Article

94. IBM 93. Dollar Tree 92. Borders

November 18, 2009

94. IBM

This tech behemoth is holding strong amid the economic turmoil. In a recent letter to shareholders, CEO Sam Palmisano vowed to continue investing in R&D, strategic acquisitions and growth initiatives. "We will not simply ride out the storm," he said. "Rather, we will take a longterm view and go on offense." And as usual, IBM has had no shortage of innovative product launches. In January, the company announced the launch of the smallest, fastest, most energy-efficient POS system of its kind, and, according to a company press release, clients are currently testing its Sametime 3D virtual meeting technology.

93. Dollar Tree

One man's recession is another man's payday. Based in Chesapeake, Va., the largest single-price-point chain in the country enjoyed a 60 percent jump in its stock in 2008, as well as a 4 percent rise in same-store sales — a reflection of the dollar segment's general defiance of current market trends. To further capitalize on consumers' tough times, last year Dollar Tree began branching out its product line to offer more consumable goods and scaled back advertising expenditures to help keep margins healthy.

92. Borders

The need to keep up with online giant Amazon has never been more intense, so Borders has spent the last year improving on what some had considered a lackluster in-store experience in the hopes of getting shoppers to spend some time in the store rather than just buying online. The company opened the first of several planned concept stores in its hometown of Ann Arbor, Mich., last year. The stores will focus on an interactive customer experience, including mixing and making CDs, downloading books and music, publishing one's own books, creating photo books, and exploring family history. Additionally, ReadersRead.com reported that the company will change its inventory-management system so that it reorders books more quickly.