WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two convenience store-only retailers, Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. and Tempe, Ariz.-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. made this year's STORES Top 100 Retailers list. 7-Eleven came in at No. 40 on the annual ranking of U.S. retailers by domestic sales, while Couche-Tard secured a spot at No. 75.

According to the rankings, 7-Eleven generated U.S. retail sales of $8.513 billion last year, a 3.1-percent increase over 2009. Its U.S. sales accounted for 12.2 percent of the chain's worldwide sales. 7-Eleven's store count increased 5.5 percent in 2010 to a total of 6,586 locations.

Couche-Tard generated U.S. retail sales of $4.528 billion last year, a 10.7-percent increase over 2009. Its U.S. sales accounted for 70.1 percent of the company's worldwide sales. In terms of store count, Couche-Tard grew by 7.2 percent to reach 3,862 locations in 2010.

The retailers at the very top of the list didn't change much this year. Perennial No. 1 Wal-Mart retained in the top spot, boasted by U.S. sales totaling $307 billion. As the largest supermarket company in the U.S., Kroger secured the No. 2 rank, with its sales growing 6.4 percent to $78 billion in 2010. No. 3 Target, meanwhile, had sales topping $65 billion last year.

After acquiring Drugstore.com, adding specialty pharmacy and in-store health clinics and expanding its food offerings, No. 4 Walgreen saw its sales grow 6.3 percent in 2010. Home Depot (No. 5), Costco (No. 6), CVS Caremark (No. 7), Lowe's (No. 8), Best Buy (No. 9) and Sears Holdings (No. 10) rounded out the top 10. The rankings were compiled by Kantar Retail.

"One of the keys to retail survivorship in the U.S. is diversity, particularly in the variety of retail footprints that populate the retail landscape," noted Bryan Gildenberg, chief knowledge officer of Kantar Retail. "This year's top 10 features retailers that operate in six different core formats and that in aggregate, run everything from non-store retail to convenience stores to massive supercenters."

All retailers included in the Top 100 either have group headquarters located in the United States or are foreign entities with significant operations in the U.S. market.