The greats of distribution in the world: the pandemic consolidates the power of Amazon and Walmart

Amazon became strong in the top positions of the world's large distribution companies in 2020, the worst year of the pandemic, only behind Walmart, according to Deloitte's Global Powers of Retailing, the benchmark ranking in the sector.

The turnover of the e-commerce giant during that year reached 213,573 million dollars (189,000 million euros), still far from the 560,000 million dollars (495,000 million euros) of number one, but the growth was 34.8% , significantly stronger than Walmart's 6.7%.

In Spain, Mercadona remains the Spanish company in the highest position in the ranking, while Inditex and El Corte Inglés lose positions due to the reduction in sales caused by the restrictions during the pandemic.

Despite the challenges that came with the coronavirus from the first quarter of 2020, which unleashed a brutal economic crisis and a general halt in activity, the combined income of the 250 companies that Deloitte analyzes grew by 5.2%, after 4.4% from 2019. Among the top ten, the increase was 12.4% due to the boost from Amazon, which already displaced Costco in 2019 to occupy second place and now the company founded by Jeff Bezos is consolidated in that second place.

In fourth place remains the German group Schwarz, owned by the family that owns and operates the Lidl and Kaufland brands.

Up to fifth place is the American The Home Depot (DIY), while two other North American companies lose a position:

A Chinese company, among the top 10

The report, published this Wednesday with billing data for fiscal year 2020, highlights that for the first time a Chinese firm enters the club of the 10 largest companies.

It is JD.com, an electronic commerce platform that is taking advantage of the pressure that Beijing is subjecting to its rival Alibaba —such as the imposition in April 2021 of a record fine of 2,300 million euros for its dominant position— to grow quickly.

In the case of Spain, companies that focus on the sale of food and household products are maintained or improved.

This is Mercadona, which continues in position 37, while Eroski supermarkets rise eight positions, to 204. The exception in this type of business is Dia, which drops one position, to 138. On the other hand, El Corte Inglés falls (28 positions, up to 97) and Inditex (down 12 steps, up to 45), due to the drop in sales during the pandemic due to restrictions.

The report indicates trend changes in demand that have been detected for some years and are consolidating.

55% of consumers surveyed for the study (as of October 2021) had purchased a sustainable product or service in the previous four weeks.

32% stated that they did so despite paying more, because they could have bought a cheaper alternative product.

19% admitted that they had to wait longer to receive it, but it did not matter.

And 16% bought an organic product.

The experts who have prepared the report highlight that the challenges for this year will be to see how inflation and tensions in supply chains evolve, in addition to the pandemic in general.

“After a year of adjustments, distribution seems to have started an upward trend, with more innovation in digital and sustainability.

Unfortunately, the turbulence seems to be around for a while, so anticipating customer needs has never been more important,” explains Evan Sheehan, head of distribution for the firm.