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Surprise, Surprise, Surprise: “Best Retailers” Roster Contains Some Twists

Bigger isn’t always better, rankings show.

Published

10 months ago

July 20, 2023

INSTORE Staff

Tractor Supply Co, topped the home-improvement category. PHOTOGRAPHY: CRobertson/iStock.com

At first glance, Newsweek‘s “America’s Best Retailers” roster looks like a case of “round up the usual suspects.” But closer scrutiny of the rankings within each category reveals several surprises, including the omission of some major players.

Examples:

Department stores: Van Maur bested such stalwarts as Neiman Marcus, Saks, Nordstrom and Macy’s Bloomingdales unit (but Macy’s itself did not make the cut).
Supermarkets: leading this 10-member category is Wegmans, with industry behemoth Kroger not getting a mention.
Superstores: Costco tops this category, and though Walmart did not make the roster, its Sam’s Club (3) unit did.
Home improvement: Tractor Supply finished first in this line, besting such vaunted competitors as Lowe’s (3) and Home Depot (5).

To compile the list, Newsweek teamed with market research/consumer data firm Statista to survey shoppers about stores in 39 product categories. Participants were asked about their likelihood of recommending a retailer to friends and family and how they rated it based on such factors as price, selection and overall atmosphere.

Click here for the complete roster.

She Wanted to Spend More Time with Her Kids. She Called Wilkerson.

Your children are precious. More precious than gold? Absolutely! Just ask Lesley Ann Davis, owner of Lesley Ann Jewels, an independent jewelry store that — until the end of 2023 — had quite a following in Houston, Texas. To spend more time with her four sons, all in high school, she decided to close her store. Luckily, she was familiar with Wilkerson and called them as soon as she knew she wanted to move on to bigger, better and more family-focused things. Was she happy with her decision? Yes, she was. Says Davis, “Any owner looking to make that life change, looking to retire, looking to close, looking for a pause in their career, I would recommend Wilkerson. Hands down!”