The top Walmart Competitors are Amazon, Alibaba, Home Depot, Ikea, Costco, Lowe’s, Ebay, Aldi, Lidl and others. We have a conducted an in-depth analysis with a lot of statistics in this article. Walmart sells its products both in retail and wholesale. Walmart as a company is known for its “Every day low prices” principle where it penetrates the market with low pricing.
Walmart has various store types. One segment is the Sam’s club that deals with registered Walmart members, where members receive specialized treatments and customized services in hearing aid centers when auto purchasing and in tire and battery centers.
Secondly, the Walmart U.S segment represents all the stores in the United States with the third segment of Walmart international taking care of all Walmart stores operating outside the United States. Walmart revenue as of 2023 is US$611.3 billion. Walmart market cap as of August 18, 2023 is $425.28B.
The company employs close to 2,300,000 people and was founded in 1962 in Bentonville, the USA by James and Samuel Walton. Some of its competitors are as below.
Table of Contents
Top 20 Walmart Competitors
1) Amazon
- Product Type: E-commerce and robotics.
- Industry: Technology.
- Founded: July 5, 1994.
- Founders: Jeff Bezos.
- Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, United States.
- Current CEO: Andy Jassy.
- Revenue: $134.383B (June 30, 2023)
- Market cap: $1374.53B (August 18, 2023)
- Number of employees: 1,541,000 (2022)
With its headquarters in Seattle, Washington, Amazon was founded in the USA in 1994 to operate on Internet and catalog retail industry. The company employs close to 1,541,000 people and has market capitalization of around $1374.53B.
Amazon gross profit for the quarter ending June 30, 2023 was $65.010B. Amazon net income for the quarter ending June 30, 2023 was $6.750B.
Other than online retail shopping, Amazon also offers promotional and marketing services. Its main area of product concern is pricing and quality. Convenience to clients is also ensured via a user-friendly website that allows product sales even from third parties. Amazon is ranked as one of the most innovative companies in the world. Due to its online market presence and huge turnover, without a doubt, Amazon is the top amongst all Walmart Competitors.
2) Alibaba
- Product Type: Wholesale marketplace.
- Industry: E-commerce.
- Founded: 1999.
- Founders: Jack Ma, Peng Lei, Lucy Peng, Joe Tsai, and Ma Huateng.
- Headquarters: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Current CEO: Daniel Zhang.
- Revenue: $32.292B (June 30, 2023)
- Number of employees: 235,216 (2023)
- Market cap: $225.86B (August 21, 2023)
Alibaba is an e-commerce company that operates in retail and wholesale on mobile and online platforms. E.g. Taobao (China’s online marketplace); Alibaba.com (Global e-commerce marketplace for small and medium enterprises); Alipay (for mobile and online payments); Tmall.com; cloud computing (for data management) et cetera
Founded in China by Yun Ma and Chung Tsai the year 1999, the company employs approximately 235,216 people. As of August 2023, its market Cap was $225.86B and net income $4.735B. With its headquarters in Hangzhou, China, Alibaba is one of Asia’s Fab 50 companies. Alibaba is threatening both – Amazon, as well as Walmart and, is considered as one of the top Walmart competitor.
3) Home Depot
- Product Type: Home improvement supplies and services.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1978.
- Founders: Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank.
- Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
- Current CEO: Marvin Ellison.
- Revenue: $42.916B (July 31, 2023)
- Number of employees: 518,100 (2023)
- Market cap: $329.13B (August 18, 2023)
This is a home improvement company selling garden products, house improvement products, and building materials. Its other services include installation of products such as windows, floor tiles, roofs, kitchen cabinets, water heaters, vinyl siding etc. Also, remodeling and repairing most of which is done by third-party contractors.
Having been founded in June 1978, the company targets general contractors, remodelers, tradesmen, small and medium-sized businesses and homeowners. It has its headquarters in Atlanta, USA
The total number of people employed by Home Depot exceeds 518,100. By 2023, it’s Market Cap and net income were $329.13B and $4.659B respectively. Home depot has a huge number of stores and is also penetrative in price and hence is one of the topmost Walmart competitors in the market.
4) IKEA
- Product Type: Ready-to-assemble furniture, home accessories, and appliances.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1943.
