H2O Retailing Valuation Multiples

Since its founding in 1962, Walmart has become the world’s largest retailer, operating over 10,700 stores globally (including 4,600 namesake locations on its home turf and another 600 Sam’s Club outlets) and growing its e-commerce presence, attracting 270 million customers weekly. In aggregate, the firm posted more than $680 billion in fiscal 2025 sales. Its core operations span three reporting segments: Walmart US (68% of fiscal 2025 sales), Walmart International (18%), and Sam’s Club (14%). Within the US, nearly 60% of its $465 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue came from its grocery offerings, with another quarter from general merchandise. Internationally, Walmart’s operations are concentrated in Mexico, though it also has budding exposure to India.

Founded in 1983, Costco Wholesale now operates a global chain of membership-based warehouse clubs, delivering high-quality goods and services at consistently low prices. As of its most recent fiscal year, Costco operated approximately 910 warehouses, serving more than 80 million members across its three geographic segments: Costco US (approximately 73% of total revenue), Costco Canada (13%), and Costco International (14%).Costco’s core value proposition—quality products at unbeatable prices—has yielded consistently strong member renewal rates (93% in the US and Canada and nearly 90% internationally). About 55% of Costco’s fiscal 2025 revenue came from its grocery offerings, and another 25% from general merchandise.

Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, operating 2,359 warehouse-format stores offering more than 30,000 products in store and 1 million products online in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Its stores offer building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, and decor products and provide various services, including home improvement installation services and tool and equipment rentals. The acquisition of Interline Brands in 2015 allowed Home Depot to enter the MRO business, which has been expanded through the tie-up with HD Supply (2020). The 2024 tie-up with SRS will help grow professional demand in roofing, pool, and landscaping projects, while the 2025 purchase of GMS will lift building product sales through 1,250 distribution locations.

Target’s start dates back to 1962, but now it is one of the largest discount retailers in the United States (where it derives all of its sales), operating just under 2,000 stores and generating over $106 billion in fiscal 2024 sales. The company offers a broad assortment of merchandise across categories including apparel and accessories (16% of fiscal 2024 revenue), beauty and household essentials (30%), food and beverage (23%), hardlines (15%), as well as home furnishings (16%). Target’s model is anchored in its physical store base, which fulfills more than 97% of sales. Around 30% of sales are derived from its own private-label brands.

Wal - Mart de Mexico SAB de CV is the owner and operator of Wal-Mart branded self-service stores in Mexico and Central America. Wal-Mart de Mexico is a subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated, based in the United States. The company generates the majority of revenue in Mexico and a small proportion of revenue from the rest of Central America. The company operates discount stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets, wholesale stores, and pharmacies. The company also engages in the import and sale of goods, property development, and real estate management activities.

Loblaw is Canada's largest retailer, operating approximately 2,500 food retail and pharmacy stores across the country. Its main grocery banners include Loblaw, No Frills, and Maxi, and its pharmacy stores are mostly under the Shoppers Drug Mart banner, which it acquired in 2014. In addition to brand-name offerings, Loblaw offers private-label products under the President's Choice and No Name brands. Beyond retail, Loblaw runs the PC Optimum loyalty program and also offers credit cards and insurance brokerage, which are collectively referred to as financial services. George Weston is Loblaw's controlling shareholder with a 53% stake.

Founded in 1883, Kroger is the largest pure-play supermarket operator in the United States, operating roughly 2,700 stores across more than 30 banners. Kroger’s business is primarily grocery-led (roughly 77% of sales), spanning fresh-food and private-label offerings, complemented by fuel centers (10%) and pharmacies (11%). The firm also generates income from advertising, data analytics, and manufacturing.

Tesco is a large food retailer, operating thousands of stores in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Central Europe. The majority of Tesco’s sales are from the UK, where the firm has over 24% market share, more than double the second-largest peer, Sainsbury’s, according to Euromonitor. Tesco also holds 30% e-grocery market share in the UK, holding a dominant position online. Tesco gained exposure to the cash-and-carry and out-of-home delivery industries with the GBP 4 billion acquisition of Booker in 2018.

