top 10 largest supermarket chains in the world

Top 10 Biggest Supermarket Chains in the World

Aside from your home, workplace, and maybe your car, there is likely no place you spend more time in than in your local supermarket. It is where you get the things you need for everyday life after all. The establishment of supermarkets represents one of the major innovations of the last century and is one of the hallmarks of modern life. Before supermarkets became a thing, people had to buy their groceries at classic markets from different sellers with different supplies. Thanks to supermarkets, you can now buy all your groceries in one single place.

it is, therefore, no surprise that supermarket chains are hugely popular and are an essential feature of every city, town, or even rural area. The density of these supermarkets has also significantly increased over the years. This is mostly thanks to the supermarket chains that now dominate the global retail business. Supermarket chains belong to a single company that operates multiple supermarkets across different cities, countries, or even continents.

Within the general retail industry, supermarkets represent medium-sized stores that are primarily focused on offering their customers all types of food items with usually a huge variety of different brands and subtypes for each type of food. They are larger in size, product range, and product assortment than convenience stores (also known as corner shops), but smaller than so-called hypermarkets which tend to also offer a huge variety of non-food items alongside groceries.

The following list ranks the 10 biggest supermarket chains in the world by the number of store locations each of these supermarket chains operates.

Note: Only real supermarkets are counted for the ranking. Convenience stores, hypermarkets, specialty stores, online stores, and other types of retail businesses are not part of the ranking.

Check out the Top 10 rankings for other store types right here:

The Biggest Shops / Stores in the World

The 10 Biggest Supermarket Chains in the World

top 10 largest supermarket chains in the world

1. Lidl

largest supermarket chains in the world - biggest supermarket chains in the world - lidl

2. Aldi Sud


3. Aldi Nord


4. Penny Market


5. Carrefour Market


6. Biedronka


7. Kroger


8. AEON


9. Mercadona


10. Intermarche



The Top 10 Biggest Supermarket Chains in the World

(as of 2022)

Top 10 Biggest Supermarket Chains in the World:
1. LIDL
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~11,200
2. ALDI SUD
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~7,200
3. ALDI NORD
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~5,300
4. PENNY MARKET
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~3,600
5. CARREFOUR MARKET
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~3,400
6. BIEDRONKA
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~3,200
7. KROGER
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~2,800
8. AEON
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~2,200
9. MERCADONA
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~1,700
10. INTERMARCHE
Number of chain stores worldwide: ~1,500

The top 10 biggest supermarket chains in the world by number of chain store locations worldwide. Only supermarkets are counted here. Other forms of retail stores (hypermarkets, convenience stores, online stores, drug stores, etc.) are disregarded here.

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