The retail power table: value, membership and Britain's grocers
31 brands. 4 rankings. Amazon leads, Tesco appears three times, and the UK has the deepest bench of retailers.
“Retail brands are built on promises kept every week.”
WCRC Intelligence Unit
The finding that frames the industry
31 different retail and e-commerce brands appear across WCRC's four 2026 Most Powerful rankings, with an average Power Score of 69.27. The UK's Most Powerful 100 has 13 of them, America's 9, Europe's 8 and the World 100 has 9.
The leaders sell value and certainty. Amazon wins on choice, price and delivery speed. Members trust that Costco keeps margins thin, and its renewal rates near 90% in the US and Canada prove it. IKEA's power is the idea of a better everyday life for the many people.
America's scale players
America's nine retailers include the two largest by revenue in the industry: Amazon ($716.9bn) and Walmart ($713.2bn), as per company filings. Walmart's Everyday Low Prices promise makes it the first stop for value, and Home Depot (74.01) serves both DIY shoppers and professional contractors.
DoorDash (67.20, #99) leads US food delivery and grew revenue 27.9%. Target (71.88) was the only large American retailer in the group to report lower revenue, down 1.7%.
Global names beyond the West
Three retailers in the World's Most Powerful 100 come from outside Europe and the US and appear in no regional WCRC ranking yet: Mercado Libre of Argentina (76.10, #48), Uniqlo of Japan (75.91, #50) and JD.com of China (73.70, #97).
Europe: fashion and discount
Europe's eight retailers split between fashion and food. Zara (73.60) is built on speed: its designers can take an idea from sketch to store in weeks. H&M (69.40) made designer collaborations a high-street event. Decathlon (69.96) makes sport accessible through its own brands, and Lidl (68.92) combines low prices with a strong quality perception.
Britain's grocers and high street
Tesco (73.82) is the reference point for British grocery and reported revenue of £73.7bn, up 5.4%. Marks & Spencer (67.96) has rebuilt itself into one of the UK's most trusted retail brands, with its food halls as the engine. John Lewis (67.92) and Waitrose (66.68) share the partnership model that is central to their trust.
Next (66.12) has turned a high-street clothing chain into a powerful online platform, with revenue up 10.8%. Asda (59.80) is the only big four grocer to report lower revenue, down 3.3%, as per company filings.
Five things that will define the industry
- Whether Amazon and Walmart's race for the same shopper narrows the gap between them.
- How Mercado Libre, Uniqlo and JD.com place when WCRC ranks their home markets.
- Whether delivery brands such as DoorDash become lasting retail brands.
- How Britain's grocers handle price competition from discounters such as Lidl.
- Whether fast fashion retailers such as Zara and H&M can match growth with sustainability.
The groups behind the badges
- John Lewis Partnership plc: 2 ranked brands (John Lewis, Waitrose)
- J Sainsbury plc: 2 ranked brands (Sainsbury's, Argos)
- Kingfisher plc: 2 ranked brands (Screwfix, B&Q)
The combined table: all 31 brands by score
| # | Brand | World | US | UK | Europe | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Amazon | #9 | #7 | — | — | 81.59 |
| 02 | Costco | #18 | #10 | — | — | 79.43 |
| 03 | IKEA | #24 | — | — | #9 | 78.34 |
| 04 | Mercado Libre | #48 | — | — | — | 76.10 |
| 05 | Uniqlo | #50 | — | — | — | 75.91 |
| 06 | Walmart | #69 | #29 | — | — | 74.64 |
| 07 | Home Depot | #89 | #39 | — | — | 74.01 |
| 08 | Tesco | #94 | — | #4 | #29 | 73.82 |
| 09 | JD.com | #97 | — | — | — | 73.70 |
| 10 | Zara | — | — | — | #31 | 73.60P |
| 11 | Target | — | #63 | — | — | 71.88P |
| 12 | Lowe's | — | #73 | — | — | 70.68P |
| 13 | Decathlon | — | — | — | #47 | 69.96P |
| 14 | Best Buy | — | #89 | — | — | 69.60P |
| 15 | H&M | — | — | — | #54 | 69.40P |
| 16 | Lidl | — | — | — | #61 | 68.92P |
| 17 | Marks & Spencer | — | — | #20 | #69 | 67.96P |
| 18 | John Lewis | — | — | #21 | — | 67.92P |
| 19 | DoorDash | — | #99 | — | — | 67.20P |
| 20 | CVS | — | #100 | — | — | 66.88P |
| 21 | Waitrose | — | — | #30 | — | 66.68P |
| 22 | Sainsbury's | — | — | #33 | — | 66.44P |
| 23 | Next | — | — | #37 | — | 66.12P |
| 24 | Carrefour | — | — | — | #100 | 64.88P |
| 25 | JD Sports | — | — | #79 | — | 62.88P |
| 26 | Screwfix | — | — | #80 | — | 62.76P |
| 27 | Argos | — | — | #82 | — | 62.60P |
| 28 | B&Q | — | — | #83 | — | 62.48P |
| 29 | Pets at Home | — | — | #92 | — | 60.88P |
| 30 | Currys | — | — | #96 | — | 60.44P |
| 31 | Asda | — | — | #98 | — | 59.80P |
P Provisional score. Unmarked scores are published scores carried over from the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 or validated by WCRC.
