Global Powers of Retailing 2023

The Global Powers of Retailing 2023 report shows the top 250 companies posting 8.5% year-on-year growth in retail revenue, up from 5.2% in the previous year. The apparel and accessories sector achieved the highest annual sales growth with 31.3%. The top 250 retailers achieved an average net profit margin of 4.3%. With 73% of Consumer Industry CXOs having increased investments in sustainability over the last year, this remains high on the agenda.  The full report further analyses the fastest growing retailers, net entrants and the future of the store. 

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Majority of top-10 retailers boost their digital capabilities

Walmart again leads the world’s global retailers, but we do see some changes in the top 10. China’s online retail specialist JD.com, for example, entered the top 10 at position 9 last year. This year they climbed to position 7 as a result of their 25.1% growth in retail revenue, also making them the fastest-growing top-10 retailer. For a second consecutive year, Latin American retailers recorded the largest composite five-year Compound Annual Growth Rate and year-on-year retail revenue growth.

Digital retailers benefitted from the shift towards digital shopping, during and after the pandemic. In fact, the majority of the top-10 retailers have actively boosted their digital capabilities through either the implementation of in-store technologies or through enhancing their omni-channel offerings. 

“In a year of strong year-on-year growth in retail revenue across the top 250, we see that sustainability remains high on the agenda. Several players are working on the resale of slightly used goods and we see many technology-enabled innovations. Successful retailers combine technology with the human factor to provide optimal customer experience. Among the Fastest 50, the main drivers of growth were the luxury brands, e-commerce providers and department stores.” – Evan Sheehan, Global Retail, Wholesale & Distribution Leader at Deloitte

Focus on sustainability remains, but type of investment is shifting 

As many retailers continue to invest in sustainability initiatives, we see four focal points in their efforts. These are:

• the resale market
• the need to embed sustainability practises across supply chain operations
• the role of technology in sustainability
• the adherence to ESG-related regulations and frameworks

Lululemon’s like new programme for example enables customers to buy and sell their slightly used products. In an interview, Ahold Delhaize shared how they work on reducing scope 3 emissions on a group level and at a local level in their retail store.Read more about sustainability strategies of the world’s leading retailers.

“We shortlisted the levers that we would need to pull to support Ahold Delhaize reaching its scope 3 target and chose to focus on supporting the supply chain to decarbonise, on livestock and regenerative agriculture, and on the shift to a more sustainable, diverse assortment in our stores, through, for example, the shift to more plant-based proteins.” - Daniella Vega, SVP of the Global Support Office for Health and Sustainability

Explore the Global Powers of Retailing highlights online

• Economic Outlook: An overview of what retailers expect from the global economy in 2023.
  
• Sustainability in retail: Explore how the world’s leading retailers are acting towards becoming more sustainable.
• Retail across the world: Outlining the performance of the top 250 retail companies by region.
• Fastest 50 retailers: Analysing the 50 growth leaders in the retail industry. 

Explore the full analysis in the report

The full Deloitte’s Global Powers of Retailing 2023 report  identifies the 250 largest retailers around the world based on publicly available data for FY2021 and analyses their performance across geographies and product sectors. It also zooms in on the top 10, looks at the fastest growers and the new entrants and investigates what retailers are doing in the field of sustainability and creating the future of the store.