retail

Amazon, Dick's Sporting Goods, Tractor Supply Hang On To 'Sizzling' Growth

The National Retail Federation has released its annual rankings of the hottest retailers, with many of the top names—including Hudson’s Bay and Wayfair —galloping up the list through acquisition. And it also ranked what it calls the “sustained sizzle” companies, those that have maintained their dominance and managed to stay in the “Hot 100” for the six years it has been compiling its rankings. Amazon continues its reign as supreme sizzler, followed by O’Reilly Automotive; Tractor Supply Co.; Dick’s Sporting Goods; Dollar Tree, and Ross Stores.

The Washington, D.C.-based trade association starts with a list of all retailers with more than $300 million in sales, both public and private, and then ranks them based on the greatest increase in U.S. sales from 2013 to 2014. Data is provided by Kantar Retail.

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“Our list is a mix of established retailers like Nordstrom and Kroger, along with newer players like Zulily and Choxi,” Susan Reda, editor of the NRF’s Stores Magazine, says in the release. (Choxi is a pure-play e-tailer formerly known as NoMoreRack.com.) “All are focused on growth objectives and keeping customers in the center of every decision.”

This year’s list “is a mix of companies that have balance sheets that allow them to make acquisitions or grow organically,” says Bryan Gildenberg, the chief knowledge officer, in the magazine article. “Hot 100 retailers grow quickly because they understand why people are buying.”

The Ontario-based Hudson’s Bay, which owns Lord & Taylor, led the list with a 254% sales gain in 2014, much of it stemming from its purchase of Saks Fifth Avenue. Choxi came in second, powered by its daily deals and flat shipping rate of $2. Zulily, also a deal site, landed in the No. 3 spot, based on sales growth of 73%. Next came G-III Apparel Group at No. 4 and Wayfair at No. 5, both fueled by purchase of other brands. G-III Apparel, which had a 67% increase in sales, owns Wilsons Leather, Bass and G.H. Bass & Co. And home décor giant Wayfair now has five different e-commerce brands, all aimed at different home furnishings niches. AT&T Wireless, Office Depot , Signet Jewelers, Men’s Wearhouse and Northern Tool and Equipment all finished in top 10.

Certain categories emerged as winners too, such as cheap-chic retailers, including H&M (13), Forever 21 (58) and Ross Stores (70.)

The group also ranked restaurant chains, with Chipotle Mexican Grill, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Zaxby’s and Whataburger the fastest growing.

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