St. Louis Ranks 4th in Number of Entrepreneurs in BusinessWeek's “Hot Growth Ranking”

June 2, 2005

St. Louis Region Has 5 Firms Ranked In National Top 100

Five St. Louis-headquartered companies have made BusinessWeek magazine's 2005 ranking of the nation’s 100 "hot growth companies" that appears in its June 6th issue.  

Los Angeles ranks #1 with 11 companies in the Top 100, followed by San Jose with 7.  Boston, Dallas, New York and San Francisco were tied for the 3rd most companies in the rankings with 6. St. Louis ranks 4th with 5 firms ranked in the Top 100, and is ahead of such entrepreneurial powerhouses as Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, and San Diego.

Reliv International (#28 in 2004) ranked highest among St. Louis-area companies this year at #13; Engineered Support Systems Inc. (#33 in 2004) ranked #19; newcomer to the list Build-A-Bear Workshop ranked #25; Panera Bread Co. (#30 in 2004) ranked #37; and 2005 newcomer TALX Corp. ranked #92.  The cover story features a sidebar feature story on St. Louis’ Build-A-Bear Workshops, with an interview with CEO Maxine Clark.

Public companies were chosen based on their 3-year results in sales growth, earnings growth and return on invested capital, according to the publication. They were ranked based on a formula involving those figures.  Among other qualifications, companies needed to have sales of more than $50 million and less than $1.5 billion.

In the cover story, Business Week observes: "It's no small feat to spot a great business opportunity in today's fast-changing economy.  Building a sustainable enterprise from that insight is even tougher. It requires speed, flexibility, innovation and at least a little luck to thrive in the face of relentless competition.  This year's annual Hot Growth list of America's fastest growing small companies reveals an impressive lineup that has mastered that high-stakes game."

St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) President and Chief Executive Officer Richard C.D. Fleming noted, “At a time when the region is putting such civic priority on nurturing and growing its entrepreneurial base, this positive showing in Business Week’s annual ranking is welcome news.  This is the second consecutive year in which St. Louis was highly ranked.”