Signet Jewelers Falls 5 Spots on NRF’s ‘Top 100’ Retailers List

Plus, why retailers should be ready to adjust as the U.S. population may decline this year for the first time since the Great Depression.

Lenore Fedow lenore.fedow@nationaljeweler.com

A selection of rings from Signet Jewelers-owned banner Kay Jewelers. The retailer took spot No. 74 on the National Retail Federation’s Top 100 Retailers list.

Washington, D.C—Signet Jewelers is once again on the National Retail Federation’s Top 100 Retailers list, though the jewelry giant has slipped down a few spots.

The company was No. 74 this year, five spots lower than last year.

Signet came in at No. 69 in 2025, No. 67 in 2024, No. 56 in 2023, No. 66 in 2022, and No. 78 in 2021.

The list, compiled by market research firm Kantar Group, ranks the largest retail companies in the United States, based on 2025 annual U.S. retail sales.

The NRF uses “a variety of estimation techniques” to calculate its figures, it said, so the sales figures on its list may differ from the companies’ official public filing reports.

Signet’s U.S. retail sales totaled $6.2 billion in 2025, up 3 percent year-over-year, as per the NRF’s calculations.

The jewelry giant posted flat sales in its fourth-quarter results in March, noting modest growth in 2025 as it faced “unprecedented tariffs, record gold costs, and a measured consumer,” said Signet Jewelers CEO J.K. Symancyk.

The company is focusing on its core banners and streamlining its portfolio, with sales increasing slightly in Q1 of this fiscal year.

As for the other retailers, it was a stable year for the Top 100 list, with only one change in the top 20 companies, said the NRF in a blog post.

Walmart took the No. 1 spot with Amazon in second place, as it has been since 2019.

Costco Wholesale was in third place, followed by The Kroger Co., and The Home Depot.

As for the one change, Ace Hardware came in at No. 19, taking the place of Dollar Tree, which fell to No. 29 following its sale of Family Dollar and subsequent 39 percent drop in store sales.

Stability in the rankings doesn’t equal stagnant sales, said the NRF, with CVS Health Corporation (No. 6) and Costco among the retailers seeing strong sales growth.

However, most of the movement happened outside of the top 20.

Stability at the top and movement in the mid-tier indicates “that retail is constantly evolving and growing,” said Mark Mathews, NRF’s chief economist and executive director of research.

“While we’re not seeing change at the top, there is change down below as companies evolve and grow. And it’s much easier to do that in this environment than it was 20 years ago.”

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The companies toward the top of the list find strength in scale, but those in the middle rely on strategy, said the NRF.

For instance, Dick’s Sporting Goods moved up the list from No. 35 to No. 27, due in part to its acquisition of Foot Locker, which led to the largest sales growth increase (49 percent) in the Top 100.

Off-price retailers like TJX (No. 15), Ross (No. 22), and Burlington (No. 45) also posted solid, steady growth in sales and store counts.

Slow and steady wins the race, so they say, and the NRF highlighted a few “quiet giants.”

Sherwin Williams (No. 39), Tractor Supply (No. 32), and Ulta (No. 41) were among the standouts.

A few companies that hit their height during the COVID-19 pandemic, including Chewy (No. 40), Wayfair (No. 46), and Overstock.com (No. 88) have reached “post COVID maturity,” said Kantar Senior Vice President David Marcotte, seeing solid steady growth.

Department stores Macy’s (No. 25) and Kohl’s (No. 34) saw sales slip, but to a lesser degree than last year.

Marcotte said traditional department stores are adjusting as malls make a resurgence.

“The B- and C- grade malls have come back very nicely,” he said.

Retailers Saks Global (No. 51) and QVC Group (No. 63), which both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year, also made the list. Saks Global recently exited bankruptcy proceedings with a new name.

Looking to the year ahead for retail, Marcotte is taking note of the U.S. population, which could end the year with a decline for the first time since the Great Depression, he said.

Population growth has slowed significantly in the U.S., increasing by 1.8 million, or 0.5 percent, between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, according to estimates shared by the U.S. Census Bureau in January.

“The slowdown in U.S. population growth is largely due to a historic decline in net international migration, which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million in the period from July 2024 through June 2025,” said Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections at the Census Bureau.

“With births and deaths remaining relatively stable compared to the prior year, the sharp decline in net international migration is the main reason for the slower growth rate we see today.”

This could spell trouble for retailers not prepared to adapt to that change.

“Retail in the U.S. depends on the population expanding,” said Marcotte. “I know what happens in other countries when the population declines: Retail starts having to adjust very quickly.”

The top retailers this year have shown they’re up to the task, said the NRF, but those who are not may find themselves in different standing next year.

See the full list here.