Most franchise brands in the retail category experienced sales growth in 2022, an analysis of latest Franchise Times Top 400 found. Specifically, 24 out of 29 brands in the category saw sales increases, leaving only five reporting declines, FT’s Matthew Liedke writes.
Overall, seven of the list’s top 10 consists of fast-food chains (led by McDonald’s), which FT considers separate from its retail category.
Leading the sales growth for retail was Filta Group, a kitchen services concept, which had a 51.7 percent sales increase from a year earlier, to $92 million in 2022. Experiencing the largest decline, meanwhile, was Learning Express Toys, with sales falling 32.9 percent to $89 million in 2022.
The pandemic impacted sales at several retailers. For example, sales grew at The Vitamin Shoppe by nearly 10 percent, increasing to $1.2 billion in 2022. CEO Lee Wright said the brand’s clientele grew because more people are invested in their health.
In the clothing segment, resale brands found growth as well. The category was led by Uptown Cheapskate, with an increase in sales of 27.5 percent, to $122 million in 2022.
Plato’s Closet, ranked at No. 120 in the Top 400, had a 7.5 percent increase in sales, to $639 million in 2022.
In terms of overall sales, despite a decline of 1.7 percent, 7-Eleven still came out on top in FT’s retail ranking with $93.5 billion in sales for 2022. Keeping its No. 2 overall ranking, the brand also increased its unit count from 78,413 to 84,061.
Other retail brands to make the top 10 were Ace Hardware at No. 5 with $23.1 billion in sales, and Circle K at No. 9 with $16.8 billion. Ace Hardware’s sales grew by 3.4 percent, while Circle K had a 10.7 percent sales boost.
Click here for more from FT’s analysis of the franchise industry’s retail sector.