Convenience and Apparel Stores Aren't Slowing Growth Anytime Soon

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite slowed consumer spending over the past year, retailers kept registers ringing and cut ribbons at thousands of new store locations across the globe as consumers continued to frequent brick and mortar locations more than they shopped online. Today, Milo.com (http://milo.com), the Web site that enables shoppers to research products online and buy local, issued an infographic showing the companies that have most expanded their footprint through the opening of local stores to fill the demand. Convenience and apparel stores led the retail segment in number of new locations between 2008 and 2009, with Walgreens and American Apparel spearheading their respective categories. The overall growth winner was Best Buy, which opened 2,628 new stores for a 200 percent increase since 2008.

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100325/SF76574)

Published today on the Milo.com blog (http://milo.com/blog/) based on data from STORES.org, the infographic shows which retailers across categories top the list in terms of revenue change, number of new locations, and percent increase in total stores since 2008—all telling factors of what makes a retailer successful. In addition to Best Buy, standout companies include:

• O'Reilly Automotive – The automotive chain opened 1,455 stores, representing 79.5 percent unit growth since 2008
• American Apparel – The men's and women's apparel company opened 78 stores in 2009, amounting to 42.9 percent growth
• Apple Stores – With 50 new store openings, Apple grew its footprint by 25.4 percent
• GameStop – The video game retailer expanded by 942 stores, an increase of 17.9 percent compared to 2008
• ULTA Beauty – The beauty store chain opened 62 stores, equal to 24.9 percent growth

"For us, it's not surprising that a store like Best Buy has seen such explosive growth. Not only is it an exceptional retailer in its product quality and value, but it is capitalizing on the research online, buy offline trend much better than many other companies. Best Buy is a great example of a brick and mortar retailer that realizes the Internet is a great ally for growth, rather than the enemy," said Jack Abraham, Milo.com founder and CEO. "Despite the recession, it's clear that Americans are spending money, and that they're doing it at stores near them. Milo.com helps these shoppers find the right product at the best price, right when and where they want it."

Milo.com tracks the real-time inventories and prices of more than 2 million products at over 48,000 stores nationwide, so any U.S. shopper can search online for products that are in-stock before heading out to the stores in their neighborhood. Milo.com covers both national and regional retailers and provides data for several stores leading the growth in their respective categories, including Advanced Auto Parts, American Apparel, Best Buy, Staples, Target, and Walgreens.

To see how Milo.com can help you find products that are available at a store near you, please visit http://milo.com.

About Milo.com (http://milo.com)

Milo.com enables shoppers to research products online and buy local. The leader in the local product search space, Milo.com tracks the real-time availability and prices of more than 2 million products at over 48,000 stores across the U.S. By combining the detailed product information and user reviews available online with the immediate and tangible benefits of shopping in local stores, Milo.com provides the best of both worlds and makes it easy for shoppers to research the best products, find the right prices and check where products are available near them. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Milo.com boasts leadership from comScore and Google, and is backed by True Ventures and prominent Silicon Valley investors and entrepreneurs from Mint.com, PayPal, Yelp, YouTube, and others. For more information, please visit http://milo.com.

SOURCE Milo.com