- Founder: Ingvar Kamprad.
- Headquarters: Älmhult, Sweden.
- Current CEO: Jesper Brodin.
- Brand Value: 17.4 billion U.S. dollars (2022)
- Number of employees: 231,000 (2022)
The company was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad (who was seventeen years of age by then) in Sweden. IKEA is greatly acknowledged in Germany and the United States with both contributing to 18 percent of the company’s sales.
Operating in retail and wholesale Industry, As of February 2023, there are 460 IKEA stores operating in 61 countries. This was probably due to the fact that it offers an estimated wide range of 9,500 products. IKEA employs around 231,000 persons and has its headquarters in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Due to Ikea, Walmart has never been able to make huge inroads in the furniture section and hence Ikea is known as one of the topmost Walmart competitor in the market.
The furniture and home goods retailer IKEA had a global net income of approximately 287 million euros in the financial year 2022. IKEA’s brand had a value of 17.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.Total retail sales for FY22 reached EUR 44.6 billion.
5) Costco
- Product Type: Wholesale retailer.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1983.
- Founders: James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman.
- Headquarters: Issaquah, Washington, United States.
- Current CEO: Craig Jelinek.
- Revenue: $53.648B ( May 31, 2023)
- Number of employees: 304,000 (2022)
- Market cap: $241.46B (August 18, 2023)
Costco operates membership discount stores in the USA. It was founded in the year 1983 and employs around 304,000 personnel. In 2023, its Market Cap was $241.46B and net income $1.302 billion. The company’s headquarters are based in Issaquah, Washington.
Costco gross profit for the quarter ending May 31, 2023 was $6.473B. Costco operating income for the quarter ending May 31, 2023 was $1.679B
Apart from the USA, Costco also operates in the UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan. It again has subsidiaries in Korea and Taiwan. Some of its products include; electronics, kids toys, furniture, handbags, clothing, home and décor, watches, jewelry, gift cards, health, sports and fitness, tires, foodstuffs, pets, floral and tickets et cetera. Costco is regarded as the best employer in the United States. Due to its appeal to the value-oriented crowd, Costco is considered as one of the top Walmart competitor.
6) Lowe’s
- Product Type: Home improvement supplies and services.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1946.
- Founders: James Lowe and Carl Buchan.
- Headquarters: Mooresville, North Carolina, United States.
- Current CEO: Marvin Ellison.
- Revenue: $22.347B (April 30, 2023)
- Number of employees: 307,000 (2023)
- Market cap: $128.53B (August 18, 2023)
Like Home Depot, Lowe’s Inc. garden products, building materials, and other house improvement products. Most of its products are for property maintenance, home decoration, and remodeling, home repairs et cetera. Its headquarters in Mooresville, North Carolina and was founded in the year 1946
Lowe’s has a workforce of 307,000 people who drove its sales to $22.34 billion in the year 2023. In the same year, the company’s Market Cap is $128.53B. As of January 28, 2022, Lowe’s operated 1,971 home improvement and hardware stores.
Lowe’s reported total sales of approximately $88-$90 billion for fiscal year 2023, which is a 52-week year (comparisons to full year 2022, which was a 53-week year). Lowe’s reported net sales of $22,347 million for the first quarter of 2023, which ended on May 5, 2023. Lowe’s annual gross profit for 2023 was $32.257B.
Some of its accolades include; world’s best employer, the top company in Asset base and market value, Just Company, top in brand value and top innovative company among others.
7) eBay
- Product Type: Online marketplace.
- Industry: E-commerce.
- Founded: 1995.
- Founders: Pierre Omidyar and Jeffrey Skoll.
- Headquarters: San Jose, California, United States.
- Current CEO: Jamie Iannone.
- Revenue: $2.540B (June 30, 2023)
- Number of employees: 11,600 (2022)
- Market cap: $22.88B (August 21, 2023)
eBay operates in Internet and Catalogue Retail Industry having been founded in the year 1995 by Pierre M. Omidyar. The company employs around 11,600 people and has its headquarters in San Jose, California.
