Supermarket Firm Kroger Bumps Sears as No. 2 Retailer

Supermarket operator Kroger Co., boosted by acquisitions, edged out Sears, Roebuck & Co. to become the nation’s No. 2 retailer behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc., according to rankings released Thursday.

Since acquiring Portland, Ore.-based Fred Meyer for $13.5 billion last year, Kroger’s revenue has increased to $45 billion from roughly $30 billion before the merger, the National Retail Federation reported in its annual ranking of the top 100 U.S. retailers.

Kroger jumped five places, while Sears dropped to No. 3, with sales of $41 billion.

The registry is called the Triversity Top 100 for the Canadian-based retail consultant that co-sponsors the list. The rankings have been published for more than 20 years.

Wal-Mart, with 1999 sales of a whopping $165 billion, has topped the list since 1992.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Home Depot Inc., which rose from sixth to fourth; Albertson’s Inc., which jumped from 12th to fifth; Kmart Corp., which fell from third to sixth; Target Corp., which dropped from fourth to seventh; J.C. Penney Co., which fell from fifth to eighth; Safeway Inc., which slipped from eighth to ninth; and Costco Wholesale Corp., which fell from ninth to 10th.

New to the list is Amazon.com, the first strictly online retailer to register. It made its debut at No. 93.