Continued expansion in the fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and other foods departments, pushed up Wal-Mart’s US grocery sales to US$140.6bn in 2010, up 2.1 per cent from the previous year.
Groceries accounted for 54 per cent of Wal-Mart’s US sales in the company’s fiscal 2011, which ended 31 January, Wal-Mart said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, reported by The Packer.
The grocery department’s share of total sales was up from 53 per cent in 2010 – the first year in which groceries accounted for more than half of Wal-Mart’s US revenue, excluding Sam’s Club stores.
In terms of value, grocery sales garnered US$140.6bn in sales, out of a total net revenue of US$260.3bn last year, up 0.2 per cent from US$259.9 in 2009, Wal-Mart said in the filing.
Wal-Mart has expanded fresh food departments in recent years, using aggressive discounts to draw customers from traditional supermarket chains.
The company continues to rank as the largest US food retailer, controlling at least one-fifth of the market, according to analysts.
Groceries also account for the majority of Sam’s Club sales – representing 55 per cent (or US$27.2bn) of the warehouse chain’s total sales of US$49.5bn in fiscal 2011, the filing stated.
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