Retail Week’s ranking of the UK’s top 50 retailers by sales for the 2015/16 financial year sees The Range, Inditex and Asos enter the table for the first time.

The top 50 retailers by sales during the 2015/16 financial year

Within the top 10, Aldi has solidified its position and climbed into ninth place.

The discounter’s continued strong growth means it is expected to overtake both the Co-op and Boots in the next edition of this ranking. Read our analysis of the data here.

RankRetailer2015/16 UK sales (£m)Change* Previous rankNotes
1 Tesco £43,080 = 1  
2 Sainsbury’s  £23,495 = 2  
3 Asda £22,066 = 3 12 months to December 2015
4 Morrisons £16,122 = 4  
5 John Lewis Partnership £9,749 = 5  
6 Marks & Spencer £9,471 = 6  
7 Walgreens Boots Alliance £7,000 ▲ 8 UK retail sales (Boots Opticians and chemists). Retail Week Prospect estimate
8 Cooperative Group £6,958 ▼ 7 Food retail. 12 months to December 2015
9 Aldi £6,635 ▲ 10 Retail Week Prospect estimate. Year to December 2015
10 Dixons Carphone £6,404 ▼ 9 Sales are underlying. Includes Republic of Ireland
11 Home Retail Group £5,528 = 11 Still comprising Argos and Homebase over 2015/16
12 Amazon £4,900 ▲ 13 Year to December 2015. Estimated sales through Amazon.co.uk
13 Kingfisher £4,758 ▼ 12  
14 Lidl £4,600 = 14 Retail Week Prospect estimate. Year to December 2015
15 Next £3,835 = 15  
16 Primark £2,910 = 16 Retail Week Prospect estimate
17 Iceland £2,658 = 17  
18 Sports Direct £2,200 = 18 UK retail sales. Retail Week Prospect estimate
19 Arcadia £2,070 = 19 Retail Week Prospect estimate
20 LloydsPharmacy £2,015 ▲ 21  
21 TK Maxx  £1,929 ▲ 22  
22 Debenhams £1,907 ▼ 20 UK net sales, excluding concessions
23 B&M  £1,903 ▲ 24  
24 Ikea £1,720 ▼ 23  
25 Home Bargains £1,603 = 25  
26 Wilko £1,464 = 26  
27 Shop Direct £1,406 = 27  
28 Poundland £1,311 ▲ 29  
29 New Look £1,268 ▲ 33  
30 JD Sports £1,225 = 30 UK retail sales. Retail Week Prospect estimate
31 WHSmith £1,212 ▼ 28 Includes a small element of international turnover
32 Ocado £1,172 ▲ 37 Retail sales
33 Superdrug £1,105 ▼ 32 Year to December 2015
34 Wickes £1,105 = 34  
35 Matalan £1,061 ▼ 31  
36 Apple Retail UK £1,008 ▲ 38 Year to September 2015
37 H&M £995 ▲ 40 Retail Week Prospect estimate
38 McColl’s Retail Group £950 ▼ 35  
39 Dunelm £881 ▲ 41  
40 Halfords £869 ▼ 39 Retail division sales
41 N Brown £866 ▲ 42 Includes small element of international turnover
42 House of Fraser £827 ▲ 44 UK net sales, excluding concessions
43 River Island £805 = 43 Year to December 2015
44 Pets at Home £793 ▲ 46  
45 Harrods £783 = 45 UK net sales, excluding concessions
46 DFS £734 ▲ 47  
47 Farmfoods £729 ▼ 40 Year to December 2015
48 The Range £674 n/a NEW  
49 Inditex £606 n/a NEW Combined UK sales of Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius
50 Asos £604 n/a NEW UK retail sales

*Change compared to 2014/15.

Analysis

Aldi’s progress shunted Dixons Carphone into 10th place, while the Co-op and Boots switched positions.

BHS’s collapse last year means it has been removed from this list, while tough trading conditions at Game saw it drop out of the top 50. Selfridges was also just outside the top 50 this year.

These three spots have been taken up by new entrants The Range, Asos and Inditex.

Asos’s profile is arguably higher than its 49th position might suggest, but it is easy to forget that it generates such a large proportion of its turnover internationally and it has taken a while for its domestic business to reach the required threshold.

While H&M has had a long-standing presence in this ranking, fellow fast fashion giant Inditex cracked the top 50 for the first time.

The Spanish retailer trades through Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius in the UK, but much of its growth has been driven by Zara, which accounts for just over 90% of its UK sales.

Retailers that have made great leaps over the year include Ocado, H&M and New Look, although the latter is unlikely to maintain its upward trend in next year’s ranking given its poor domestic performance in 2016/17 to date.

In contrast to last year, general merchandise discounters such as Poundland, B&M Bargains and Home Bargains had a more muted performance.

Home Retail Group makes its last appearance in the table, with the Sainsbury’s acquisition of Argos set to help solidify its position as the second largest retailer in the UK. Despite this, Tesco remains comfortably ahead in first place.

Methodology

This ranking excludes buying groups, franchised formats and opticians. Sales are UK retail sales ex-VAT for 2015/16, unless otherwise stated.

Department store sales are net and exclude sales through concessions.

The list was compiled by Retail Week Prospect, an intelligence service offering insight and analysis on the UK’s retailers.

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