Aug. 07--An annual list of the nation's fastest-growing retailers includes four Illinois companies ranging from a supermarket chain to a cosmetics merchant to a farm-supplies seller.
Ulta Salon Cosmetics Fragrance of Bolingbrook, Ace Hardware of Oak Brook, Rural King Supply of Mattoon, and Aldi of Batavia all landed spots on the National Retail Federation's "Hot 100," which recognizes the nation's fastest-growing chains as measured by year-over-year U.S. sales growth.
The four companies ranked 20th, 24th, 34th and 77th, respectively. Their sales growth ranged from Ulta's 21 percent to Aldi's 8 percent.
The chart topper was Hudson's Bay, the Canadian parent of Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord Taylor.
"At least one man in retailing -- aside from Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren -- thinks there is still a place in the world for the traditional department store," National Retail Federation's "Stores" magazine said of Hudson's Bay Executive Chairman Richard Baker.
He bought Lord Taylor nine years ago and "has assembled a conglomerate that will soon be operating in three countries on two continents," the magazine said. Hudson's Bay U.S. sales rose by 254 percent to $5.2 billion, the National Retail Federation said.
byerak@tribpub.com
