An International Look At Walmart and Costco
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) provides the opportunity to people to shop and save money through retail stores and eCommerce. The company comprises three operating segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. They strive to continuously improve a customer-centric experience that integrates eCommerce and retail stores in an omni-channel offering that saves time for customers. Each week, the company serves nearly 275 million customers who visit more than 11,300 stores and numerous eCommerce websites under 58 banners in 27 countries.
Walmart’s competition is primarily from other retail chains, wholesale clubs, category specific retailers, drug stores, and supermarkets.
In this analysis we see how Walmart-International segment’s Key Operating Metrics compare against one of its biggest competitors, i.e. Costco. For detailed analysis see our interactive dashboard – How Does Walmart International’s Key Operating Metrics Compare With Costco International? In addition, here is more Multiline Retail data.
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Note: For the purpose of this analysis Costco’s Financial Year’s notation is brought in line with Walmart’s.
How does Walmart International’s Revenue compare with Costco International’s Revenue?
- Walmart International segment’s revenue has seen a steady and positive growth over the past couple of years as it rose from $116.1 billion in 2017 to $120.8 billion in 2019. Trefis estimates Revenue to go up by around 0.3% to $121.2 billion in 2020 (ended January 2020).
- Costco International segment’s revenue has also seen a steady and positive growth over the past couple of years as it rose from $27.8 billion in 2017 to $33.1 billion in 2019. Trefis estimates Revenue to go up by around 7.3% to $35.5 billion in 2020 (ended January 2020).
Comparing Walmart International & Costco International’s Key Metrics:
- Walmart International segment has been closing down stores in over-saturated markets as it works to consolidate its position. In the past couple of years the average number of stores fell from 6,331 in 2017 to 6,177 in 2019. Trefis estimates stores to go down further to around an average of 5,988 in 2020 (ended January 2020).
- Meanwhile, Costco International segment has been steadily increasing stores. In the past few years the average number of stores rose from 220 in 2017 to 239 in 2019. Trefis estimates average stores to be around 249 in 2020 (ended January 2020).
2) Square footage per store
- As Walmart International segment stores are falling, so is the square footage per store metric. The metric fell from 59.2K square feet per store in 2017 to 57.4K square feet per store in 2019. Trefis estimates the metric to go down further to around 57.1K square feet per store in 2020 (ended January 2020).
- Meanwhile, Costco International segment’s square feet per store has been steadily increasing. In the past few years the metric rose from 140.7K square feet per store in 2017 to 142.7K square feet per store in 2019. Trefis estimates the metric to increase further and be around 142.9K square feet per store in 2020 (ended January 2020).
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