Leading 10 retailers in Europe ranked by worldwide retail sales 2021

German food retailer Schwarz Group was Europe’s leading retailer in 2021. The company, which operates the Lidl and Kaufland branches, generated approximately 153.75 billion U.S. dollars worth of sales worldwide. Food retailers dominate the list, with the only exceptions being French luxury apparel company LVMH, and Swedish furniture company IKEA.

Schwarz Group in Germany

In 2021, Schwarz Group generated a gross revenue of 48.4 billion euros in Germany alone. Lidl, which is known as a discounter grocery store, accounted for 29.7 billion in revenue, approximately 61 percent of total sales. The rest was accounted for by Kaufland, a hypermarket known for its bulk buying options and deals. Lidl has almost doubled its revenue from a decade ago, when it generated 15.8 billion euros in 2011. The discounter has also more than doubled its headcount in the same time period, employing over 211 thousand people in 2021. In that year, Lidl had 3,242 stores in Germany.

Food retail companies in Europe

In 2022, Schwarz Group remained the leading food retail company in Europe with worldwide revenue of 156.84 billion euros. British supermarket chain Tesco and German food retailer Rewe Group followed in second and third place respectively. The food market is huge and growing, with a projected annual growth rate of 8.74 in 2023.