Ahold Delhaize is the product of the July 2016 merger between Netherlands-based Ahold and Belgium's Delhaize, forming the seventh-largest grocer in the US and a top player in several parts of Europe. The US is its largest market, accounting for over 60% of group sales, and the network stretches from Maine to Georgia, including banners Stop & Shop, The Giant Company, Giant Food, Food Lion, and Hannaford. The Europe segment accounts for the rest of the revenue, with the firm operating in the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Romania, Serbia, and Luxembourg.

Dollarama is Canada’s largest dollar store chain that sells a broad range of everyday consumables and household items at low fixed price points, currently capped at CAD 5. General merchandise and consumables make up 90% of total sales, and the rest is from festivity-related seasonal items. The retailer operates more than 1,600 stores across Canada, mostly in convenient locations in metropolitan areas, midsize cities, and small towns. It also holds a 60% stake in South American value retailer Dollarcity, which operates more than 600 stores across Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru, and Mexico. In 2025, the firm closed its CAD 234 million acquisition of Australian retail chain The Reject Shop, which operates 395 stores.

Woolworths is Australia's largest retailer. Operations include supermarkets in Australia and New Zealand, and discount department and pet stores. Woolworths also supplies businesses, like restaurants and cafes, following the acquisition of PFD Food Services. The Australian food division with its supermarkets constitutes the majority of group EBIT, followed by New Zealand supermarkets and PFD, while Big W is a minor contributor.

Avenue Supermarts Ltd is an India-based company engaged in the business of organized retail and operates supermarkets under the brand name of D-Mart. It provides products under the categories of Foods, Non-Foods (FMCG) and General Merchandise and Apparel. Foods category includes products such as dairy, staples, groceries, snacks, frozen products, processed foods, beverages and confectionary and fruits and vegetables. Non-Foods (FMCG) comprises home care products, personal care products, toiletries and other over-the-counter products. General Merchandise and Apparel include bed and bath, toys and games, crockery, plastic goods, garments, footwear, utensils and home appliances. The business operations of the company are principally carried out in India.

Seven & i Holdings operates 7-Eleven, the world’s largest convenience store chain, with more than 86,000 stores globally. Convenience stores, mainly in Japan and North America, represent 83% of group sales and about 97% of operating profits in the August 2025 quarter. 7-Eleven Japan, the market leader in Japan’s convenience store industry, has acquired 46% value share and 38% share in store count. 7-Eleven, the largest convenience store chain in the US, made a $21 billion acquisition of Speedway in 2020. The deal increased its total store count to more than 13,000.

George Weston is a holding company that controls majority stakes in retailer Loblaw and in Choice Properties, a real estate investment trust. Loblaw boasts the largest retail footprint across Canada with 2,500 food retail and pharmacy stores under banners such as Loblaw, No-Frills, Maxi, and Shoppers Drug Mart. Meanwhile, open-ended Choice Properties REIT owns and manages over 700 commercial and residential properties in Canada, generating roughly 60% of its gross rental revenue from its largest tenant Loblaw. Previously, George Weston sold its wholly owned bakery Weston Foods in 2022. The firm is controlled by the Weston family, which owns a 65% stake.

Since its beginning in 1939, Dollar General has grown to become the largest dollar store operator in the United States, with more than 20,000 small-box discount stores across 48 states. The firm generated $40 billion in fiscal 2024 sales. The retailer maintains a heavy concentration of stores in rural and low-income markets underserved by big-box retailers. It’s 11,000 stock-keeping units, including 2,000 priced at $1 or less, span consumables (82% of sales), seasonal items (10%), home products (5%), and apparel (3%). More than 20% of sales are derived from private label.

