Most Competitive Retailers

Under Armour, Victoria’s Secret and Bed Bath & Beyond came out on top in an annual survey of the nation’s most competitive retailers. Conducted by Capgemini U.S. LLC and W Ratings Corp., the “Most Competitive Retailers Study” measures the ability of companies to simultaneously meet consumer expectations and deliver superior profits. It reviews a company’s performance across nine different sources of competitive advantage. The ratings are combined with the firm’s trailing five-year average economic profit to calculate the competitive ranking. More than 6,000 consumers were interviewed as part of the study.

“The retail environment remains a difficult industry to make money on a consistent basis,” said Gary A. Williams, founder and CEO, W Ratings Corp. “Yet certain companies are finding ways to do just that by incorporating strategies from outside their core industry. For example, Starbucks has been extending their routine reliance—one of the nine sources of competitive advantage—from coffee and food, to wireless access and music. This strategy not only reinforces their brand with consumers as the ‘third place’ besides work and home, but also builds on the successful network effect of Apple’s iTunes.”

The top 20 most competitive retailers, according to the study, were:

UnderArmour

Victoria’s Secret (tie)

Bed Bath & Beyond (tie)

The UPS Store

Ross Stores

Chico’s

CVS (tie)

Gymboree (tie)

DHL (tie)

Carter’s

Niketown

The Home Depot

Banana Republic

Petco

Williams-Sonoma

Lowe’s

Walgreens

Starbucks Coffee Co.

Cabela’s

Target