Top 10 Walmart Competitors In 2023

Walmart a retail corporation and the world’s biggest chain that was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in the United States. The first store was focused on discounts and was located in Rogers, Arkansas. Today, it operates 11,500 department stores which are distributed in 27 countries worldwide, where it receives 265 million customers every week. It also sells products through the Internet with its eCommerce platform.

With 2.2 million employees at the end of 2019, Walmart generated $ 514.4 billion in revenues. The group has developed an omnichannel strategy, with the pickup system that allows clients who purchase online, to collect their items in a physical store.

Walmart offers important discounts and it sells all kind of products such as drugs, clothes and groceries. It operates supermarkets, hypermarkets, and supercenters, together with the eCommerce platform. United States is its most important market, followed by the international segment. In every continent, it owns 100% of subsidiaries.

NAME	Walmart, Inc.
FOUNDED	1992
HEADQUARTERS	Bentonville, AR, USA
SIC CODE	5311
STATUS	Public Company at Nasdaq
INDUSTRY SECTOR	Retail Department Store
EMPLOYEES	2,200,00
TRADING SYMBOL	WMT

Walmart similar companies:

Albertsons, eBay, Costco, Giant Eagle, Ascena Retail Group, Qurate Retail Group, Lowe’s and Kroger

Who is Walmart’s biggest competitor

The biggest competitor of Walmart is Costco, the second biggest retailer corporation that was created in 1983 and today operates 800 department stores worldwide. With 254,000 employees and revenues of $152 billion in 2019, Costco is behind Walmart, the leader of this business, which operates 11,500 locations, employs 2.2 million people, and reported revenues for $ 514.4 billion in 2019.

How the company makes money

RETAIL

Walmart’s main source of income is the sale of products to the general public, or retail that it operates both through department stores and the eCommerce site. It represented 99% of revenues generated in 2019. It is ranked first against its competitors in terms of incomes, which is three times the amount generated by the second, Costco, and the third, The Kroger.

It provides an omni-channel experience to customers, which consists on the integration between retail stores and eCommerce with services like “Click & Collect” in the UK, our grocery delivery and pick-up in other markets. In India, it operates Flipkart marketplace. Wholesale stores range in size from 25,000 square feet to 155,000 square feet. It is also owner of gas stations. It uses a global supply chain with more than 100,000 supliers around the world.

MEMBERSHIP FEE

The second source of income is the membership program called Sam’s Club, which operates in 44 states in the US and in Puerto Rico. In 2019, it had net sales of $ 57.8 billion. All the customers associated to the club receive free shipping on online items, as well as up to $500 / year in cash rewards on qualifying purchases, early shopping to avoid the crowd and up to 16 add-ons, that are products with reduced cost just for members.

COSTCO

Costco Wholesale Corporation is a retail store chain created in 1983 in Seattle, Washington, which merged with The Price Company in 1993, to form Price / Costco. The group operates 785 branches that are mostly located in the United States, and has more  in eight countries of North America, Europe, and Asia. It also sells items through the eCommerce site.

With 254,000 employees, Costco generated revenues of $ 152 billion in 2019. The company works as a large membership warehouse, differing of most of its competitors. It operates 800 department stores worldwide. All the locations include a gas station (except from Korea, France, and China), which represent 11% of the group’s sales.

THE KROGER

The Kroger is an American food seller that opened its first store in Cincinnati in 1883. Today, it employs 450,000 people and it is positioned as the third world retail chain behind Walmart and Costco. It operates 2,764 department stores in the United States and it generated revenues of $ 121.6 billion in 2018, with 97% belong to physical stores. The group acquired the meal service delivery Home Chef delivery to add value to its business.

The Kroger offers pickup and shipping service in most of its stores, that also include ¡pharmacies and fuel centers. Customers can also buy through the Internet. The group owns different brands, selling 15,000 products under those in three segments: Private Selection, Big K, The Kroger brand, and Heritage Farm.

SCHWARZ GROUP

Schwarz is the retail store that was created in Germany by Josef Schwarz in 1930 and today remains under his family’s control. It operates food stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and discount departments under different brands such as Lidl and Kaufland. It has almost 12,000 locations: 3,200 in its origin country and the rest are spread in 30 countries like Australia, Lithuania, Serbia, the US, and Russia.

With 360,000 employees, Schwarz generates $ 93.1 billion in annual revenues. It is positioned as Europe’s largest retail chain and the world’s fourth globally behind Walmart, Costco, and Kroger. Lidl operates 10,000 stores in 26 countries and it is the second discount chain in Germany.

WALGREENS

Walgreens is a retail and wholesale pharmacy chain created by Charles R. Walgreen in 1901 in the US. It started as a drugstore and then it expanded to compete today with the largest retail chains in the country. It operates almost 18,750 stores in 11 territories and works with 400 distribution centers for 24,000 pharmacies, doctors, and health centers a year. It owns the Duane Reade and Rite Aid.

Walgreens commercializes pharmacy products such as prescription drugs and pharmaceutical services, which represent 74% of its annual revenues. Then, it operates the retail business selling products for health and beauty care, over-the-counter medications, and general merchandise. The latter is about 26% of its income. With its 342,000 employees, the revenues generated in 2019 were $ 136,8 billion. It is the world’s fifth retail chain.

