 U.S. discount stores, which account for approximately $63.2 billion; and 2,559 stores outside the U.S. that account for approximately $55.2 billion. Total Wal-Mart sales for the year were approximately $351.3 billion. (Note that in recent years, Wal-Mart's listing in the Top 75 had included total company store counts and sales.) | ||||
| 2 | Costco Wholesale Corp. | 458 | 59.0a | 3 |
| Groceries, encompassing food, sundries and fresh products, plus pharmacy and gasoline, accounted for 62% of Costco's total sales, or $36.6 billion. Of the company's total volume, 81% came from the U.S., 13% from Canada and 6% from overseas. | ||||
| 3 | 7-Eleven | 6,013 | 15e | 11 |
| Merchandise at 7-Eleven accounts for 65% of total sales, and gasoline accounts for the other 35%. Excluding tobacco products, which account for approximately 29% of merchandise volume, sales from dairy, fresh foods, candy and snacks, beer and wine, beverages, foodservice and non-foods account for approximately 67.5% of the merchandise total. 7-Eleven operates 5,540 stores in the U.S. and 473 in Canada. All stores in Canada and 35% of those in the U.S. are corporate-owned, with the rest of the U.S. stores franchised. U.S. sales account for approximately 92% of the North American total, with Canadian sales accounting for the other 8%. | ||||
| 4 | Meijer | 176 | 13.2e | 12 |
| 5 | Dollar General Corp. | 8,249 | 9.2e | 17 |
| Consumables, including groceries, fresh and refrigerated foods and HBC products, account for approximately 66.5% of total sales. Store base includes approximately 50 Dollar General Markets that feature perishables, which are not offered at Dollar General Stores. | ||||
| 6 | BJ's Wholesale Club | 171 | 8.6e | 18 |
| Groceries, encompassing food and sundries, account for approximately 72.5% of BJ's total sales. | ||||
| 7 | Whole Foods Market | 188 | 5.6a | 23 |
| 8 | Aldi | 820 | 5.3e | 24 |
| Aldi is the U.S. subsidiary of Aldi Group, Muelheim, Germany. | ||||
| 9 | Trader Joe's Co. | 262 | 5.0e | 27 |
| Trader Joe's is wholly owned by the Albrecht family of Germany. | ||||
| 10 | Wawa | 556 | 4.4e | 30 |
| Merchandise and services account for an estimated 80% of Wawa's sales. | ||||
| 11 | Smart & Final | 251 | 2.2e | 50 |
| Smart & Final operates 198 warehouse stores and 53 cash-and-carry stores. | ||||
| 12 | Wild Oats Markets | 116 | 1.2e | 63 |
| 13 | 99 Cents Only Stores | 232 | 1.04e | 69 |
| Consumables at 99 Cents Only account for approximately 55% of total sales. | ||||
Top 75, Now and Then
| COMPANY | 2007 RANK | 2006 RANK | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wal-Mart Stores | 1 | 1 | — |
| Kroger Co. | 2 | 2 | — |
| Costco Wholesale Corp. | 3 | 3 | — |
| Safeway | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Supervalu | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| Loblaw Cos. | 6 | 6 | — |
| Ahold USA Retail | 7 | 7 | — |
| Publix Super Markets | 8 | 8 | — |
| C&S Wholesale Grocers | 9 | 11 | 2 |
| Delhaize America | 10 | 10 | — |
| 7-Eleven | 11 | 12 | 1 |
| Meijer | 12 | 13 | 1 |
| Sobeys | 13 | 15 | 2 |
| H.E. Butt Grocery Co. | 14 | 14 | — |
| Metro | 15 | 20 | 5 |
| Wakefern Food Corp. | 16 | 16 | — |
| Dollar General Corp. | 17 | 18 | 1 |
| BJ's Wholesale Club | 18 | 19 | 1 |
| Albertsons LLC | 19 | — | — |
| Winn-Dixie Stores | 20 | 17 | -3 |
| A&P | 21 | 21 | — |
| Giant Eagle | 22 | 22 | — |
| Whole Foods Market | 23 | 26 | 3 |
| Aldi | 24 | 23 | -1 |
| Hy-Vee Food Stores | 25 | 25 | — |
| Associated Wholesale Grocers | 26 | 24 | -2 |
| Trader Joe's Co. | 27 | 28 | 1 |
| Save Mart Supermarkets | 28 | 41 | 13 |
| Nash Finch Co. | 29 | 27 | -2 |
| Wawa | 30 | 29 | -1 |
| Pathmark Stores | 31 | 30 | -1 |
| Roundy's Supermarkets | 32 | 33 | 1 |
| Bi-Lo/Bruno's | 33 | 31 | -2 |
| Wegmans Food Markets | 34 | 32 | -2 |
