FDBusiness.com

With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% between 2010 and 2015, Tesco is set to be the fastest growing retailer of the global grocery top four, according to the latest forecasts from international food and grocery analysts IGD. Driven by sharing best practice in areas like loyalty and services across its markets, and particularly by activity in Asia, Tesco will grow sales to Eur106.07b by 2015 (compared with Eur73.78b in 2010).

The world’s largest retailer in 2015 will remain Walmart, with a CAGR of 4.7% taking global sales to Eur401.75b. It will pass half a trillion US dollars in 2014.

Carrefour’s new hypermarket format, Carrefour Planet, and strong growth in emerging markets, will support its position at number two in the global rankings. Metro will rely on its international operations which are predicted to grow faster than its domestic ones.

By 2015 the top four global grocery retailers will account for Eur717.21b of turnover, of which 43% will be derived from their international operations.

“Global retailers that want to achieve the highest growth rates are those that are building a presence in emerging markets. Rapid urbanisation and a growing middle class will create big opportunities in countries like Brazil, China, Russia and India,” points out Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of IGD. “With retailer investment plans heavily focused on these emerging markets, food and drink manufacturers will need to keep pace if they want to be part of the growth. Each market is different and nobody should take their eye off the mature and domestic markets which still provide the bulk of sales for the international players.”