There are small businesses, and there are big businesses, and really big businesses. Some of the biggest companies in today’s global economy are the giant retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, and IKEA, also known as ‘big box stores’. To analyze and compare these three is interesting because both Home Depot, and Lowe’s are U.S.-based, publically traded companies, while IKEA is a European, privately-held company. In the next few paragraphs, we will look at how these companies stack up in terms of size, revenue, international reach, and history.
First, let’s take a look at who is the biggest retailer when measuring by numbers of stores and employees. Through this unit of measurement, Home Depot is the largest of the three with 2,200 stores and over 320,000 employees. Next up is Lowes with over 1,700 store locations and 235,000 employees. IKEA is last in this leg of the analysis, with over 300 stores and 125,000 employees.
In terms of annual revenue, the 3 chains shake up in their overall order a little bit with Lowes stores tallying up a whopping total of $47.2b in 2009, followed by $41.2b in 2009 for the Home Depot stores, and $28.9b in 2009 revenue for IKEA stores.
In terms of International reach, the European-run IKEA stores are by far the farthest reaching, with their retail outlets spanning 37 countries throughout North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Of the two American companies, Home Depot stores are located in a few more countries than Lowes stores, boasting retail chains in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Mexico, and China in addition to North America. Lowes stores are found strictly is the U.S. and Canada.
As far as which giant has been around for the longest, that title would go to Lowe’s, having been founded in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina back in 1946. IKEA opened their first store in Småland, Sweden in 1958. Home Depot is the youngest of these three, having been founded in 1978 in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia.
So given how these 3 big box giants measured up in size, revenue, international reach, and history, which store would you consider to be the most significant in today’s economy? It’s certainly a debatable question!
