WASHINGTON - Grocery stores have staged a comeback, moving back into prominence after losing ground to discount retailers and club stores, Marketing Daily reports. In its annual ranking of big retailers, STORES Magazine found supermarket chains have regained their dominance.
Walmart keeps its number-one ranking, followed by Kroger, which kept its number two slot. However, Harris Teeter Supermarkets, newly on the list, captured the number 80 spot, and Safeway, off the top 10 list for the past five years, returned in the number 10 spot.
"When it comes to grocery retailers, fundamental shifts in how their customers shop, primarily because of the 'need versus want?? argument, have changed which companies might excel faster than others," said Susan Reda, editor of STORES media.
Other grocery chains cracking the top 100 list are Aldi (number 40), H.E.B. (26), newcomer Roundy??s Supermarkets (89), Wegman??s (65) and Whole Foods Markets (37). All of those chains experienced double-digit sales growth for the year.
The top 10 retailers are as follows:
- Walmart
- Kroger
- Target
- Walgreen
- Costco
- Home Depot
- CVS Caremark
- Lowe??s
- Best Buy
- Safeway