Asia Pacific: Top 500 retailers generate $1 trillion in sales

According to the the tenth edition of the Retail Asia Top 500 Retailers Ranking, published by Euromonitor International and Retail Asia, Asia Pacific’s Top 500 retailers generated more than 1 trillion US dollar in sales in 2012, almost one fourth of

the region’s overall retail sales of 4 trillion US dollar.

Top 14 economies power Asia Pacific

For the Retail Asia Top 500, Euromonitor International accumulated and analyzed retailing data from 14 key economies across Asia Pacific in terms of total sales, number of outlets, sales area (in square meters) and sales per square meters. The 14 key economies are: Australia, China, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

With 147 entries, China emerged as number one before Japan in terms of having the most number of entries in the Top 500. Japanese retailers, however, took the top position in terms of value sales generated. Clothing, footwear and accessories retailers saw an increase in representation in the Top 500 rankings in 2012 due to rising aspirational lifestyles across the region and a higher demand for personalized services.

In terms of retail formats, department stores continued to account for the majority of Top 500 retailers by sales value, followed by hardline retailers. Though convencience stores lost four entries in the Top 500, they were ahead in terms of sales per square meter, which was the highest among all retail formats. Hypermarkets saw the biggest increase in value sales in 2012 but also recorded the lowest sales per square meter.

With online retailing becoming increasingly important, there has been a growing number of internet retailers among the Top 500. Thus, Retail Asia-Pacific Top 500 listed for the first time the region’s Top 10 internet retailers. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, operator of Tmall.com, holds the top spot. The company is not only China’s but also the region's largest internet retailer. Rakuten, one of Japan’s biggest online retailers, followed in the second spot.

"With the rise of internet users and online shoppers in China, it comes as no surprise that the leading internet retailer in the Asia-Pacific region was Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Tmall.com. These e-commerce companies made efforts to establish nationwide logistics facilities, accelerate delivery services and enhance customers' shopping experiences. More retailers are likely to make their debut in the internet retail market, including the No.1 player in direct selling, Amway China”, commented Geok Leng Loo, Euromonitor International’s head of research.

Amazon.com, China’s second-ranked Internet retailer 360buy.com and eBay Inc took ranks three, four and five, respectively. Apple Inc and Dell Inc in sixth and seventh position showed the region’s preference for computers, gadgets and accessories. Suning Appliance Co Ltd in the eighth spot is one of China’s leading hardline retailers and is expected to continue its low price strategy for its online channel. Last but not least, Yahoo! Inc and South Korea’s Lotte Group rounded off the list in the ninth and tenth position, respectively.

"A new generation of highly affluent, knowledgeable and discerning Asian consumers has emerged over the past decade. While publishing the Top 500 over the past ten years, it has been impressive to watch Asia Pacific retailers grapple with the ups and downs of the last decade, and evolve to cater to the changing tastes of the increasingly sophisticated Asian consumer”, summed up Retail Asia's editor Steven Goh.

Image: Tmall.com