Fastest-growing retailers

Few industries have been hurt as badly by the recession as retail, the front lines of the battlefield where businesses try to separate consumers from their money. In an industry that got overbuilt during flush times, the recession sent sales plunging, forcing chains to close stores. But Forbes.com has found exceptions -- retailers that have found a strong competitive advantage.

The most obvious leader, according to the report, is Apple, which has taken the retail world by storm with its own outlets. Customers regularly crowd into the small, cozy Apple Stores to scoop up Macs and iPods, vaulting Apple to the top of the industry for revenue per square foot. Apple Store sales have nearly doubled over the past three years to $9.6 billion.

Another thriving company noted by Forbes is Amazon.com, which continues to roll up higher sales -- almost 80% growth over the past three years -- even though some industry analysts see the company maturing in the U.S. Once little more than an online bookseller, Amazon has become the go-to spot for shoppers looking for convenience and reasonable prices on a wide range of merchandise, including consumer electronics.

"They have expanded their model into almost everything you can think of buying," says Jack Plunkett, who runs a stock research firm in Houston.

Recent government stats on retail sales indicate that the sector is starting to thaw. Analysts generally agree the worst is probably over, but they aren't looking for robust growth anytime soon. The overbuilding by so many chains fighting for market share during flush times left too many square feet of space dedicated to selling stuff to free-spending consumers. Even as the recession ebbs, consumers are continuing to pay down debt and save in a way they haven't in years, analysts note. What was once a cash spigot may remain little more than a slow drip for years to come.

"I don't think we'll ever live that way again," says retail investment banker Howard Davidowitz of New York-based Davidowitz & Associates.

Nonetheless, Forbes' Fastest-Growing Retailers have shown that big sales growth is still there for the taking--it just takes more creativity to grab it these days.