The most successful retailers in the industry are constantly reinventing themselves to stay one step ahead of the competition, according to the STORES Top 100 Retailers ranking.

The report, which is an annual snapshot of the retail industry, ranks companies by revenue and groups them on one chart regardless of the segment or segments in which they operate. STORES is the monthly magazine of the National Retail Federation.

“It’s not enough anymore for retailers to carry the same merchandise as their competition,” says Susan Reda, executive editor of STORES. “From their own brand of food to an exclusive line of tools, today’s retailers will get ahead by differentiating their merchandise and offering products that consumers cannot find anywhere else.”

Arkansas-based Wal-Mart again tops the list as the nation's largest retailer with 2006 sales of $348.65 billion, an 11.7 percent increase over the previous year. In fact, Wal-Mart’s 2006 revenues were greater than those of the next five largest U.S. retailers combined. According to the article, Wal-Mart has remained successful by introducing a line of organic options and focusing on ways to conserve energy and materials.

Home Depot and Kroger retained their second and third spots, respectively, though both companies saw their share of struggles in 2006. Home Depot, which managed to see an impressive gain of 11.4 percent in revenues in 2006 despite the departure of its CEO Robert Nardelli, has been striving to change its corporate culture and maintain strong sales in the face of a current housing slump. Kroger, whose sales rose 9.2 percent to $66.11 billion, remains the subject of takeover talk, though company executives deny the company has any interest in such a deal.

Costco, which advanced a notch to the number four slot, is also pushing the envelope by increasing its private label offerings with a new line of food conceptualized by Martha Stewart. Costco's sales increased 13.6 percent in 2006 to $60.15 billion. Mass merchants Target (#5) and Sears (#6) are both attempting to differentiate themselves but are moving in different directions.

Target, which advanced a spot in the ranking with a sales increase of 13.1 percent to $59.49 billion, will continue to add more private label food items in its stores. Sears, which dropped two spots despite a 7.9 percent sales increase to $53.01 billion, will be rolling out its Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances to more Kmart locations this year.

Drug stores are also represented in the top ten retail companies. Walgreen, which rose one spot to number seven, is aggressively adding free-standing store locations and focusing on front-end merchandise. CVS, a new entry to the top ten this year at number nine, acquired Caremark Rx and has promised to “transform the way pharmacy services are delivered.”

Other companies in the top ten include Lowe’s, which dropped one spot to number eight, and Safeway, which retained its spot at number ten.

“SAP is a proud sponsor of this year’s STORES’ Top 100 list and recognizes how important growth and innovation are to the retail industry,” says Jim Mattecheck, senior vice president and general manager, Retail, SAP America Inc. “Successful companies continuously find ways to offer a differentiated shopping experience that inspires customers to shop with that retailer again and again. SAP has a proven track record of helping retailers achieve their goals. In fact, more than 4,300 retailers worldwide are SAP customers.”

The most noticeable change to this year’s Top 100 is the inclusion of restaurant companies. The ranking, based on corporate revenues rather than system-wide sales, added six restaurants to the list this year including: McDonald’s (#16), Yum! Brands (#35), Starbucks (#42), Darden Restaurants (#53), Brinker International (#73), and Outback Steakhouse (#80).

“Consumers have changed, but their needs have not,” says Susan Reda, executive editor of STORES magazine. “Americans still have to put dinner on the table every night, but now they are looking to restaurants to fill a larger portion of that need rather than relying exclusively on traditional supermarkets. Successful restaurants understand how to cater to today’s consumers, and there are some ideas they’re trying that traditional retailers may want to borrow.”

Retailers need to wake up: Maybe Mr. Traub earns too much money to really “GET IT”
22% of Americans owe more on their homes than they are worth!
Mr. Traub needs some reality therapy! Your customers just got a lot poorer, that is the reality, now..
What are you going to do about it? Do you know what retailers gained last month? Do you really really know why?

Retailers need to work harder to persuade shoppers to start spending again in what is the most difficult time in the sector’s history. That was the message from famed former Bloomingdale’s president and CEO Marvin Traub at the World Retail Congress today.

Traub, who is credited with turning Bloomingdale’s into a world leading retailer in his 40 year career with the US department store, told the congress that “we live in an atmosphere of ongoing pessimism”, which meant that “our customer is turned off”.
“There has been a transformational shift in consumer sentiment as consumers re-evaluate how and why they spend,” he said, adding “our industry is consumed by the fear and guilt which have gripped shoppers”.
Describing today’s market conditions as “the most difficult and challenging time our industry has ever faced”, Traub said that retailers need to reach out to shoppers by working harder to ensure the products and experiences they offer do more to persuade them to get back into the mindset of spending.

“There is a changed attitude to consumer spending,” he said. “Our job is to create a more positive attitude for consumers and for our stores. We live in a world of exponential change and retailers need to react.”
He said that too often the customer service in stores is poor, which leads to low levels of conversion of store visits to sales. “When I visit stores I am frequently concerned by how poorly some staff interact with customers.”

Traub warned that the luxury market, on which his success with Bloomingdale’s was built, needs a fundamental rethink. “In recent years prices of luxury goods have grown to levels which are unsustainable,” he warned.
He pointed to Matthew Williamson’s tie-up with H&M as an example of how luxury brands could develop more affordable secondary ranges that are accessible to more shoppers.
“At all price points, today more than ever, retailers will need a value proposition,” he said.

So, Get into war mode, and prepare to dig deep, Who is your market? What are consumers thinking? WHERE ARE THEY HEADED?
Yes, I do have ways to find out! DO YOU?
ARE YOU MORE LIKE DETROIT THAN YOU ARE PREPARED TO ADMIT?

You must gain RELEVANT clarity, what is it that really drives sales in your stores, restaurants etc? If you really knew, you would not be reading this!