AEON Co Ltd is a holding company engaged in comprehensive finance, development, and services with a focus on retail businesses. The Comprehensive Finance segment covers credit cards, banking, insurance, and related services. The Developer segment handles shopping center development, leasing, facility management, amusement, and restaurants. The Discount Store (DS) segment operates discount stores, while the General Supermarket (GMS) segment includes supermarkets and bento delicatessen specialty stores. The Health & Wellness segment runs drugstores and pharmacies. The International segment focuses on retail in ASEAN and China. Services/Specialty Store includes casual fashion, footwear, and variety goods. Supermarket (SM) operates supermarkets, convenience stores, and small outlets.

Founded in 1986, Dollar Tree operates almost 9,000 small-box discount stores across the United States and Canada, offering roughly 85% of its merchandise under $2. The chain targets value-conscious suburban and urban shoppers with a mix of consumables (49% of sales), variety (45%), and seasonal goods (6%). In fiscal 2024, Dollar Tree generated over $17 billion in sales, through its multi-price strategy, higher-margin discretionary assortments, and private-label products that account for nearly one-third of sales.

Coles is one of Australia's largest retailers, operating the second-largest supermarket chain behind market leader Woolworths, and the country's second-largest liquor chain. The group has an extensive store network of over 1,800 stores and roughly 80% of Australians live within a 10-minute drive from a Coles store. The retailer employs some 120,000 people, who process some 20 million individual customer transactions a week. This compares with Woolworths processing about 30 million customer transactions per week from Australia's population of 27 million.

US Foods Holding Corp is a U.S. food service distributor that distributes food and nonfood products to the healthcare and hospitality industries, restaurants, education, government facilities, and grocers. It has various customer locations across the United States, with a vast network of distribution facilities, a fleet of trucks, and cash and carry locations offering food and non-food products, and a comprehensive suite of e-commerce, technology, and business solutions to its customers. The company operates in one business segment in which it markets, sells, and distributes fresh, frozen, and dry food and non-food products to foodservice customers throughout the U.S.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield owns a portfolio of quality malls, about two thirds in continental Europe. Since acquiring Westfield in 2018 URW also has about 10% in the UK and about a quarter in the USA, but it plans to drastically reduce exposure to the latter. More than 90% of rent comes from shopping centers, the remainder from offices, mostly Paris, as well as some offices attached to mixed-use assets around the world, and a similar amount from a conventions and exhibitions business in France.

Falabella SA is involved in offering products and services in five business divisions: department stores, home improvement, supermarkets, financial services, and real estate. All business segments operate in South American countries. The largest division by revenue, financial services offers access to credit by combining traditional financial business with proximity to customers through retail formats. Home improvement has a diverse customer base: from individuals to construction-sector players and corporates. This segment's main categories are construction materials, home improvement products, home accessories and furniture. The department stores segment offers various brands such as private brands, second generation, exclusive brands, and international brands.

Pan Pacific International Holdings is a leading operator of discount stores and general merchandise stores primarily in Japan, operating 655 stores as of mid-2025 nationally. It offers a wide range of products from packaged food, cosmetics, and household products to consumer electronics. The primary store formats include the Don Quijote discount stores, Mega Donki format, and general merchandise stores operated under FamilyMart UNY. Overseas operations concentrate on North America and Southeast Asia. The group has acquired small supermarket chains in Hawaii and California in the US and also accelerated store expansion across Singapore and Hong Kong.

Metro is the third-largest grocery retailer in Canada (behind Loblaws and Sobeys) and also owns the top pharmacy chain in Quebec, Jean Coutu, following the 2018 acquisition. Its grocery banners include supermarket chain Metro, discounters Super C and Food Basics, and ethnic food grocer Adonis, while its pharmacies primarily operate under the Jean Coutu and Brunet trademarks. Metro operates both as a food retailer and a franchisor, licensing its trademarks and supplying merchandise to registered pharmacists. The firm also acts as a wholesaler and distributor to serve smaller, neighborhood grocery stores. Unlike peers Loblaws and Sobeys that operate chain stores across Canada, Metro’s operations are concentrated in Quebec and Ontario, with no presence in western Canada.

