Twelve DIY retail groups among the ...

The 250 biggest global players in retailing grew their sales to a total of USD 4.85 trillion during the last fiscal year, an increase of 2.2 per cent on the previous year (USD 4.74 trn). The increase was equivalent to around USD 19.4 bn per listed company. Adjusted for currency fluctuations, retail sales growth was likewise higher at 4.4 per cent than a year before (4.1 per cent). These are the results of the Deloitte study "Global Powers of Retailing 2021", which is based on financial indicators for the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.One US company from the home improvement sector, Home Depot, even made it into the Top Ten at number seven. The company reported retail revenue growth of 1.9 per cent in fiscal 2019, with online sales up by 19.4 per cent, representing 9.3 per cent of Home Depot's net sales. The company achieved the highest net profit margin among the Top Ten retailers in fiscal 2019 at 10.2 per cent.Other players in the home improvement segment are Lowe's (US, ranked 15th), Groupe Adeo (France, number 43), Kingfisher (GB, number 68), Menards (US, 101), S.A.C.I./Falabella/Sodimac (Chile, 102), Sherwin-Williams (US, 103), Tengelmann/Obi (Germany, ranked 121st), Beisia Group (Japan, 128), Bauhaus (Germany, 169), Ace Hardware (US, 191) and Hornbach (Germany, 213).As part of its study, Deloitte also presented a case study on US home improvement retailer Lowe's, which generated nearly USD 90 bn in sales in fiscal 2020, with annual sales growth of over USD 17 bn. In the fourth quarter, the company commented "Strong execution enabled us to meet broad-based demand driven by the continued consumer focus on the home, with growth of over 16 per cent in all merchandising departments, over 19 per cent across all the US regions and 121 per cent on Lowes.com." Since 2018, major investments in IT infrastructure have resulted in better search capability, more stability, and better interaction with employees' handheld devices so they can tell customers in real time on the store floor if something is in stock or online. The biggest winner during the pandemic was Lowe's curbside pickup of online orders, which the company quickly got up and running in the very early stages of the crisis.