Sears, Walgreen, McDonald's and the out-of-state owners of Macy's (formerly Marshall Field's), Carson Pirie Scott Co., and Jewel and Dominick's grocery stores earned spots on the list, which is being released today by STORES, a retail trade magazine. The list shows Sears is the largest retailer headquartered in the Chicago area, though it dropped two spots from last year to land at No.
During the 1990s, the Hoffman Estates-based retailer, run by hedge fund billionaire Edward Lampert, stood at No. 2 or No. 3 in the rankings, but with smaller revenues.
Susan Reda, executive editor of STORES magazine, said she believes Sears has "big strides to make to stay No. 6 on our list." She said she remains unsure about Sears' off-mall superstore format, and she questioned Sears' decision to put its valuable Craftsman and Kenmore brands in Kmart stores.
A Sears spokesman said the retailer has designed its Sears Grand stores so shoppers will frequent the stores more often, and its best brands are now accessible to more shoppers. Next is Walgreen at No. 7, the Deerfield-based drugstore giant whose stores seem to pop up on every corner.
Walgreen's rival, CVS, appears at No. Next, at No. 10, is Safeway, the California-based owner of Dominick's grocery stores, which has had surprising success with its Lifestyle store format, featuring fresh produce displayed in baskets, a proprietary "O" organics brand, and upgraded deli, bakery and flower shops.
Supervalu, the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based owner of Chicago market-leader Jewel grocery stores, appeared at No. 12, with $28 billion in sales.
Experts say traditional grocery stores, despite their healthy numbers, will continue to lose market share in the next five years to supercenters, "fresh" stores such as Whole Foods and specialty stores such as Trader Joe's, Aldi and Save-A-Lot, according to a report released this week by the Food Institute and Barrington-based consulting firm Willard Bishop. Reda said consumers are growing tired of supermarkets' "pile it high and let them buy" strategy. Other stores with local significance include Macy's, owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, at No.
13, with $27 billion in revenues; McDonald's at No. Penney at No. 17 with $19.
9 billion; Kohl's at No. 23 with $15.5 billion; Nordstrom at No.
39 with $8.6 billion, and Carson's owner, Bon-Ton, at No. 86 with $3.
45 billion in revenues. Sears, Walgreen, McDonald's and the out-of-state owners of Macy's (formerly Marshall Field's), Carson Pirie Scott Co., and Jewel and Dominick's grocery stores earned spots on the list, which is being released today by STORES, a retail trade magazine.
News RSS