Founded in 1959, Carrefour is a multiformat retailer with operations in over 40 countries. Approximately 75% of sales stem from Europe and the rest from Latin America. In France, where Carrefour generates nearly 50% of its total revenue, the firm has a grocery market share of 22%, behind market leader E.Leclerc (24%), according to Kantar. Carrefour operates over 15,000 stores in hypermarket, supermarket, convenience store, and discount store formats. In 2024, Carrefour completed the acquisition of the Cora and Match banners from Louis Delhaize group for an enterprise value of EUR 1.05 billion.

Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA operates in food distribution, agribusiness, and other businesses. The food distribution business is the group's main activity, which consists of retail and wholesale operations under the brand's Pingo Doce and Recheio in Portugal, Poland, and Colombia. The group segments. Portugal Retail: comprises the business unit of JMR (Pingo Doce supermarkets), Portugal Cash & Carry: includes the wholesale business unit Recheio, Poland Retail: the business unit which operates under the Biedronka banner, Colombia Retail: the business unit which operates under Ara banner, Poland Health and Beauty: includes the Hebe banner business unit which operates in Poland, & Others, eliminations and adjustments. The majority of revenue is derived from the Poland retail segment.

CP All PCL is the sole operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand. Almost half of the stores are located in Bangkok and its vicinities, with the remaining located in provincial areas. The company also operates other related businesses, such as bill payment collection services, manufacturing and sale of convenience food and bakery products, sale and maintenance of retail equipment, payment for products and services, information technology services, logistics services, marketing services, educational institution, and training and business seminar services, including catalog sales and e-commerce businesses. The company has four reportable segments: convenience stores, wholesale, retail and mall, and others. The majority of its revenue from Convenience stores segment.

SM Investments Corp is a Philippines conglomerate with operations in retail, banking, property, and Portfolio investments. The retail division operates department stores and food retail stores. The property division is mainly present in Southeast Asia and is focused on malls, residences, office buildings, resorts, hotels, and convention centers. SM Banking provides financial services through BDO Unibank and China Banking Corporation. China Banking Corporation is servicing emerging companies and small- and medium-scale enterprises. BDO has diverse operations from credit cards, insurance, and leasing to investment banking, and asset management. The majority of its revenue comes from the retail segment that engages in the trading of merchandise such as dry goods, wearing apparel, and others.

Marks & Spencer is a British multichannel retailer with stores across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The majority of revenue stems from the firm’s UK operations, selling predominantly its own-brand food, clothing, and home merchandise. The food segment includes value products (dairy, poultry, meat, fresh produce), ready-made meals, and healthy items. The clothing and home division sells womenswear, lingerie, menswear, kidswear, beauty, and home products. The remaining revenue comes from international sales, where M&S sells through a mix of its own stores, franchises, and online channels.In 2020, the firm entered into a joint venture, purchasing 50% of grocery e-commerce business Ocado Retail. Ocado is the exclusive online distributor of M&S food within the UK.

Bim Birlesik Magazalar AS is a Turkey-based company that is engaged in operating retail stores through its retail shops throughout Turkey, which sell an assortment of items, including a number of private label products which includes Fresh Meat Products, Milk and milk products, Beverages, Legumes and Bakery, Snacks and Sweets, Fruits and Vegetables, Frozen Food, Cleaning Supplies, Oils and Cosmetics and papers. The company also operates abroad including in Morocco and Egypt.

Kesko Oyj is a Finland-based retail conglomerate that operates in three divisions: Grocery, Building and Technical, and Car. The Grocery segment provides the customers with K-food retailers running their locally tailored stores, acting in a chain business model. Chains include K-Citymarket, K-Supermarket, K-Market, and Neste K. The Building and Technical Sector produces construction materials, leisure athletic goods, and infrastructure tools and operates out of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, both in digital and brick-and-mortar stores. The Car division acts as an importer and leaser for various European car brands, including Volkswagen, SEAT, Audi, and Porsche as well as a seller of used cars online and in-store. The Grocery segment in Finland produces the maximum revenue.

