SWISCO among FORTUNE and ICIC’s Inner City 100 winners

CAMDEN, N.J. - Oct. 27, 2015 - PRLog -- CAMDEN, N.J., Oct. 27, 2015 – SWISCO announced today that it has been selected by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and FORTUNE for the 2015 Inner City 100, a list of the fastest-growing inner city businesses in the U.S.

ICIC’s Inner City 100 program recognizes successful inner city businesses and their CEOs as role models for entrepreneurship, innovative business practices and job creation in America’s urban communities. The top 100 – determined by revenue growth – are honored on the Inner City 100 list published in FORTUNE.

“We are proud to be included in the Inner City 100 list, and to be a part of the continuing revitalization of Camden,” said SWISCO Operating Manager Paul Pallas. “We hope to build on our success, and continue growing as an example of how traditional “mom-and-pop” businesses can survive and thrive in the inner city.”

Pallas earlier this year completed the educational component of the Goldman Sachs “10,000 Small Businesses” program that helps small business owners grow their revenue and create jobs at rates that outperform the broader economy.

SWISCO (http://www.swisco.com/) connects with customers around the world seeking hard-to-find hardware replacement parts for windows, doors, closets, bathrooms, drawers, cabinets, and other household and commercial uses. The company reported 2014 revenues of $4.15 million and a five-year growth rate of 80% percent.

Other New Jersey businesses named in the 2015 Inner City 100 list are Sabre88 and Consultants 2 Go, both of Newark. The full list can be viewed on the FORTUNE website (http://fortune.com/inner-city-100/swisco-inc-100/).

"These entrepreneurs are strong community leaders and industry game changers,” ICIC CEO Steve Grossman said of the 2015 Inner City 100 winners. “Their businesses are critical drivers of economic development and job creation. Together, they demonstrate the competitive advantages of doing business in our inner cities."

The rankings for each company were announced at the Inner City 100 Conference and Awards on Wednesday, October 7, 2015 in at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, MA. Before the Awards celebration, winners gathered for a full-day business symposium featuring management case studies from Harvard Business School professors and interactive sessions with top CEOs.

ABOUT SWISCO:

SWISCO (http://www.swisco.com/)is a family-owned company that began as “Storm Window Service Company” in the early 1960s, and has grown into its third generation. Considered by many to be the ultimate source for hard-to-find replacement parts for windows, doors, closets, lavatories, drawers, cabinets and more, SWISCO’s retail customers are homeowners, landlords, and contractors, along with a fast-growing B2B segment. Customers areoffered the same quality and service online as one would expect from a small "mom and pop" hardware store. SWISCO experts actively participate in the SWISCO.com community discussion board (http://www.swisco.com/discussions), helping users complete their projects. All orders placed on SWISCO.com are filled and shipped from their warehouse at 1226 S. Second St. in Camden.

Inner City 100 Methodology: The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) defines inner cities as core urban areas with higher unemployment and poverty rates and lower median incomes than their surrounding metropolitan statistical areas. Every year, ICIC identifies, ranks, and spotlights the 100 fastest-growing businesses located in America’s inner cities. In 2015, Companies were ranked by revenue growth over the five-year period between 2010 and 2014. This list was audited by the independent accounting firm Rucci, Bardaro, and Falzone, PC.

Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)

ICIC is a national nonprofit founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter. ICIC's mission is to promote economic prosperity in America's inner cities through private sector investment that leads to jobs, income and wealth creation for local residents. Through its research on inner city economies, ICIC provides businesses, governments and investors with the most comprehensive and actionable information in the field about urban market opportunities. The organization supports urban businesses through the Inner City 100 (http://www.icic.org/resources-for-inner-city-ceos/inner-city-100-programs), Inner City Capital Connections (http://www.icic.org/resources-for-inner-city-ceos/inner-city-capital-connections) and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (http://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000-small-businesses/US/index.html)programs. Learn more at www.icic.org or @icicorg (https://twitter.com/icicorg).