2011 World's Largest UK Retailers

Comparing the list of Largest UK retail chains in 2010 and 2011 reveals the strength and resilience of UK retailers.  The recessionary hits that individual retail chains in the United Kingdom took may have seemed disastrous, but from a larger perspective, within the United Kingdom, there were not many substantial changes in the largest UK retail chains. There were no changes in the ranking order of the largest U.K.

retailers when compared to other retailers in the U.K. which meant the largest U.K. retail chains held their own with their homeland competition

The best news from inside the United Kingdom retail industry was that there were only two substantial changes with UK retailers on the latest list of World's Largest Retail Chains. In the global retailing arena, the two biggest changes were with apparel retailer Arcadia Group, and department store Debenhams, which both lost their spots on the world's largest retailing list completely. The creators of the Global Powers of Retailing list blame the dramatic decline of these two retail chains on the weakened British pound. But since the sixteen UK retailers that retained their rankings on the list lost little or no ground in the global rankings, the relative strength of the British pound seems like a flimsy excuse.

Two U.K. retail chains gained some significantly positive ground in the 2011 global retail rankings.

Supermarket chain Co-operative Group Ltd. had a significant positive change, rising 17 spots on the ranking list of world's largest retailers. Specialty retailer HMV Group rose 9 spots on the ranking list.

What follows is a complete list of the UK retail chains considered to be among the largest retailers in the world, according to annual revenue.

The number in the left column is the global ranking number assigned to the company, based on its sales figures, compared to other top retail organizations worldwide.

Retail Companies Based in the UK Ranked Among the 250 Largest Retailers In the World

4      Tesco

Hypermarket / Supercenter / Superstore
Tesco Consumer Website
Tesco Jobs and Careers Website
Tesco Investors Website

28    J Sainsbury plc
Supermarket
> J Sainsbury Consumer Website
J Sainsbury Jobs and Careers Website

34    WM Morrison Supermarkets plc
Supermarket
WM Morrison Consumer Website
WM Morrison Investors Website

52    Kingfisher plc (B&Q, Castorama, Brico Depot, Screwfix, Koctas)
Home Improvement
> B&Q Consumer Website
> Castorama Consumer Website
> Brico Depot Consumer Website
> Screwfix Consumer Website
> Koctas Consumer Website
Kingfisher Jobs and Careers Website
Kingfisher Investors Website

53    Marks & Spencer Group plc
Department Store​
Marks & Spencer Consumer Website
Marks & Spencer Jobs and Careers Website
Marks & Spencer Investors Website

64    DSG International plc
Electronics Specialty

74    Alliance Boots GmbH
Drug Store / Pharmacy
Alliance Boots Consumer Website
Alliance Boots Jobs and Careers Website

80    John Lewis Partnership plc
Supermarket
John Lewis Consumer Website
John Lewis Jobs and Careers Website
John Lewis Investors Website

66    Co-operative Group Ltd.
Supermarket
Co-operative Group Consumer Website
Co-operative Group Jobs and Careers Website
Co-operative Group Investors Website

88    Home Retail Group plc (Argos, Homebase)
Home and General Merchandise Specialty
> Argos Consumer Website
> Homebase Consumer Website
> Home Retail Group Jobs and Careers Website >>
> Home Retail Group Investors Website >>

110  Kesa Electricals plc (Darty, Comet, BCC Consumer, Vanden Borre)
Electronics Specialty
Darty Consumer Website
BCC Consumer Website
Vanden Borre Consumer Website

158  Next plc
Apparel/Footwear Specialty
Next Consumer Website >>
Next Jobs and Careers Website

215  Associated British Foods plc/Primark
Apparel/Footwear Specialty
Associated British Foods Consumer Website
Associated British Foods Jobs and Careers Website
Associated British Foods Investors Website

214  Iceland Foods Group Ltd.
Supermarket
Iceland Foods Consumer Website
Iceland Foods Jobs and Careers Website
Iceland Foods Investors Website

226  The Game Group plc
Other Specialty
Game Group Consumer Website
Game Group Jobs and Careers Website

231  HMV Group plc
Other Specialty​​
HMV group

More World's Largest Retailers:

• Largest North American Retail Companies
• Europe's Largest Retail Companies by Country
• Complete list of 2011 World's Largest Retailers