COVER STORY
them are national players with stores spread across America , their territories are not clearly marked .
Different retailers are strong in different regions . Their local strength varies in different states . Some are stronger in the South ; some have more power in the West or on the East coast . These retailers cross roads in different formats and territories . For example , grocery is sold by superstores , supermarkets , convenience stores , warehouse stores and pharmacy stores . Garments are sold by department stores , warehouse stores , and superstores . Such overlap makes them cross swords triggering store war . Customers don ’ t just compare a supermarket with another , they weigh it against superstore , warehouse store and other store formats where they usually buy . Such consumer behavior puts pressure on retailers because their sphere of competition increases considerably .
Kroger , a number one supermarket chain in the US , always over-powered other supermarkets . But competition came to them from discounters . Walmart transformed their discounting format to a superstore by adding a grocery section . In a few years , Walmart became the largest grocer in America pushing down Kroger to the number two spot .
Walmart-Kroger story explains the importance of remaining alert and alive in the store war . Competitors could find a retailer dozing and push them down in a matter of a few months . Retailers need to marshal all the principles of management and master them to stay ahead and untouched .
Worriers In The American Store War
According to the latest report in the Supermarket News Magazine , the top 50 chain stores in America together own 111,220 stores . Dollar stores chains have the highest density among all the chain stores . Dollar General ( 17,266 stores ) and Dollar Tree / Family Dollar ( 15,685 stores ) upheld their commanding lead . Dollar General is the market leader . They sell all items for less than one US dollar . Dollar tree sells all merchandise at $ 1 or less . Family Dollar has different price points but below $ 10 per SKU .
In May 2021 , the global convenience store ( C-stores ) giant 7-Eleven took over 3800 stores of ‘ Speedway ’ in one of the largest takeover bids in the retail industry . They paid $ 21 billion for the deal . 7-Eleven was ranked at position number 3 , in America , in terms of locations . Their acquisition of Speedway stores from Marathon Petroleum boosted total U . S . and Canadian locations to 13,839 . Another convenience store operator , Alimentation Couche was Number 4 ( 9,978 stores ). Pharmacy store giant CVS is standing firm on the 5 th rank with a total of 9,960 stores . Another pharmacy giant , Walgreen , was just behind at No . 6 with 9,021 stores all over America .
The other food retailers which featured among the top 10 retailers , by stores count were : Walmart / Sam ’ s Club at number 7 with a total of 5,342 stores , Kroger , the largest supermarket store chain in America , at number 8 with 2,742 stores , Rite Aid pharmacy store chain at 9 ( 2,510 stores ) and Loblaw Cos . at number 10 with 2,439 stores . The only other retailers with at least 2,000 locations , all over America , were Albertsons Cos . ( No . 11 with 2,277 stores ) and Aldi U . S . ( No . 12 total 2,070 stores ). Three retailers were close to the 2000 store mark , Ahold Delhaize USA ( No . 13 , stores-1,970 ), Sobeys ( No . 14 , stores-1,933 ), Target ( No . 15 , stores-1,897 ).
There are some non-food retailers which are equally strong with huge scale . They are Home Depot ( Hardware chain store ) with 2,312 stores , Macy ’ s , Kohl ’ s and J C Penny , all department stores with 514 , 1158 , and 672 stores respectively , T J Max and Marshalls ( Off-price retailers ) with 1,271 and 1,130 stores each , Bed Bath and Beyond ( home improvement store ) with 1,500 stores , Office Depot and Staples ( stationary chain stores ) 1,154 and 1,067 stores each , Best Buy ( Consumer Electronics ) 956 stores , Sears-K Mart and Old Navy ( department stores ) with 3,152 and 1,106 stores each .
These are companies featuring in the ‘ American Fortune-500 ’ list . These American retailers collectively make the largest retail market in the world but also engage in the fiercest war among themselves , the great ‘ American Store War ’. Though Walmart is the clear leader and the most successful worrier in the American retail warfare , there are many other players which are stronger than Walmart on different parameters . Walmart is winning the war but many other worriers win different battles which are part of this war . Some worriers , sometimes also defeat Walmart in specific skirmishes .
Retailing , like language , food and festivals , reflects the culture of that country . The way people shop shows their income , lifestyle and aspirations . Food and clothes are always unique to every culture . Hence , stores are a mirror of society . Festivals and culture are felt while taking a stroll in the stores . Fashion , fad and styles get generated in the stores . Hence , the study of retailing encompasses the study of geography , demographics , culture , history and economy of the nation .
America - The Battlefield For The Store War
America enjoys its status as the only super-power in the world . Many pluses take them to this unique global status . Their comparative and competitive advantages are :
Global educational hub , full of universities and institutions of excellence . They attract students from all continents triggering the migration of talent . There are 5,300 universities , 19.5 million students of which 1.1 million were foreign
students who contributed $ 38.7 billion to the American GDP . The total student debt is $ 1.5 trillion with 54 % of students taking an average loan per student of $ 37584 .
A strong culture of invention and innovation that provides a strong edge in technology in software , hardware , arms , machinery , space , communication , electronics , healthcare , agriculture , infrastructure , mining , etc . In 2020 there were 399,055 patents sectioned in the US . There were 388 Nobel laureates from the US , the most from any country the UK is the next best with one-third of Nobel prizes won by its citizens . The combined spending on the research by the government and businesses is more than $ 1 trillion ($ 1045 billion to be precise ) in the year 2019 .
Entrepreneurship that created huge businesses that dominate the industry and the Fortune-500 list of excellent companies . In the year 2021 , 122 American companies featured in the Global Fortune-500 list . Only China had more companies , 135 . But most of them were state-owned enterprises in the communist set-up .
The state-of-art infrastructure was
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