In many ways Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters Inc. is just getting started. In its three chains the company has the potential to go from just over 150 stores to more than 550 units, said Richard Hayne, the retailer's CEO. "We have plenty of room for additional new store growth."

Its namesake chain, which targets men and women between the ages of 18 and 30, currently operates 76 stores and 16 of them are in malls. The chain has the potential for 200-plus units with about half of them in malls, Hayne says.

Anthropologie, a concept that markets to women between 30 and 45, currently operates 69 stores and has the potential for 250 locations. Free People, now a wholesale concept found in department and specialty stores across the country, operates four units and eventually could open more than 100, Hayne says.