There was a statistic in Fortune magazine's listing of the top 500 companies that caught my attention. Number one company Wal-Mart had just under 1 billion square feet of floor space worldwide.
Think of it another way, it is operating 1 million 1,000 sq ft c-stores. This investment in floor space for shoppers shapes the world independent retailers operate in.
Back in the UK, last week Tesco announced it was back to business as usual, with sales up and profits up. Its like-for-like sales uplift was 3.2 per cent, which is a useful benchmark for local shopkeepers to use in assessing whether they are ahead of or behind the market.
But looking forward, it expects to grow sales by adding space. This year Tesco plans to add 181 Express stores, which is 460,000 extra square feet of selling space and will take its estate to 1,310 shops. In addition it will add 32 One Stop shops, adding 61,000 square feet of selling space and taking it to 540 One Stop outlets.
Terry Leahy, chief executive, says that the recession is over. Shoppers are "trading up and feeling more confident," he says. He says that steady trade is good news for Tesco as worried shoppers keep their spend close to home. He is betting that the value Tesco offers will attract shoppers to his stores.
Analyst Dave McCarthy told the FT that not everything is a rosy as it looks. In a slowing industry, incumbents increase capacity as the only way they can achieve growth.
For local shops, the scale of Tesco's operations mean one thing. More competition. You have to work on the basis that Tesco is going to open across the road from you. You need to benchmark your business on how you can do better than Tesco. It is possible, as plenty of independent shopkeepers have shown. It could even be fun.
Think of it another way, it is operating 1 million 1,000 sq ft c-stores. This investment in floor space for shoppers shapes the world independent retailers operate in.
Back in the UK, last week Tesco announced it was back to business as usual, with sales up and profits up. Its like-for-like sales uplift was 3.2 per cent, which is a useful benchmark for local shopkeepers to use in assessing whether they are ahead of or behind the market.
But looking forward, it expects to grow sales by adding space. This year Tesco plans to add 181 Express stores, which is 460,000 extra square feet of selling space and will take its estate to 1,310 shops. In addition it will add 32 One Stop shops, adding 61,000 square feet of selling space and taking it to 540 One Stop outlets.
Terry Leahy, chief executive, says that the recession is over. Shoppers are "trading up and feeling more confident," he says. He says that steady trade is good news for Tesco as worried shoppers keep their spend close to home. He is betting that the value Tesco offers will attract shoppers to his stores.
Analyst Dave McCarthy told the FT that not everything is a rosy as it looks. In a slowing industry, incumbents increase capacity as the only way they can achieve growth.
For local shops, the scale of Tesco's operations mean one thing. More competition. You have to work on the basis that Tesco is going to open across the road from you. You need to benchmark your business on how you can do better than Tesco. It is possible, as plenty of independent shopkeepers have shown. It could even be fun.
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