Top 10 Retailers Around the World

#5 LIdl

Country of Origin: Germany

Countries of Operation: 25

Annual Revenue: $82.4 billion (as of 2011)

Lidl, the German discount supermarket chain that operates over 10,000 stores across Europe, was placed at the fifth position on the list of top ten retailers in the world. Formerly known as Schwarz Unternehmens Treuhand KG, the company belongs to the holding company, Schwarz Gruppe. The company got founded in 1930s by a member of the Schwarz Family. The first of its stores operating under the present name was started in 1973 and now it has established itself in over 20 countries in Europe. Josef Schwarz became a partner of a fruit wholesaler and he developed the company into a general food wholesaler. In the year 1977, the Schwarz Gruppe started to focus on discount markets, larger supermarkets and cash and carry wholesale markets, inspired by the Aldi concept. Schwarz removed those products that didn’t sell well, and cut the costs by keeping its retail outlets as small as possible. Today it has more than 580 stores throughout U.K.