Data: Top 30 bricks-and-mortar retailers by sales densities

The US giant recorded sales of £3,070 per sq ft according to its most recent full-year figures, covering the 2013/14 financial year.

However that represented a significant drop from its peak of £3,500 per sq ft in 2011/12. Since then, an increasing number of shoppers have started to buy Apple products through other retailers, including John Lewis, which match their prices and warranties.

Despite the decline, Apple claimed the top spot by some distance, with Burberry’s effort of £2,500 per sq ft some £570 adrift of the technology retailer and brand. Game and luxury retailers Liberty and Harrods all made the top five along with Aldi, whose sales densities have soared during the past five years.

According to the data, compiled by Retail Week Prospect analyst Philip Wiggenraad, the German grocer’s sales densities have jumped by a “ridiculous” amount from £465 per sq ft in 2010 to £1,150 per sq ft in 2015. 

Its discount rival Lidl claimed joint 15th place with sales of £850 per sq ft during 2015, while the big four – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – all made the top 13.

However Tesco’s sales densities dropped from £1,170 per sq ft in 2010/11 to £1,005 in 2014/15.

Ecommerce effect

Wiggenraad said this was one example of how the growth in ecommerce had negatively impacted store sales.

Schuh, another example of an “advanced multichannel retailer”, posted a decrease in sales densities from £900/sq ft five years ago to £735/sq ft in 2014/15.

Wiggenraad said: “You would expect premium retailers such as Apple, Burberry, Liberty, and Harrods to rank highly in this list. Not only do these retailers benefit from very high levels of footfall, but their higher average transaction levels and higher price points help push up the sales density figure.”

The figures exclude online sales and many retailers in the list have seen their sales densities decline as its ecommerce operations take a greater share of revenues and cannibalise store sales.

“Growth retailers that have been expanding rapidly and have a relatively large proportion of immature space generally suffer from lower sales densities as it takes time for new stores to establish themselves”

Philip Wiggenraad, Retail Week Prospect

Wiggenraad added: “Growth retailers that have been expanding rapidly and have a relatively large proportion of immature space generally suffer from lower sales densities as it takes time for new stores to establish themselves.” 

However Aldi, which falls into that category as a rapidly expanding retailer, has emerged as the top-ranked grocer by sales densities, having overtaken Asda last year.

The discounter’s densities have soared in recent years off the back of like-of-like sales growth - and helped by the fact it has no online grocery offer eating into store sales.

Footfall and compact stores

Wiggenraad added that retailers with high sales densities were mainly based in high street locations, where they benefit from higher levels of footfall. By contrast, out-of-town stores can generate sales as low as £125 per sq ft.

He said that retailers operating from more compact stores, including Game, Office and Jessops, all benefited from smaller bricks-and-mortar footprints with boosted sales densities.

Carphone Warehouse achieves “very high densities” in its small stores. That has allowed Dixons Carphone to climb the table to 21st since its merger, with sales densities of £690 per sq ft during 2014/15.

Wiggenraad concluded: “From experience, you wouldn’t expect to see large movements in this ranking or many new entrants to appear. This is because its takes a significant improvement in a retailer’s sales performance to translate into large gains in sales densities. Aldi is very much the exception.”