Hot 100 Retailers list

The Hot 100 Retailers section is the definitive annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing retail companies. Rankings are determined by increases in domestic sales between 2009 and 2010; all retail companies with domestic sales in excess of $300 million were eligible. Hot 100 retailers managed average year-over-year domestic sales growth of 9.3 percent. This represents a solid improvement over 2009’s average of 8.5 percent and indicates that – for these companies, at least – there were some bright spots in the economy in 2010.

Best-of-class and unique operating propositions dominate the food/drug/mass value segment — even as No. 1 Kroger is the very definition of the exception that proves the rule (which, in this case, is that traditional supermarkets are a dying breed).

Walgreen has been energized by its Duane Reade division at a time when its national drug chain rivals are struggling. Rite Aid is still trying to find solid footing, and CVS Caremark is fending off union-fueled opposition and critics of its takeover of pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx.

Restaurant operators are spending a lot of time fencing with regulators: They have become targets of immigration officials and the Labor Department’s decision to dictate how restaurants must pay employees who receive tips.