Canada’s Retail Sector
We would be remiss not to include some information about Canada’s retail sector in this profile, since a great deal of warehousing-type work takes place within the retail supply chain. However, for the purposes of industrial classification, the retail conglomerates fall under different NAICS codes than the pure warehouse and logistics companies discussed above.
But of course, within their corporate structures, these retail giants employ thousands of Canadians doing exclusively warehousing work, and those workers have more in common with the warehouse workers profiled above than with what we’d think of as a typical retail worker.
The following table, produced by the Retail Council of Canada, lists the top ten retailers in Canada by total revenues, prior to the onset of the pandemic.
| Rank | Capital Control | Conglomerate | Brands or banners | Retail Sales ($mil CAN) | Space (sq. ft.) | No. stores | No. chains | Dominant NAICS code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CAN | George Weston Ltd. | Shoppers Drug Mart, The Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaws | 45,836 | 66,774 | 2,609 | 33 | 445 – Grocery |
| 2 | USA | Costco Inc. | Costco | 26,689 | 14,477 | 100 | 2 | 452 – General Merchandise |
| 3 | CAN | Empire Company Ltd. | Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Farm Boy | 25,142 | 41,562 | 1,994 | 27 | 445 – Grocery |
| 4 | USA | Walmart Stores Inc. | Walmart Supercenters, Walmart | 24,012 | 60,402 | 411 | 2 | 452 – General Merchandise |
| 5 | CAN | Metro Inc. | Metro, Food Basics, Jean Coutu Pharmacy | 14,384 | 26,338 | 1,547 | 17 | 445 – Grocery |
| 6 | CAN | Canadian Tire Corporation | Canadian Tire, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Sport Chek | 10,496 | 33,175 | 1,425 | 13 | 452 – General Merchandise |
| 7 | USA | McKesson Corporation | IDA Pharmacy, Uniprix, Rexall Drug Store | 9,192 | 9,848 | 2,343 | 11 | 446 – Health and Personal Care |
| 8 | USA | Lowe’s | Lowe’s, Rona, Rona Home & Garden | 8,418 | 24,671 | 649 | 9 | 444 – Home Improvement |
| 9 | USA | The Home Depot, Inc. | The Home Depot | 8,409 | 19,110 | 182 | 1 | 444 – Home Improvement |
| 10 | CAN | Home Hardware Stores Limited | Home Hardware, Home Hardware Building Centre | 6,100 | 12,305 | 1,076 | 4 | 444 – Home Improvement |
Source: Retail Council of Canada. Maurice Yeates and Tony Hernandez. "Canada’s top 100 retailers." (March 4, 2020) (from https://www.retailcouncil.org/community/store-operations/canadas-top-100-retailers/)
Top Ten Retail Companies in Canada, by revenue (2019/2019).