6 C-Store Brands Among NRF’s Top 100 Retailers
By Greg Lindenberg on Jul. 02, 2018WASHINGTON -- As disruption continues to change the face of retail, convenience stores continue to keep pace with other channels. Six c-store brands secured spots on the annual Top 100 Retailers ranking by U.S. sales from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Kantar Consulting. Several grocery, dollar and drugstore chains also took spots on the list of retailers.
Launching new strategies, augmenting the in-store experience and re-engineering logistics and digital commerce capabilities helped the largest U.S. retailers maintain their edge during the past year, according to the report.
“Retail today is a blend of innovation and experience,” said Susan Reda, media editor of Washington-based NRF’s STORES magazine. “Companies large and small are transforming their businesses in the quest to satisfy shoppers who rewrite the rules of engagement faster than light.”
“We find ourselves at a point in U.S. retail evolution where key players are moving from a more divided approach of online vs. brick-and-mortar strategies to those that cater to the more holistic reality of shoppers and commerce,” said Sara Al-Tukhaim, senior vice president of insights and operations for London-based Kantar Consulting. “This will continue to pave the way for exciting and innovative retail partnerships, targeting growth both within and increasingly outside the realm of retail.”
The 10 largest retailers remain the same as last year, although the order has changed. Here's a look at the list …
Top 10
The top 10 retailers across all channels were:
- Walmart
- Kroger
- Amazon (up from No. 7)
- Costco (down from No. 3)
- The Home Depot (down from No. 4)
- Walgreens Boots Alliance
- CVS (down from No. 5)
- Target
- Lowe’s
- Albertsons
Here are the six convenience-store brands that made the list ...
7-Eleven
At No. 32 on the list, 7-Eleven Inc. had 2017 U.S. sales of $14.3 billion (17% of worldwide sales of $85.91 billion). Last year, it ranked No. 31.
- Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven ranked No. 1 in CSP's 2018 Top 202 list of U.S. c-store chains by number of company-owned retail outlets.
Alimentation Couche-Tard
At No. 48, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. had 2017 U.S. sales of $9.2 billion (71% of worldwide sales of $13.03 billion). Last year, it was No. 60.
Army & Air Force Exchange
At No. 61, Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Dallas, had $7.1 billion in U.S. sales. Last year, it was No. 56.
Speedway
At No. 87, Enon, Ohio-based Speedway LLC had $4.7 billion in U.S. sales. Last year, it was No. 83.
ExxonMobil
At No. 92, Irving, Texas-based ExxonMobil had $4.5 billion in U.S. sales. Last year, ExxonMobil was also No. 92.
Shell Oil
At No. 95, Houston-based Shell Oil had $4.1 billion in U.S. sales. Last year, it was No. 94.
Here’s how other relevant retail channels fared on the list compared to c-stores ...
Other retail channels
Dollar Stores
- Dollar General (No. 19; operates approximately 40 gas stations)
- Dollar Tree (No. 21)
Drugstores
- Walgreens Boots Alliance (No. 6)
- CVS (No. 7)
- Rite Aid (No. 22)
- Good Neighbor Pharmacy (No. 45)
Grocery
- Albertsons (No. 10; has opened one standalone Albertsons Express c-store with gasoline and one stand-alone Tom Thumb c-store with gasoline)
- Royal Ahold Delhaize (No. 11)
- Publix (No. 15)
- Aldi (No. 17)
- H-E-B Grocery (No. 20)
- Meijer (No. 26; offers stand-alone Meijer c-stores with gasoline on its supermarket lots, placing it at No. 36 on CSP's 2018 Top 202 list)
- Wakefern/ShopRite (No. 29)
- Southeastern Grocers (No. 43)
- Hy-Vee (No. 46; offers stand-alone Hy-Vee c-stores with gasoline on its supermarket lots, placing it at No. 49 on CSP's 2018 Top 202 list)
- Giant Eagle (No. 52; offers the stand-alone GetGo chain of c-stores with gasoline, placing it at No. 38 on CSP's 2018 Top 202 list)
- Wegmans (No. 54)
- WinCo Foods (No. 64)
- Sav-A-Lot (No. 65)
- Sprouts Farmers Market (No. 91)
- Supervalu (No. 98)