Shoprite Holdings Ltd is Africa’s food retailer, headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, with a widespread presence across multiple African countries. The company's main business is supermarket retailing through brands such as Shoprite, Usave, and Checkers. The company organizes its operations into three main segments: Supermarkets RSA, which covers its core supermarket retail operations in South Africa. The company segments include Supermarkets Non-RSA, covering supermarket operations in other African countries; and Other Operating Segments, which include franchise stores, pharmacies, pet products, clothing, and other specialist retail formats.

Founded in 1869, Sainsbury's is the second-largest UK grocery chain with around 10% market share. It operates around 600 supermarkets and 800 convenience stores in the UK. The company has diversified away from core food by selling clothing, fuel, and other nonfood items. In September 2016, it took a step further into nonfood retailing with the purchase of Home Retail Group, operating the Habitat and Argos chains (general merchandise and electronics stores), for GBP 1.10 billion.

Dino Polska SA is engaged in retail sales in non-specialized stores with food, beverages and tobacco. It conducts processing of meat in the form of culinary meat, to external recipients within its retail chain.

El Puerto de Liverpool SAB de CV is a retail company that operates throughout Mexico in three business segments: Liverpool, which offers clothing, home goods, furniture, and cosmetics in Liverpool stores as well as boutique locations; Suburbia, which includes Suburbia stores selling consumer products of its own brands; The credit segment is a complement to the Liverpool and Suburbia commercial segment. The company finances its clients in the form of Liverpool and Suburbia departmental credit cards, which customers can buy exclusively at company stores and real estate, which leases commercial space to tenants of its Galeria shopping malls. The Liverpool segment brings in the majority of revenue, with the Maximum portion coming from Mexico City and the surrounding areas.

President Chain Store Corporation, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in managing convenience stores, restaurants, drugstores, department stores, supermarkets, and online shopping stores under different brands. It focuses on offering various daily consumer goods, such as fresh food, beverages, cosmetics, and household items. One of its key operations includes the management of 7-Eleven stores across Taiwan and other regions. The group operates in Taiwan, Mainland China, the Philippines, and Japan. Its reportable segments are Convenience stores, which derive maximum revenue, Retail business group, Logistics business group, and Other operating segments. Geographically, the group derives a majority of its revenue from Taiwan, followed by other regions.

Empire Co Ltd key businesses are food retailing, investments, and other operations. The food retailing division operates through Empire's subsidiaries Sobeys, National, Farm Boy, and Longo’s, and represents nearly all of the company's income. This segment owns, affiliates, or franchises various stores in different provinces, under retail banners including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, and Foodland. The company's investment and other operations segment include the investment in Crombie REIT, which is an open-ended Canadian real estate investment trust.

Albertsons is the second-largest supermarket operator in the United States with about 2,300 stores across a variety of banners. Around 80% of the firm’s sales comes from nonperishable and fresh food, of which 26% comes from its portfolio of private brands. The company operates fuel centers at about 20% of its store locations and pharmacies at 75%. Albertsons went public in 2020 following years of ownership under private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which still owns about a fourth of the outstanding shares.

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc offers a specialty grocery experience featuring an open layout with fresh produce at the heart of the store. Sprouts inspire wellness naturally with a carefully curated assortment products paired with purpose-driven people. The company continues to bring products made with lifestyle-friendly ingredients such as organic, plant-based, and gluten-free. It approximately has 407 stores in nearly 23 states. The Company has one operating segment that is healthy grocery stores.

99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd is a grocery retailer in Malaysia. The company's outlets carry daily necessities comprising mainly FMCG such as food and beverages, personal and baby care products, as well as household products. It has a single operating segment, namely retail of consumable merchandise and other household products.