With a Market Cap of $22.88 billion and sales of close to $2.54 billion, eBay operates StubHub, Marketplace and other online and mobile e-commerce platforms. It also provides marketing services and advertising.
eBay is the best employer for diversity, world best employer, most innovative company, most valuable brand et cetera. It is also among the top 500 in global 2000 companies
8) ALDI
- Product Type: The discount supermarket.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1913.
- Founders: Karl Albrecht and Theo Albrecht.
- Headquarters: Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
- Current CEO: Jason Hart
Aldi business was started by Theo Albrecht and Karl from an old family store based in Essen. The store was split into Aldi Nord and AldiSud in the year 1960. The two stores have been operating separately since they were founded even though both names appear on some stores making it appear like one enterprise.
The discount grocer, which frequently opens multiple new stores per week, revealed plans to add a total of 120 new locations in 2023, bringing Aldi’s store count nationwide to more than 2,400 by the end of the year.
In Germany, Aldi Nord operates around 35 companies and 2500 stores with AldiSud operating around 32 companies and 1600 stores. Officially, the company was started in the year 1946 and currently operates more than ten thousand stores in approximately 20 countries. Its employees are approximately 150,000 globally.
9) JD.com
- Product Type: Online retailer.
- Industry: E-commerce.
- Founded: 1998.
- Founders: Liu Qiangdong.
- Headquarters: Beijing, China.
- Current CEO: Xin Lijun.
- Revenue: $39.708B (June 30, 2023)
- Number of employees: 362,171 (2022)
- Market cap: $46.24B (August 18, 2023)
JD.com is a company that sells general merchandise products and electronics. Some of the products include; home appliances, apparel, computers, food, books, audio products and baby items among others.
As of 2023, JD.com had a market Capitalization of $46.24 billion and a sells value of around $39.70 billion. JD net income for the quarter ending June 30, 2023 was $0.907B. The company employs approximately 362,171 people and has its headquarters in Beijing, China.
JD.com was ranked No. 30 on Forbes’ list of 2022 World’s Best Employers. The company was formed in 1998 and has since expanded to be unrivaled in the internet and catalog retail
10) Walgreens
- Product Type: Retail pharmacy and convenience stores.
- Industry: Healthcare.
- Founded: 1901.
- Founders: Charles R. Walgreen Sr. and Frederick C. Jacobs.
- Headquarters: Deerfield, Illinois, United States.
- Current CEO: Rosalind Brewer.
- Revenue: $35.415B (May 31, 2023)
- Number of employees: 325,000 (2022)
- Market cap: $22.91B (August 18, 2023)
Walgreens sells both prescribed and non-prescribed drugs in its drug stores. The company provides pharmaceutical solutions in addition to household products, beauty and personal care, fresh foods et cetera.
Again, Walgreens provides infusion services essential for chronic conditions or complications e.g. Heart infections, Cancer treatments, heart failure etc. These services can be provided at home, hospital, in the office or at Walgreen sites. The company again offers clinical services, personal care, emergency care, inter-fitness and consultation among other services
Walgreens net income for the quarter ending May 31, 2023 was $0.118B. Walgreens gross profit for the quarter ending May 31, 2023 was $6.589B.
Walgreen was founded in 1901 and has its headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois. It employs close to 325,000 persons
11) Competitor CVS
- Product Type: Health insurance, and medical services.
- Industry: Healthcare.
- Founded: 1963.
- Founders: Ralph Hoagland and Sidney Goldstein.
- Headquarters: Woonsocket, Rhode Island, United States.
- Current CEO: Karen S. Lynch.
- Revenue: $88.921B (June 30, 2023)
- Number of employees: 300,000 (2022)
- Market cap: $85.81B (August 21, 2023)
This is a health Corporation that functions through segments. I.e. the Corporate Division that takes care of the administration and management; the pharmaceutical division for pharmaceutical solutions and the retail division that sells general merchandise and prescription drugs
Having been founded in 1963, CVS has expanded to employ more than 300,000 persons. Its sales by the end of June 2023 were approximately $88.92 billion. The Market Cap was close to $85.81 billion in August 2023. CVS Health net income for the quarter ending June 30, 2023 was $1.901B.
CVS is one of the world’s most valuable brands. Its headquarters are in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
12) 7 Eleven
- Product Type: Convenience stores.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1927.
- Founders: John Jefferson Green and Thomas J. Moore.
