ars international on Eleventh ANNUAL Inner City 100

Boston, MA, May 20, 2009, 8 pm – Today, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) released its 2009 Inner City 100 list, and ARS International is ranked 16th on the list of the fastest growing inner-city companies in America.  Innovative practices and sustained growth are the predominant traits of the 2009 Inner City 100, a ranking of the 100 fastest-growing businesses in inner city communities nationwide.  

Now in its 11th year, the Inner City 100 list provides unmatched original data on the fastest growing inner-city businesses in the U.S.  For the 2009 list, over 5,000 nominations were received. The 2009 Inner City 100 winners grew at a compound annual growth rate of 40 percent and an average rate of 324 percent between 2003 and 2007. Collectively, the top 100 inner city businesses have employed nearly 17,000 people and created nearly 10,000 new jobs over the past five years.

Fifty-three percent of companies expect steady growth, 11 percent expect their revenues to double, six percent expect their revenues to triple, and a mere four percent expect their revenues to decline in 2009.  Individually, the average Inner City 100 Company’s revenues were $23 million.

“We are delighted to celebrate businesses like ARS International that are playing a critical role to revitalize distressed urban communities throughout America,” said Michael Porter, founder and CEO of ICIC. “By creating jobs, income, and wealth for local residents, these high-growth businesses are vivid proof that the most effective way to address economic inequality in America is to equip every community to prosper in the market system. Inner City 100 companies also provide a window into the future where all companies will need to learn to address diverse customers and mobilize diverse workforces.”

The 2009 Inner City 100 winners operate from 55 cities in 31 states. Fifteen companies on the list are based in California and eight are from Massachusetts. Texas, New York and Colorado each have seven companies on the list. Pennsylvania has six companies on the list and Ohio has five. Three states (Florida, Missouri and Indiana) have four companies on the list. Among the top cities represented in the 2009 list Denver has seven winning companies and Boston, Philadelphia, Oakland, and San Francisco each have four companies listed on the Inner City 100.

The list is proof of concept that doing business in an inner city area holds a distinct competitive advantage.  ICIC has been studying the economic condition of the largest 100 American cities for more than a decade and is working to revitalize inner cities across the country.

 The 2009 Inner City 100 winners attended the Inner City 100 Summit in Boston for a two-day event featuring seminars for Inner City 100 owners and managers at Harvard Business School, a reception at the Harvard Club of Boston, and a gala awards dinner at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center that is expected to draw more than 800 guests.

Highlights of the 2009 Inner City 100 list include:

• Inner City 100 companies are 34 percent minority-owned.  Nationally, just 8 percent of companies with annual revenues over $1 million are minority-owned.
• The 2009 Inner City 100 companies are 18 percent owned by immigrants to the United States.
• 21 percent of the 2009 Inner City 100 are women-owned. Nationally, only 10 percent of companies with over $1 million in annual revenues are women-owned.
• The 2009 Inner City 100 boasts an average workforce that is 53 percent minority employees and 43 percent inner city residents.
• The 2009 Inner City 100 pay an average of over $15.00 per hour to hourly employees and $53,000 per year to salaried employees.