The industry in full, ranking by ranking
World's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026
9 Retail & E-Commerce brands. See the full ranking
| Rank | Brand | Owner | Founded | Score | Latest revenue (as per company filings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #009 | Amazon | Amazon.com, Inc. | 1994 | 81.59 | $716.9bn revenue (FY2025, +12.4%) |
| #018 | Costco | Costco Wholesale Corporation | 1983 | 79.43 | $303.2bn revenue (FY2026, year to Aug, +10.1%) |
| #024 | IKEA | Inter IKEA Group | 1943 | 78.34 | €44.6bn total IKEA retail sales (FY25); Inter IKEA Group revenue €26.3bn |
| #048 | Mercado Libre | — | — | 76.10 | See ranking page |
| #050 | Uniqlo | — | — | 75.91 | See ranking page |
| #069 | Walmart | Walmart Inc. | 1962 | 74.64 | $713.2bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan, +4.7%) |
| #089 | Home Depot | The Home Depot, Inc. | 1978 | 74.01 | $164.7bn revenue (FY2025, year to Feb 2026, +3.2%) |
| #094 | Tesco | Tesco PLC | 1919 | 73.82 | £73.7bn revenue (FY2026, year to Feb 2026, +5.4%), group revenue of Tesco PLC |
| #097 | JD.com | — | — | 73.70 | See ranking page |
America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026
9 Retail & E-Commerce brands. See the full ranking
| Rank | Brand | Owner | Founded | Score | Latest revenue (as per company filings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #007 | Amazon | Amazon.com, Inc. | 1994 | 81.59 | $716.9bn revenue (FY2025, +12.4%) |
| #010 | Costco | Costco Wholesale Corporation | 1983 | 79.43 | $303.2bn revenue (FY2026, year to Aug, +10.1%) |
| #029 | Walmart | Walmart Inc. | 1962 | 74.64 | $713.2bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan, +4.7%) |
| #039 | Home Depot | The Home Depot, Inc. | 1978 | 74.01 | $164.7bn revenue (FY2025, year to Feb 2026, +3.2%) |
| #063 | Target | Target Corporation | 1902 | 71.88P | $104.8bn revenue (FY2025, year to Jan 2026, -1.7%) |
| #073 | Lowe's | Lowe's Companies, Inc. | 1921 | 70.68P | $86.3bn revenue (FY2025, year to Jan 2026, +3.1%) |
| #089 | Best Buy | Best Buy Co., Inc. | 1966 | 69.60P | $41.7bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan, +0.4%) |
| #099 | DoorDash | DoorDash, Inc. | 2013 | 67.20P | $13.7bn revenue (FY2025, +27.9%) |
| #100 | CVS | CVS Health Corporation | 1963 | 66.88P | $402.1bn revenue (FY2025, +7.8%) |
UK's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026
13 Retail & E-Commerce brands. See the full ranking
| Rank | Brand | Owner | Founded | Score | Latest revenue (as per company filings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #004 | Tesco | Tesco PLC | 1919 | 73.82 | £73.7bn revenue (FY2026, year to Feb 2026, +5.4%), group revenue of Tesco PLC |
| #020 | Marks & Spencer | Marks and Spencer Group plc | 1884 | 67.96P | £17.4bn revenue (FY2026, year to Mar 2026, +24.8%), group revenue of Marks and Spencer Group plc (includes Ocado Retail; excluding Ocado sales up 1.9% to £14,178.1m) |
| #021 | John Lewis | John Lewis Partnership plc | 1864 | 67.92P | £4.9bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan 2026, +3.0%) |
| #030 | Waitrose | John Lewis Partnership plc | 1904 | 66.68P | £8.5bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan 2026, +7.0%) |
| #033 | Sainsbury's | J Sainsbury plc | 1869 | 66.44P | £33.6bn revenue (FY2026, year to Feb 2026, +2.7%), group revenue of J Sainsbury plc |
| #037 | Next | Next plc | 1982 | 66.12P | £7.0bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan 2026, +10.8%), group revenue of Next plc |
| #079 | JD Sports | JD Sports Fashion plc | 1981 | 62.88P | £12.7bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan 2026, +10.5%), group revenue of JD Sports Fashion plc |