- Headquarters: Irving, Texas, United States.
- Current CEO: Joseph DePinto.
- Revenue: $86.83 B (2023)
- Market cap: $36.25 Billion (August 2023)
7-Eleven is a convenience store chain that operates globally, with more than 83,000 stores across 19 countries. It has its headquarters in Texas, USA and was founded in the year 1927 by Joe C Thompson. 7-Eleven operates, franchises, and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, and has expanded to other countries
Seven-Eleven Japan and Seven & I holdings are the parent companies of 7 Eleven. Its total number of employees is close to 84,154.
Some of the products from the company include; Candy, gasoline, dairy, assorted beverages, prepared foods, big gulp, Slurpee beverages, coffee et cetera.
The company forms part of the global 2000 companies in terms of sells, brand value, and asset base.
13) Target
- Product Type: General merchandise retailer.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1962.
- Founders: George Dayton.
- Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.
- Current CEO: Brian Cornell.
- Revenue: $24.773B (July 31, 2023)
- Number of employees: 440,000 (2023)
- Market cap: $60.56B (August 18, 2023)
Target Corporation owns and operates merchandise stores that sell foodstuffs and general products. In 2023, the company had a market cap of $60.56 billion. The sales value for the same year was close to $24.77 billion. Target has 1,954 stores in the U.S., 56 supply chain facilities, and 30 office locations globally.
Founded in 1902 in the United States, the company has its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota and employs around 440,000 people globally. Target is among the global 2000 companies and is ranked alongside other companies in terms of market and brand value, assets, total sales, and profits. It is also one of the world’s best employers
14) Tesco
- Product Type: Multi-format general merchandise retailer.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1924.
- Founders: Jack Cohen.
- Headquarters: Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
- Current CEO: Ken Murphy.
- Revenue: $79.842B (2023)
- Number of employees: 336,926 (2023)
- Market cap: $22.63B (August 21, 2023)
Tesco Plc. is an online company that does insurance and retail banking. One of its subsidiaries is Tesco Bank which is based in the United Kingdom. It also provides its services in China, Thailand, Poland, the Czech Republic, South Korea, India, Ireland, Hungary, Turkey, Malaysia, China, USA, Slovakia, and Japan among other countries.
Tesco annual gross profit for 2023 was $4.445B, a 30.05% decline from 2022. Tesco annual net income for 2023 was $0.905B.
Founded in 1919 by John Edward, the company has its headquarters in Cheshunt, UK. It is among the global 2000 companies in terms of Sales, Assets and Market value
15) LIDL
- Product Type: The discount supermarket.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1973.
- Founders: Dieter Schwarz.
- Headquarters: Neckarsulm, Germany.
- Current CEO: Matthias Fellenberg.
- Revenue: 100.8 billion euros (2022)
- Number of employees: 341,000
This is a Germany Supermarket Company that operates additional 10,000 stores in the United States and across Europe. Its parent organizations include; Lidl Stiftung, Dieter Schwarz, Schwarz Gruppe and Stiftung Gemeinnutzige.
Lidl has its stores in all the European Union states apart from Estonia and Latvia with its main competitor being Aldi; especially in the USA and in Germany. It employs close to 341,000 personnel and has a presence in close to 32 European countries thus living up to its Motto ‘Lidl surprises’. It also forms part of the global 2000 companies.
Lidl has a wide variety of goods from its own brand and offers competitive prices. In the US, Lidl has over 150 stores across 9 East Coast states, with more than 5,000 US team members supporting its growth.
16) Carrefour
- Product Type: Hypermarkets, supermarkets, and non-food e-commerce websites.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1959.
- Founders: Marcel Fournier, Denis Defforey, and Jacques Defforey.
- Headquarters: Massy, France.
- Current CEO: Alexandre Bompard.
- Revenue: $87.543B (2022)
- Number of employees: 346,666 (2022)
- Market cap: $14.4B (August 21, 2023)
Carrefour operates and manages supermarkets, retail stores, cash and carry stores, e-commerce websites and convenience stores among others. It was founded in 1959 and has its headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
Carrefour SA annual gross profit for 2022 was $17.187B. Carrefour SA annual net income for 2022 was $1.42B. Carrefour SA total number of employees in 2022 was 346,666. It is also one of the world’s best employers.
