How many of the world’s ten largest retailers are from China? Zero. Asia? Zero. In fact, five are from the United States and five from Western Europe, according to the latest figures from Deloitte for the 2014-15 financial year.
At almost $500bn, Walmart’s sales are more than three times the level of its nearest rivals. In fourth place, Lidl is the only European retailer to exceed $100bn.
It’s worth noting that Amazon came 12th with sales of $70bn and growth of 26%.
I was puzzled by the absence of China’s Alibaba. Its fourth-quarter 2015 sales alone were up 32% to $149bn.
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