As always, NRF’s Hot 25 list of retailers with the greatest sales growth in 2024 includes a few surprises and plenty of stories that showcase the current state of retail.
NRF's Hot 25 Retailers ranks the nation’s fastest-growing retail companies.
View the complete chart.
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises is that Amazon, the second largest retailer according to NRF’s 2025 Top 100, is still growing at a pace strong enough to merit a return to the Hot 25. Its 9.4% growth in 2024 was enough to position it at No. 11 on the list of retailers with the strongest U.S. sales.
The Hot 25 is compiled by Kantar each year and David Marcotte, senior vice president of global retail and technology for Kantar, offers his take on the trends that the data shows.
While the Hot 25 does not include retailers whose primary function is a marketplace, Amazon is more diverse. It has physical sales, marketplace services and a growing retail footprint through Amazon stores and Whole Foods. The marketplace model, Marcotte says, “is one I would expect more people to get into in the current environment.”
The future is uncertain, and some of this year’s big players may not return to the Hot 25 list next year. This year, there are a few omissions from the 2024 list. Overstock topped last year’s list with its acquisition of the online assets of Bed, Bath & Beyond. Lidl owner Schwarz Group was ranked No. 2 last year and didn’t make this year’s list. But why focus on who’s out? The Hot 25 showcases retailers that are decidedly in.
One of the fastest ways to grow year over year is by acquiring stores. British sports-fashion retailer JD Sports saw 41.5% growth between 2023 and 2024 by adding almost 1,200 Hibbett, City Gear and Sports Addition stores in 36 states across the U.S. As a result, JD Sports’ U.S. growth positioned it at the No. 1 spot on the Hot 25.
Shell saw growth of 26.8%, reflecting its purchase of Timewise stores from Landmark and Brewer from Brewer Oil. These acquisitions positioned Shell at No. 4 on the Hot 25. Grocery Outlet’s acquisition of 40 United Grocery Outlet stores increased sales by 10.1%, helping it secure No. 10 on the Hot 25.
In 2025, mergers and acquisitions have slowed due to the uncertainty in the market, Marcotte says. The broader business environment and economic uncertainty are causing companies to reserve cash. That is having an impact on acquisitions.
If that holds throughout the remainder of 2025, stores will have to find new ways to grow to make next year’s list.
Acquisitions were not the only route to the Hot 25; some made the list through fairly rapid expansion. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, No. 21, added a net of 47 stores in 2024. Some of the 2024 growth — and even more in 2025 — comes as a result of leasing store locations that formerly housed Big Lots.
Fast Retailing, the Japanese parent of brands like Uniqlo, also has been expanding at a “much faster clip,” Marcotte says. “Stores, particularly the urban flagship stores, are doing phenomenally well.” He notes the chain’s use of smart technology and “the best hands-free instantaneous point of sale that I’ve seen.”
He also cites Aldi’s return to expansion and a “fine tuning of stores as they open. They continue to grow quite well” — well enough to show 13.5% sales growth and land at No. 7 on the list. Some of that growth came through converting Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores to the Aldi format, the result of its 2023 acquisition of some Southeastern Grocers locations. Most of it was the company’s aggressive strategy of adding 800 stores by 2028.
Food retailers dominated this year’s Hot 25 list. If convenience retailers like Shell and QuikTrip are counted, 60% of the top 10 are food-related. For the grocers in the top 10, most have carved out a niche.
Sprouts Farmers Market, at No. 8, boasts “operational excellence,” Marcotte says. It also has “excellent” social media engagement with shoppers, he says.
Looking outside the top 10 into the rest of the Hot 25 shows quite a few more food purveyors. The family-owned Festival Foods (No. 24) has spread beyond its Wisconsin roots, stretching over state lines into Minnesota and Illinois.
Wawa (No. 23) has expanded well beyond its Pennsylvania roots, extending west and south. “Wawa has a very careful, well thought through strategic plan for expansion. If they’re opening in a market, they firmly believe they have something they can move.”
Marcotte notes that Wawa’s employee ownership “gives them a different mindset.” Relationships with Pennsylvania refineries lead to good gas prices and a willingness to innovate with technology has also made Wawa a success, he says. “Touchscreen is now a standard, but they were among the first to do it.”
No. 9 “QuikTrip has a similar approach,” Marcotte says. Like Wawa, QuikTrip has a great employee benefits program.
Superior Grocers (No. 6) grew by more than 14% while keeping a tight focus on serving communities throughout Southern California, the central valley and Nevada. It focuses on Hispanic shoppers, but “really appeals to a much broader part of the population,” Marcotte says. “Consistently, they’re doing a very good job of getting beyond their core market. That’s where the growth is coming from. They’re not a flashy player. The stores are nice, not overwhelming, and they execute extremely well.”
H Mart (No. 16) is another that Marcotte singles out for its ability to execute. H Mart “has a very visual and sensory appeal,” Marcotte says. “Its food court brings all types of food to people and has been successful. H Mart has come on really strong.” H Mart also benefits from the interest in Korean pop culture like music and television, he says.
Founded by a Taiwanese immigrant in Queens, N.Y., 99 Ranch (No. 20) features stores that place perishable items near the front of the stores, along with a variety of consumer electronics. “It’s another ‘adventure in retail,’” Marcotte says, noting that some of its growth has come by “being defensive in trying to get ahead of some of the other Asian markets.”
Ethnic food stores are not the only ones on the Hot 25 list with an international touch. Others include German supermarket Aldi, UK-based Shell and Irish clothier Primark, which saw 30% growth — enough to land it at No. 2. It’s been on the list in recent years and has offered slow and steady growth. Primark had 29 stores in the U.S. at the end of 2024.
“Just opening one or two stores a year will keep them on the list for a while,” Marcotte says. He said its trendy product mix and affordable prices are bringing some success. “How long they can keep that going is to be seen. Right now they’re doing everything right and it shows.”
Daiso Sangyo (No. 13) and MUJI (No. 14) are both Japanese retailers that offer a wide variety of products. Both feature “what to an American is an eclectic Asian collection of goods,” Marcotte says. MUJI offers a “blind box,” with a small item inside that isn’t known until it’s opened. Those, Marcotte says, “are really hot with Gen Z.” Daiso boasts 100,000 Japanese items in its stores.
Both of those retailers benefit from an active social media presence, as do others on the list. “Everything shows up on social, whether you want to or not,” Marcotte says. “You can’t always have a proactive plan to get better engagement. It’s much more operational excellence that gets them into social media successfully.”
Social media is one core element in today’s retail environment. But this year’s Hot 25 list shows that continued growth takes a multitude of elements, all working in tandem, to sustain continued growth. Their specific approaches may not be right for all, but they certainly are setting the pace for the retail industry.
