Costco needs little introduction. About 69% of Costco’s 923 warehouse stores are in the US, 12% in Canada, and 5% in Mexico. The remaining 14% are mostly in the UK, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Taiwan. There are also now five stores in China. Costco adds about three percent to its store count each year.

Fortis is a regulated utility that focuses on electricity and natural gas distribution. Based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, it has operations in Canada, the US, and the Caribbean. The company had $73 billion in assets at the end of 2024. It has about 9,700 employees.

The fact that its products are proprietary along with its strong brand reputation allows lululemon to sell at very lucrative margins. Its gross margin of 56% equates to a markup over costs of 127%!

It now has 784 company-operated stores in 23 countries. The locations of the stores are 50% in the US, 20% China, 9% Canada, 15% in Asia Pacific, and 6% in Europe and the Middle East. Close to half of its revenue is now derived from online direct-to-consumer sales.

RBC is the largest bank in Canada, with 23% market share. It has strengths in retail banking, investment banking, and asset management plus the largest share of mortgages and corporate lending in Canada.

Walmart is the world’s largest bricks and mortar retailer with 10,750 stores in 19 countries, plus an expanding e-commerce operation. It employs some 2.1 million people worldwide and had revenue in the latest fiscal year of $648 billion.