| #080 | Screwfix | Kingfisher plc | 1979 | 62.76P | £12.9bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan 2026, +1.3%), group revenue of Kingfisher plc |
| #082 | Argos | J Sainsbury plc | 1973 | 62.60P | £4.1bn revenue (FY2026, year to Feb 2026, +0.7%) |
| #083 | B&Q | Kingfisher plc | 1969 | 62.48P | £12.9bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jan 2026, +1.3%), group revenue of Kingfisher plc |
| #092 | Pets at Home | Pets at Home Group plc | 1991 | 60.88P | £1.5bn revenue (FY2026, year to Mar 2026, -0.8%), group revenue of Pets at Home Group plc |
| #096 | Currys | Currys plc | 1884 | 60.44P | £9.2bn revenue (FY2026, year to May 2026, +6.0%), group revenue of Currys plc |
| #098 | Asda | Asda Group, owned by TDR Capital | 1965 | 59.80P | £21.0bn revenue (FY2025, year to Dec 2025, -3.3%), group revenue of Asda Group |
Europe's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026
8 Retail & E-Commerce brands. See the full ranking
| Rank | Brand | Owner | Founded | Score | Latest revenue (as per company filings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #009 | IKEA | Inter IKEA Group | 1943 | 78.34 | €44.6bn total IKEA retail sales (FY25); Inter IKEA Group revenue €26.3bn |
| #029 | Tesco | Tesco PLC | 1919 | 73.82 | £66.6bn group sales ex VAT and fuel (FY to Feb 2026, 52 weeks) |
| #031 | Zara | Industria de Diseño Textil S.A. | 1975 | 73.60P | Inditex €39.86bn net sales (FY to Jan 2026); Zara, Zara Home and Lefties €28.05bn combined |
| #047 | Decathlon | Decathlon SE | 1976 | 69.96P | €16.8bn net sales (FY2025, +4.0%) |
| #054 | H&M | H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB | 1947 | 69.40P | SEK 228.3bn net sales (FY to 30 Nov 2025, -3% in SEK) |
| #061 | Lidl | Schwarz Group | 1973 | 68.92P | €140.2bn Lidl sales (FY2025, +6.1%); Schwarz Group €185.6bn |
| #069 | Marks & Spencer | Marks and Spencer Group plc | 1884 | 67.96P | £17.37bn sales incl. Ocado Retail; £14.18bn excluding Ocado (52 weeks to 28 March 2026) |
| #100 | Carrefour | Carrefour SA | 1959 | 64.88P | €82.10bn net sales; €84.03bn total revenue (FY2025) |
Questions people ask
- What is the most powerful retail brand in 2026?
- Amazon, with a WCRC Power Score of 81.59. It ranks #7 in America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 and #9 in the world.
- What is the most powerful British retailer?
- Tesco, with a score of 73.82. It is #4 in the UK's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026, #29 in Europe and #94 in the world.
- What is the most powerful European retail brand?
- IKEA, with a score of 78.34. It ranks #9 in Europe's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 and #24 in the world.
Methodology in brief
This analysis groups every brand from WCRC's Most Powerful Brands rankings of 2026 into newsroom industries and compares them on the scores, ranks and facts published in those rankings. The WCRC Power Score rates each brand from 0 to 100 across five pillars: Brand Positioning and Recall, Consumer Trust and Sentiment, Product, Innovation and Delivery, Sustainability, Governance and ESG, and Digital Presence and Financial Soundness. The detailed methodology is available on request.
About WCRC. WCRC (World Centre for Research and Consulting) is an independent research and consulting organisation. It publishes brand rankings including the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands, regional and national Most Powerful 100 Brands rankings, and national Most Trusted D2C Brands rankings, through its sites wcrcint.com, wcrcleaders.com and mostvaluablebrands.com. The WCRC Intelligence Unit publishes research briefings and industry analysis.
© 2026 World Centre for Research and Consulting (WCRC). This article may be quoted with attribution to WCRC and a link to this page.