Careers Business Ownership The World's Largest Retailers From the UK According to Deloitte's Global Powers of Retailing Top 250 Print High Level Photography / Getty Images Business Ownership Industries Retail Small Business Restauranting Real Estate Nonprofit Organizations Landlords Import/Export Business Freelancing & Consulting Franchises Food & Beverage Event Planning eBay E-commerce Construction Operations & Success Becoming an Owner By Barbara Farfan Barbara Farfan University of Georgia Barbara Farfan is a retail industry expert with more than 20 years as a business consultant for the retail and publishing industries. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 01/13/19 as etail chains based in the UK were included in this year's Global Powers of Retailing list published by STORES Magazine and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. According to Deloitte for fiscal year 2016, over 90% of the companies that reported bottom-line results were operating profitably for fiscal year 2016. As of January 2019, this is the most current list. Ranked Among the 250 Largest Retailers In the World What follows is a complete list of the UK retail chains considered to be among the largest retailers in the world, according to annual revenue. The number in the left column is the global ranking number assigned to the company, based on its sales figures, compared to other top retail organizations worldwide. Top 50 The top 50 most profitable retailers in the world is dominated by names you would probably expect: Wal-Mart at number one, the Schwarz Group at four, and other household names like CVS, Carrefour, Aldi, Target, and Albertson's all within the top 20. The United Kingdom's first retailer on the list—although not in the top 10—is nothing to sneeze at. However, there were still only three entries within the top 50 for FY 2016. #11 - Tesco PLC Hypermarket/Supercenter/Superstore Retail Revenue - 72,390 #31 - J Sainsbury plc Hypermarket/Supercenter/Superstore Retail Revenue - 34,048 #48 - Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Supermarket Retail Revenue - 21,744 Top 51-150 The United States and other retail powerhouse countries like Germany and Sweden still dominate the charts, but the UK had a substantially larger presence on the world retail stage within the top 150 companies, bringing in six entries that are perennial stalwarts. These retail giants could stand on their own, especially when compared to the likes of The Gap at number 61, El Corte Ingles at 71, AutoZone at 91, and Louis Delhaize at 108. #63 - Kingfisher plc Home improvement Retail Revenue - 14,958 #67 - Marks and Spencer Group plc Department Store Retail Revenue - 13,837 #69 - Dixons Carphone plc Electronics Specialty Retail Revenue - 13,379 #70 - John Lewis Partnership plc Supermarket Retail Revenue - 13,361 #102 - Co-operative Group Ltd Convenience/Forecourt Store Retail Revenue - 9,631 #115 - Associated British Foods plc / Primark Apparel/Footwear Specialty Retail Revenue - 8,451 Top 151-250 It seems as if the UK falls off rather abruptly after Associated British Foods, with only three companies bringing up the rear in the remaining 100 retail companies studied worldwide. There are many placements from countries like Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and Mexico. #175 - Next plc Apparel/Footwear Specialty Retail Revenue - 5,443 #234 - Sports Direct International plc Other Specialty Retail Revenue - 3,875 #248 - Iceland Topco Limited Supermarket Retail Revenue - 3,637 The Bottom Line As far as global retailing goes, the UK did not post exceptional numbers. They only had 12 companies break into the top 250 for fiscal year 2016. Comparing that to the blowouts of similarly sized countries like Germany and Japan, UK might be left considering how they may be able to maximize their proximity to the Eurozone as it related to profitability. Countries like Norway, Sweden, and Germany seem to have been better able to spread their retail operations across the world more than the UK, and it shows on the Deloitte Power List. Despite this showing, the UK has always been tenacious, and it will be exciting to see where they land next fiscal year.