Kiwi supermarket giant one of world’s mega-retailers

New Zealand supermarket giant Foodstuffs has made the list of the world’s largest retailers.

Deloitte’s Global Powers of Retailing report puts together the world’s 250 largest retailers based on publicly available information for the 2015 financial year.

It also looks at the companies’ performance across geographies, sectors and channels.

Foodstuffs North Island, which owns Pak’n Save and New World supermarkets across the North Island, came in at number 202 and was the only Kiwi company on the list.

Foodstuffs trailed far behind the likes of US supermarket giants Walmart and Costco, but ranked ahead of high-end brands Ralph Lauren, Tiffany & Co and Abercrombie & Fitch.

Foodstuffs’ 2015 retail revenue was US$4.3 billion (NZ$6 billion) compared with Walmart’s US$482b retail revenue, as the largest retailer on the list.

First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson said Foodstuffs was a large organisation. Some of its stores were bigger than some publicly listed companies in New Zealand.

He said the New Zealand market allowed for a company like Foodstuffs to thrive.

In countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, the large supermarket chains have had their market share eroded by budget retailers such as Aldi.

‘‘That hasn’t happened in New Zealand at all. If anything, the likes of Foodstuffs has built on their position through the multiple brands they operate,’’ Wilkinson said.

When compared with competitor Progressive, which owns Countdown supermarkets, Foodstuffs had more variety in its brands, which ranged from Pak’n Save’s low-cost supermarkets to the more neighbourhood-focused Four Square shops.

Australia had two retailers on the list: Wesfarmers (number 21) and Woolworths (number 24).

More than three-quarters of the companies on the list increased retail revenue in the 2015 financial year.

Supermarkets dominated the top 10: US giants Walmart Stores and Costco and Germany’s Aldi and Schwarz Group.