CARREFOUR

Carrefour is a supermarket chain that was first opened in France in 1960 by families Fournier, Badin, and Defforey. It started in the city of Annecy, Haute-Savoie and expanded to the international market. Today, it operates 12,000 stores in 30 countries. With 360,000 employees, in 2018 generated revenues of $ 85 billion, positioning as the world’s sixth largest retail store chain.

Carrefour has been implementing a strategy based on two concepts: the growing supply of organic products that it buys to more than 30,000 farmers, using a criteria of sustainable production, seasonality, location, and conservation. The second concept is the increasing investment in the online platform and the implementation of an omni-channel strategy.

ALDI EINKAUF

Aldi Einkauf is a retail store chain that was created in Germany in 1961 by the Albrecht. It was the first discount store in the world. Today, it receives 40 million customers daily in its supermarkets where grocery, meat, fresh products, beverages, and household items are sold. The company operates 10,000 locations in 20 countries. With 74,000 employees, it generated revenues of $ 82.1 billion in 2018. It is the seventh-largest retail chain behind Carrefour.

Aldi’s strategy is based on offering high quality products at low cost. Every week, clients can get discounts according their purchase volume and they can find seasonal sales in different categories. It commercializes 90% of exclusive brands which are tested in the “Aldi Test Kitchen” to guarantee the food quality.

TESCO

Tesco is the supermarket chain that was launched by Jack Cohen in England in 1919. The first store was opened in the East End of London. Now, it has 3,787 locations in Europe and Asia, but UK remains as the largest market representing 79% of income. It operates the wholesale brand Booker, which was acquired in 2018. The company has 464,000 employees and annual revenues of $ 82.2 billion (2019). It is positioned in the eighth place among the world’s largest chains.

Tesco offers high quality items at a reasonable prices, putting the client at the center of its strategy. It relies on customers’ opinion before releasing new products, that it collects at the tasting panels in the shops. It offers other services like Tesco Mobile, providing mobile phone service, or Tesco Bank for clients that buy at the stores in UK, to whom it provides insurance products and retail banking.

TARGET

Target is a retail store that sells products of different categories, which operates in the United States. The first location was opened by George Draper Dayton in 1902 and since then, it expanded across the country with 1,000 stores and 41 distribution centers. The group operates an eCommerce site that follows the same strategy of the physical shops: more for less. Target generated revenues of $ 75.3 billion in 2018, when employers accounted 360,000.

Target competes with retailers (both traditional and online), as well as clothing, wholesale clubs, drugstores, and supermarkets. It is among the world’s ten largest retail chains. 24% of its income belongs to beauty care products, followed by food & beverage and apparel, with 20% each, and home items and furniture (19%). It owns 20 brands.

CVS

CVS Health Corporation is a pharmacy chain that was founded in 1963 in the United States by Stanley and Sidney Goldstein with a partner, Ralph Hoagland. It operates 9,900 stores and 1,100 walk-in medical clinics. Pharmacy benefits are for 92 million members. In 2018, the company reported 295,000 employees and annual revenues of $ 72 billion. It is the 10th largest retail store in a global level.

In 2018, it integrated its health care products with the brand Aetna, that became part of CVS. The group has also acquired other brands like Navarro Discount Pharmacy, Omnicare, and Apria Healthcare Group. It attends three categories that include pharmacy services, retail / LTC, health care benefits and corporate.

AUCHAN RETAIL

Auchan Holding is the retail store that was created by Gérard Mulliez in France in 1961. Today, with 55 years of history, it is present in 19 countries and manages the independent brands Auchan Retail for daily consumer products; the real state business Ceetrus, and the commercial bank Oney, for payment facilities.

Auchan employs 358,914 people and after generating $ 54.3 billion in 2018, it is positioned 11th among the world’s largest retail chains in terms of revenues. It operates the retail segment under the brand Auchan Retail, which combines hypermarkets, superstores, and convenience stores. It has also developed an eCommerce platforms to create a customized experience.

CONCLUSION

The top 10 Walmart competitors are: Walmart, The Kroger, Schwarz, Walgreens, Carrefour, Aldi Einkauf, Tesco, Target, CVS, and Auchan Retail. Together they have raised over $ 954.4 billion between their estimated 3.3M employees. Walmart has 2.2 million employees and is ranked 1st among it’s top 10 competitors. The top 10 competitors average 330,000

COMPETITORS STATS

NAME	FOUNDED	HEADQUARTERS	EMPLOYEES
Costco	1983	Issaquah, WA, USA	254 K
The Kroger	1883	Cincinnati, OH, USA	453 K
Schwarz Group	1930	Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany	360 K
Walgreens	1901	Deerfield, IL, USA	342 K
Carrefour	1960	Boulogne-Billancourt, Île-de-France, France	380 K
Aldi Einkauf	1974	Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany	74 K
Tesco	1919	Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK	464 K
Target	1902	Minneapolis, MN, USA	360 K
CVS	1963	Woonsocket, RI, USA	295 K
Auchan Retail	1961	Croix, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France	358 K