Being a global market leader in the food retail industry, the company employs close to 400,000 employees.
17) Woolworths
- Product Type: Supermarket chain.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1924.
- Founders: Sidney Myer and Percy Marks.
- Headquarters: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Current CEO: Brad Banducci.
- Revenue: $45.461 billion (2022)
- Number of employees: 197,000 (2022)
- Market cap: $32.94 Billion
Woolworths Limited operates supermarkets and consumer stores around the world under the brand names Safeway (for Australia market), Woolworths and countdown (for New-Zealand market). The company operates in segments namely; General merchandise segment for discounted products in Australia, the home improvement and hotel division that provides hospitality and leisure services in addition to food and alcohol; the Supermarkets division in New Zealand and Food, Liquor and petrol division also for procurement and resell of petrol, food and liquor items in Australia.
Woolworths Group owns brands like Woolworths, Big W, Countdown, PFD FoodServices, quantium, wpay, everyday rewards, Woolworths Insurance and PetCulture.
Woolworths Group closed a total of 1,965 stores in FY22. Woolworth operates its 1,453 stores primarily in Australia and New Zealand. As of June 2023 Woolworths Group has a market cap of $32.94 Billion. It had 197,000 number of employees in 2022.
Woolworths was founded in 1924 with its headquarters in Sydney, Australia. The company employs approximately 205,000 persons globally and also makes the cut for global 2000 companies.
18) Kroger
- Product Type: Supermarket chain.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1883.
- Founders: Bernard Kroger.
- Headquarters: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
- Current CEO: Rodney McMullen.
- Revenue: $10.085B (April 30, 2023)
- Number of employees: 430,000 (2023)
- Market cap: $34.14B (August 21, 2023)
Kroger operates drug stores, convenience stores, retail food stores, jewelry stores et cetera. It also processes food sold in major supermarkets. With nearly 2,800 stores in 35 states under two dozen banners and annual sales of more than $132.5 billion, Kroger today ranks as one of the world’s largest retailers.
The Company also operates combo and multi-department stores that sell a wide variety of general merchandise e.g. electronics, home furnishings, toys, jewelry, automotive products, et cetera. It again offers expanded outdoor merchandise, affordable warehousing services and promotions on health, beauty care, and grocery items.
Kroger was founded in the United States in the year 1883 by Barney Kroger and has its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. It employs approximately 430,000 people globally. Kroger net income for the quarter ending April 30, 2023 was $0.962B. Kroger gross profit for the quarter ending April 30, 2023 was $10.085B.
19) Coles
- Product Type: Supermarket chain.
- Industry: Retail.
- Founded: 1914.
- Founder: George Coles.
- Headquarters: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Current CEO: Steven Cain.
- Revenue: $27.08B
- Number of employees: 120,000
- Market cap: $13.70 Billion
This is an Australian company with Australia Pty Limited as its initial name. It operates a chain of supermarkets and sells its products in both retail and wholesale.
The company was founded by George Coles in the year 1914 operating as s subsidiary of Wesfarmers and Coles group. Currently, the company operates close to 846 supermarkets in Australia. It has around 100, 000 employees and contributes to more than 40 percent of the Australian economy together Woolworths.
According to Coles Group ‘s latest financial reports the company’s current revenue (TTM) is $27.08 B. As of August 2023 Coles Group has a market cap of $13.70 Billion.
20) Competitors such as Individual online sites and company
Business people have individual online sites through which they sell their merchandise. They sensitize their clients through social media sites and online referrals thus providing a direct market for willing buyers. Most products here are of FMCG (First moving Consumer Goods) nature and in most cases delivery is guaranteed in addition to friendly costs.
Walmart still remains afloat and viable despite competition from individual online sites and the above online chain stores and supermarkets.
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Dr Luis De La Cruz says
Bhasin, thank you for sharing a list of Walmart top competitors. What is surprising is the inclusion of business people who have individual online sites through which they sell their merchandise on a piece meal basis because they sensitize their clients through social media sites and online referrals, thus providing a direct market for willing buyers. Does scale, penetration, and pricing power from these sellers qualifies them as top competitors with replacement potential?