Hypermarkets and Super Centers Industry: Costco Stands Taller

With the best customer service, highest same store sales and eps growth, best dividend yield and the lowest debt to equity ratio, Costco is Bidness Etc’s favorite stock in the hypermarkets and super centers industry.

The hypermarkets and super centers industry is led by three key players – Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT) and Costco (COST), and together, they account for more than 99% of industry revenues in the US. Walmart and Target’s stock prices have gone up around 25% over the last five years ending September 2013, while Costco’s stock has gone up 78% over the same period. The industry’s annual revenues are estimated to grow by 4-4.5% over the next three years. Read more

Hypermarkets and Super Centers: A Look at the Big Three

Costco is outperforming competitors in an industry dominated by only three major companies

Hypermarkets and super centers, a sub-industry within the food and staples retailing industry, comprises large retailers that buy food and staples from manufacturers around the world and sell them to end consumers. They are one-stop shops, and house everything from grocery to apparel under a single roof, which ranges in size from approximately 71,000-219,000 square feet.

The total size of the US hypermarkets and super centers industry by revenues is $644 billion, 99% of which is controlled by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), The Target Corporation (TGT) and the Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST). Costco is the youngest company among the three. It opened its first store in 1983, nearly 21 years after Target and Walmart opened their first stores in 1962. Read more