The National Retail Federation (NRF) has just released its list of the 100 largest retailers in America. As almost anyone would expect, Walmart tops the list. The biggest employer in the United States and a company at the top of the Fortune 500 would naturally hold the number one position. Surprisingly, a niche retailer holds the number two spot.
The NRF looked at retail sales for 2018. Walmart posted total retail revenue of $387 billion. Amazon had sales of $121 billion, but it is not a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer. Based on that traditional measure, Kroger ranked second with sales of $120 billion. Kroger essentially sells only one category of products: groceries.
Kroger trails Walmart in other categories, including the number of stores. Walmart has 5,263, while Kroger has 3,035. Walmart is the largest employer in over a dozen of the 50 states. Kroger does not have the top spot in any of them. However, Kroger has one measure in which it leads by far. It was founded in 1883 by Bernard Kroger. Walmart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton.
Kroger has struggled somewhat lately. Its most recently reported quarter revenue was essentially flat. For 2019, the number was $37.3 billion. In the same quarter of 2018, revenue was $37.7 billion. Operating profit dropped between the two years. In the most recent quarter, it was $901 million. Last year, the figure was $1.03 billion… 24/7 Wall St