This year, we saw a plethora of retailers shutter amidst the retail apocalypse. But where there are failures, there are always champions to look to in every industry — and in Canadian fashion, it’s Lululemon.

BrandZ, the world’s largest brand equity database, recently released its inaugural list of the top 40 most valuable brands in Canada.

Overall, the brands on the list are worth a total of $144 billion in 2019. But aside from financials, the study also took criteria like consumer trust into consideration, which helped break down the list into six different categories: Brand Contribution, Best Purpose, Most Meaningful, Most Different, Most Innovative, and Best Brand Experience.

Despite recent brand closures, sixth on the overall list and first in the apparel category, BrandZ has Lululemon’s 2019 brand value at $7,578 million USD.

Coming in as 17th on the top most valuable Canadian brands list and second in the apparel category is Canada Goose with a brand value of $2,199 million USD. Aritzia came in third for the apparel category and 31st overall with a brand value of $684 million USD.

In terms of shopping, the retail category has 12 familiar names on the list.

Metro, Dollarama, Shoppers Drug Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, WINNERS, RONA, Foodland, President’s Choice, Sobeys, and Food Basics were all ranked in the top 40 most valuable Canadian brands of 2019.

Retail was actually one of the top most valuable categories, falling third after banks and telecom providers.

While many countries and businesses face uncertainty, BrandZ’s study just goes to show that Canada is holding up strong. And while some of our favourite retailers may be shuttering stores, at the very least, we have the top 40 to rely on.

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With news of store closures popping up all of the time, it’s nice to hear a company’s successes every once in a while.

Recently, the Centre for the Study of Commercial Activity (CSCA) at Ryerson University conducted a study on the top 100 retail conglomerates in Canada to find out which retailer ranked best. Using the estimated retail sales from the 2017 fiscal year, the CSCA was able to determine which conglomerates have the most influence over shoppers.

Interestingly enough, the 100 top Canadian retailers retailers who made the list account for 75.5% of non-automotive sales in Canada.

The top three retailers accounting for 28% of non-automotive sales. All together, the 100 retailers drove $276 billion dollars in retail sales. The top 33 retailers all had at least $1 billion in sales.

Other companies that made the list but didn’t rank in the top 10 include Bass Pro Inc., Ashley Industries Inc., Fabricland, Footlocker Inc., and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, the latter of which recently acquired Toys “R” Us. While some retailers who topped the list surprised us, others are no-brainers.

Here are the 10 top Canadian retailers:

1. Weston Group

You’ve definitely heard this name before. The conglomerate owns establishments that Canadians visit every day. The company’s roster of 35 retailers includes Shoppers Drug Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, and No Frills. In 2017, Weston group was estimated to bring in over $46.2 billion in retail sales.

2. Walmart Stores Inc.

Was there any doubt that Walmart would make this list? The big box store, which has over 400 locations across Canada, was estimated to make just over $32.4 billion USD in retail sales at the end of 2017’s fiscal year. Between just two chains, Walmart and Walmart Superstores, that’s a whole lot of money.

3. Costco Wholesale Corp.

Another store that Canadians frequently visit is Costco. Although the retailer has a significantly smaller location number than other retailers on this list — 94 compared to Weston Group’s 2797 and Walmart Stores Inc.’s 410 — Costco is able to bring in the big bucks. At the end of 2017’s fiscal year, they had estimated retail sales of $24.6 billion.

4. Empire Company Limited

For those unfamiliar with the name, more recognizable retailers that fall under the conglomerate’s roster include Sobeys, Safeway, and IGA. While the company ranked lower than Costco, retail sales were close, with Empire Company Limited pulling in an estimated $24.2 billion.

5. Metro Inc.

Unsurprisingly, another grocery conglomerate tops the list of Canada’s top 10 retailers. Under the Metro Inc. umbrella, shoppers will find Metro, Food Basics, and Metro PLUS. With 866 stores across Canada, the company had retail sales estimated at $13.1 billion — a big jump down from the four company’s that topped the list.

6. McKesson Corp.

The company behind Rexall, IDA Pharmacy, and Uniprix comes in sixth on the list. With 11 chains underneath the brand’s umbrella and 2234 locations across Canada (the second largest store count after Weston Group), McKesson Corp. was able to pull in an estimated $10.9 billion USD in retail sales.

7. Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.

Number seven needs no introduction! In addition to Canadian Tire, the conglomerate also has retailers like Mark’s Work Wearhouse and Sport Chek on its roster, with 12 chains and 1321 store locations in total. At the end of the 2017 fiscal year, Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. brought in a whopping $10.2 billion in retail sales.

 8. Lowe’s Companies Inc.

Despite an announcement of store closures across North America, Lowe’s Companies Inc. seems to be doing quite well, ranking as the eight most successful retailer on this list. The company brought in an estimated $8.6 billion USD with just 878 retail locations. In addition to Lowe’s, the company also has Rona under its brand umbrella.

9. The Home Depot Inc.

Coming in ninth on the top Canadian retailers list is The Home Depot. With only one chain and 182 stores across Canada, the retailer was able to bring in estimated sales of $8.1 billion USD. That’s a whole lot of home improvement supplies!

10. Home Hardware Stores Ltd.

With an estimated $6.1 billion in retail sales, 10th on the list of top Canadian retailers is Home Hardware Stores Ltd. The home improvement conglomerate has a total of 4 chains including Home Hardware and Home Building Centre, and has 1069 locations across Canada.

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The reports are out, and industry insiders point to the fact that Metro is Canada’s best grocer.

Canadiangrocer.com is arguing that Metro is not only Canada’s best grocery store chain, but the best grocery store chain in the world.

While many Canadian shoppers may be surprised to hear about Metro’s dominance, Canadian Grocer alludes that Metro has been diligent and forward thinking when it comes to their business model and the efforts have paid off in a big way.

According to industry insiders and investment websites, Metro right now is only rivaled in the world by the Kroger grocery store chain.

The well-respected investment site Seeking Alpha is quoted as saying

“Over the past 10 years, Metro (OTCPK:MTRAF) has arguably been North America’s second-best publicly traded grocer after Kroger (NYSE:KR). The two share several similarities: neither is the largest in their respective market but they are the best, consistent dividend growth and share repurchases, track records of steady EPS growth and good returns on invested capital, and both have seen tremendous success with their respective loyalty programs.” – Seeking Alpha

Metro’s slow but sure arrival at the top of grocery store chains comes from superior operations. Canadian Grocer points out that Metro is not marginally better at operations than Loblaw or Sobey’s but lightyears ahead of their competitors.

The proof is in the numbers*. Canadian Grocer states that Metro’s gross margin at 19.7% trails that of Loblaw and Sobeys at 23.3% and 24.9 % respectively, however Metro’s expenditures as a per cent of sales is lower as well hovering around 12.7% while Loblaws and Sobeys expenditures are closer to 20%.

The result? Metro experiences margins of 7% where Loblaw’s margins are 4.8 % and Sobeys 3.1%.

Another reason for Metro’s success is their purchasing of the A&P grocery store chain 10 years ago. While every other retailer was focused on building suburban megastores, Metro was quietly taking over A&P’s which already had a great downtown and urban footprint, making Metro stores easily accessible.

With all this in mind, it seems like Canadian Grocer is making a good argument and that in fact Metro very well might be the best grocery store chain in the world.

*Numbers were sourced from CanadianGrocer.com