| Stater Bros. Markets | 35 | 34 | -1 |
| Raley's Supermarkets | 36 | 35 | -1 |
| Overwaitea Food Group | 37 | 39 | 2 |
| Price Chopper | 38 | 37 | -1 |
| Unified Western Grocers | 39 | 36 | -3 |
| Harris Teeter | 40 | 40 | — |
| United Natural Foods | 41 | 44 | 3 |
| Alex Lee Inc. | 42 | 42 | — |
| WinCo Foods | 43 | 43 | — |
| Ingles Markets | 44 | 45 | 1 |
| Houchens Industries | 45 | 38 | -7 |
| Associated Wholesalers Inc. | 46 | 64 | 18 |
| Schnuck Markets | 47 | 47 | — |
| Spartan Stores | 48 | 48 | — |
| Demoulas Market Basket | 49 | 50 | 1 |
| Smart & Final | 50 | 49 | -1 |
| Weis Markets | 51 | 46 | -5 |
| Bashas' | 52 | 52 | — |
| Brookshire Grocery Co. | 53 | 51 | -2 |
| Grocers Supply Co. | 54 | 53 | -1 |
| K-VA-T Food Stores | 55 | 57 | 2 |
| Marsh Supermarkets | 56 | 54 | -2 |
| Associated Food Stores | 57 | 55 | -2 |
| Penn Traffic Co. | 58 | 56 | -2 |
| Big Y Foods | 59 | 62 | 3 |
| Foodarama | 60 | 59 | -1 |
| Affiliated Foods | 61 | 65 | 4 |
| Bozzuto's | 62 | 67 | 5 |
| Wild Oats Markets | 63 | 60 | -3 |
| Central Grocers | 64 | 68 | 4 |
| Brookshire Bros. | 65 | 73 | 8 |
| United Supermarkets | 66 | 66 | — |
| Associated Grocers | 67 | 69 | 2 |
| Affiliated Foods Midwest | 68 | 70 | 2 |
| 99 Cents Only Stores | 69 | — | — |
| Village Super Market | 70 | 71 | 1 |
| Inserra Supermarkets | 71 | 72 | 1 |
| Purity Wholesale Grocers | 72 | 61 | -11 |
| Minyard Food Stores | 73 | 74 | 1 |
| Haggen Inc. | 74 | 75 | 1 |
| King Kullen Grocery Co. | 75 | — | — |
| 99 Cents Only Stores is new to SN's Top 75 this year, and King Kullen Grocery Co. returns after a year's absence. The 2006 companies not on 2007's list are Kum & Go and White Rose Foods. Alberstons LLC, ranked 19th, is part of the former Albertsons, which was ranked 4th last year. | |||
Top 75 in Alphabetical Order
| COMPANY | RANK |
|---|---|
| A&P | 21 |
| Affiliated Foods | 61 |
| Affiliated Foods Midwest | 68 |
| Ahold USA Retail | 7 |
| Albertsons LLC | 19 |
| Aldi | 24 |
| Alex Lee Inc. | 42 |
| Associated Food Stores | 57 |
| Associated Grocers | 67 |
| Associated Wholesale Grocers | 26 |
| Associated Wholesalers Inc. | 46 |
| Bashas' | 52 |
| Big Y Foods | 59 |
| Bi-Lo/Bruno's | 33 |
| BJ's Wholesale Club | 18 |
| Bozzuto's | 62 |
| Brookshire Bros. | 65 |
| Brookshire Grocery Co. | 53 |
| C&S Wholesale Grocers | 9 |
| Central Grocers | 64 |
| Costco Wholesale Corp. | 3 |
| Delhaize America | 10 |
| Demoulas Market Basket | 49 |
| Dollar General Corp. | 17 |
| Foodarama | 60 |
| Giant Eagle | 22 |
| Grocers Supply Co. | 54 |
| Haggen Inc. | 74 |
| Harris Teeter | 40 |
| H.E. Butt Grocery Co. | 14 |
| Houchens Industries | 45 |
| Hy-Vee Food Stores | 25 |
| Ingles Markets | 44 |
| Inserra Supermarkets | 71 |
| King Kullen Grocery Co. | 75 |
| Kroger Co. | 2 |
| K-VA-T Food Stores | 55 |
| Loblaw Cos. | 6 |
| Marsh Supermarkets | 56 |
| Meijer | 12 |
| Metro | 15 |
| Minyard Food Stores | 73 |
| Nash Finch Co. | 29 |
| 99 Cents Only Stores | 69 |
| Overwaitea Food Group | 37 |
| Pathmark Stores | 31 |
| Penn Traffic Co. | 58 |
| Price Chopper | 38 |
| Publix Super Markets | 8 |
| Purity Wholesale Grocers | 72 |
| Raley's Supermarkets | 36 |
| Roundy's Supermarkets | 32 |
| Safeway | 4 |
| Save Mart Supermarkets | 28 |
| Schnuck Markets | 47 |
| 7-Eleven | 11 |
| Smart & Final | 50 |
| Sobeys | 13 |
| Spartan Stores | 48 |
| Stater Bros. Markets | 35 |
| Supervalu | 5 |
| Trader Joe's Co. | 27 |
| Unified Western Grocers | 39 |
| United Natural Foods | 41 |
| United Supermarkets | 66 |
| Village Super Market | 70 |
| Wal-Mart Stores | 1 |
| Wakefern Food Corp. | 16 |
| Wawa. | 30 |
| Wegmans Food Markets | 34 |
| Weis Markets | 51 |
| Whole Foods Market | 23 |
| Wild Oats Markets | 63 |
| WinCo Foods | 43 |
| Winn-Dixie Stores | 20 |
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