Cencosud SA is a multi-brand retailer in South America. Headquartered in Chile, the Company has organized its reportable segments into: Supermarkets, Shopping Centers, Home Improvement stores, Department stores, Financial Services, and Others., the company is involved in commercial real estate development by leasing shopping mall space to third parties. Cencosud also provides private-label credit cards and financial services to retail customers. The company generates the majority of its revenue from the Supermarket segment.

Macerich invests in premium mall assets. The company owns 27 regional malls in its consolidated portfolio and 10 regional malls in its unconsolidated portfolio along with a power center and seven other real estate assets. The company's total portfolio has 39.9 million square feet of gross leasable area and averaged $867 sales per square foot over the 12 months ended in September 2025.

Axfood AB operates food retail and wholesale businesses in Sweden. The company operates various food retail grocery chains, discount stores, hypermarkets, restaurants, cafes, and pharmacies through different brands. The company's operating segments include Willys, Hemkop, Dagab, City Gross, and Snabbgross. A majority of its revenue is generated from the Willys segment, which is a discount grocery chain, offering various products in both group-owned stores and online. This segment also includes the partly owned cross-border grocery chain Eurocash.

Grupo Comercial Chedraui SAB de CV is a Spanish company engaged in the operation of hypermarkets in Mexico and supermarkets in the United States, and it also has a real estate division. In Mexico, the company operates through two retail formats: Tiendas Chedraui and Super Chedraui, which represent different sizes and depth of assortment. The retail stores in the U.S. are located in three southwest states: California, Nevada, and Arizona. The real estate division is involved in locating, building, and remodelling the stores, as well as leasing commercial space in shopping malls where there are Chedraui stores.

DFI Retail Group Holdings Ltd is an Asian retailer that operates in five segments: Food, Health and Beauty, Home Furnishings, Convenience, and Other Retailing. Food comprises grocery retail and convenience store businesses (including Yonghui, a grocery retailer in the Chinese mainland). Health and Beauty comprises the health and beauty businesses, Home Furnishings is the Group's IKEA business, and Other Retailing represents the department stores, specialty, and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) stores of the Group's Philippines associate, Robinsons Retail.

Yonghui Superstores Co Ltd is engaged in the operation of regular chain supermarkets in China. It sells a variety of food products, household products, and supplies. Its product categories include Fresh food division, Food Products division, Clothing division, and Processing division.

Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc is a retailer of closeout merchandise and excess inventory. The company sells name brand household related items that consumers use in their everyday lives at prices that are heavily discounted below traditional retailers. It offers customers a broad selection of brand name products, including housewares, bed and bath, food, floor coverings, health and beauty aids, books and stationery, toys, and electronics. It operates stores across the Eastern half of the United States. Its differentiated go-to-market plan is characterized by a fun and engaging treasure hunt shopping experience, compelling customer value proposition, and witty, humorous in-store signage and advertising campaigns.

Walmart Chile SA is engaged in the operation of supermarkets. The company operates supermarkets under the brands lider, express lider, acuenta, ekono, central mayorista, and lider.cl. The firm also provides financial services which include offering financing to its customers through MasterCard and presto credit cards, requesting advances in cash, consumer loans, access to various products and services such as insurance, payment of accounts, and Real estate services which includes construction of new premises of the company and management of commercial premises that are part of company's supermarkets.

Colruyt Group NV is a retail group that operates in the areas of expertise Food, Health and Well-being, Non-Food and Energy, mainly in Belgium, but also in other countries, including France and Luxembourg. It operates a chain of supermarkets under the Colruyt brand, offering products at low prices through both physical outlets and webshops. The group is also active in the wholesale segment through Spar stores and the Solucious food service, among other initiatives. Its operating segments are: Food; Health and Well-being and Non-food; and Group activities, Real Estate and Energy. The majority of its revenue is generated from the Food segment, which offers a diverse range of food brands and sells directly to bulk and other consumers through its own stores and online channels (retail).