From Deloitte: 2009 World Largest Retailers

Here are the world's largest retailers according to the Deloitte's latest annual Global Powers of Retailing report.

Apparently the retailing businesses have capitalized from the recent crisis. As we pointed out in Industry Trends During Recessions, not all of the industries are affected in a recession.

According to the Research recap, ``A number of discount retailers were big movers on the Top 250 list as consumers cut back to deal with the economic downturn. Schwarz Unternehmens Treuhand KG (Schwarz) climbed three places from 10th to 7th. Aldi GmbH (Aldi) also climbed this year and was the only new entry in the Top 10, taking the place of Sears Holdings Corporation (Sears)."

Nevertheless, Russian, Chinese and South Korean retailers were among the fastest-growing.

Research Recap adds, ``In fact, two Russian and four Chinese retailers new to last year’s list have climbed significantly in this year’s rankings, with two of the Chinese companies breaking into the top 100. Gome Home Appliance Group is ranked 63rd and is the 8th highest ranked retailer in Asia/Pacific, the first Chinese retailer to break into the regional Top 10. Russian electronics retailer Euroset Group had a Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2002-2007 of 108.5 percent"

The moral: People go back to basics during difficult times, thus the retailing business could be considered as a defensive positioning. Another area to consider under present conditions: pawn brokering.