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10 YEARS OF THE GLOBE 100
For the original top 10, decade can be a lifetime By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff
Of the 1989 top 10, one company has moved out of state - the number one company, in fact, then known as Concord Computing Corp. Another, Lotus Development Corp., was acquired by IBM. But many of 1989's top 10 continue to thrive. Keane Inc., TJX Cos., and New England Business Service Inc. can boast they were on the Globe's top 10 list then and now. Keane ranked second a decade ago, as it does today. If only Concord Computing Corp. had hung around - athe business now known as Concord EFS Inc. would have again been a strong contender for the company of the year. Now based in Tennessee as a result of acquisitions, Concord provides about 25 percent of US supermarkets with such services as electronic check authorizations and processors of credit-card and debit-card sales. ''Think of how often you used a credit card or a debit card in a supermarket six years ago,'' says Concord president Edward A. Labry III. ''Hardly at all, right?'' Today about 60 percent of such purchases are paid for with check, credit card, or debit card, and that's been a boom for Concord. For 1997, revenues grew to $240 million from $167 million; 1998 revenues should be close to $350 million. Net income in 1997 was $42.7 million, up from $26.8 million in 1996 - and more than 50 percent higher than total revenues when the company was named company of the year in 1989. Ten years ago, Boston-based Keane helped Cumberland Farms put its convenience stores on line so the retailer could track sales and inventory. Today Keane is helping big companies tackle the bug dubbed the Y2K, reprogramming their computer systems so they don't go haywire in the year 2000. Partly as a result, revenues have grown more than tenfold, from $60 million in 1988 to $654.4 million last year. TJX of Framingham just keeps rolling along. A decade ago, its T.J. Maxx chain sold enough off-price apparel to land the Framingham company in third place on the Globe 100. Three years ago, TJX acquired the rival Marshalls chain, and the marriage created a behemoth that was last year's company of the year. This year, it ranked sixth. ''The momentum continues,'' said Bernard Cammarata, TJX's president and chief executive. Providing forms and labels to small businesses would seem a low-tech art. But that hasn't stopped New England Business Service Inc. from being a consistently strong performer. NEBS ranked 10th in 1989. This year, it ranked ninth. Not every company has been so consistent. A decade ago, Stanhome Inc. could sell enough collectibles, mops, and home cleaners to place fourth. The popularity of Keds and children's shoes helped propel Stride Rite Corp. to fifth place. And before anyone had heard of El Nino and warm winters, the local demand for baseboard heating was such that Mestek Inc., a climate-control company, rang up enough sales to place ninth. But a decade has wrought changes for these firms. After selling off its homecare and personal care business to focus on giftware and collectibles, Stanhome saw revenues drop sharply and fell out of the Globe 100 this year. Westfield-based Stanhome just changed its name to Enesco Group Inc., the brand name of one of its giftware and collectible lines. Meanwhile, looking to revitalize the Keds brand and grow through licensing deals with such designers as Tommy Hilfiger, Stride Rite now ranks 46th. And Mestek ranks 74th. In 1989, two financial companies were among the top 10 - Eaton Vance Corp. (seventh) and the Pioneer Group Inc. (eighth). In the newest list, there's only one, State Street Corp. (eighth). Eaton Vance may rank only 56th on the Globe list, but one of its mutual funds was chosen as the top performing fund of 1997 by a Barron's/Lipper survey. Pioneer ranked 16th this year. |
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Co. |
oday marks the 10th publication of the Globe 100, a time to compare 1989's list of the state's top 10 publicly traded companies with 1998's list.
