Style Inc. came out with a list of their favorite retail success stories of the year. For them it was the parent company of rapidly expanding Spanish retailer Zara; Amazon.com, which is probably on everyone's list every year now; J. Crew, which made a fashion comeback; the consistent luxury of Burberry; and British retailer Topshop, which is making headway here.

We're in agreement with these picks, but would add a few more.

• Trader Joe's. Like Amazon, we don't see Trader Joe's slowing down at all on a growth basis. The stores just make sense, high-quality private label brands at great prices. There is one in Brooklyn, for example. They could easily open about 10 more in the NYC borough and they would all be packed.
• Those Freakin' Dollar Stores. It's not surprising that dollar stores are doing well in this economy, or in any economy, really. Especially now that they are adding food and carrying name-brand products, there is no reason not to shop at them. What is mind boggling is how many of the things there are. For example, Dollar General, just one chain, has almost 10,000 stores. TEN THOUSAND! And the company keeps expanding.
• Uniqlo. They aren't big in the US, yet, but expect Uniqlo's affordable fashion to play well here, just like competitors H&M and Zara. Plans are to open 200 stores across the country, and there is no reason as of now to assume it won't perform well.

What were your favorite retail concepts of the year? Who do you expect to make a splash in 2012?