Check out the tale of two cities in the retail world.

We are in the heart of the earnings season and every day brings reports that offer grist for both sides of the argument about whether the recovery has begun.

For the optimists, we have sports clothing and footwear maker Under Armour, which posted a stronger-than-expected quarter and raised its outlook, and yoga clothing and athletic gear maker Lululemon Athletica, which raised its forecast.

Meanwhile, DineEquity, home of the Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity breakfast at IHOP, topped Wall Street’s expectations due to lower costs, and better sales and more efficient staffing allowed outdoor gear retailer Cabela’s to post stronger-than-expected earnings.

On the other side of the tug-of-war, pessimists can point to VF Corp. The maker of such brands as the North Face, Vans, Wrangler and Lee missed analysts’ expectations and said consumer spending would remain challenged.

Meanwhile, Winn-Dixie posted a wider loss and gave a weak 2010 outlook as recession-hit consumers shopped for fewer items on visits to the supermarket chain, and Limited Brands, the operator of the Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works chains, warned that its October sales are trending below expectations.

The market weighed in as S&P 500 index futures edged higher on Tuesday as better-than-expected earnings offset worries that the market’s seven-month rally was reaching its end.

Also in the basket:

PepsiCo wins EU approval to buy two bottlers

Analyst: Store Closures Predicted to Peak in ‘10 (WWD, subscription required)

Men’s Wearhouse to spiff up K&G stores (New York Post)

(Reuters photo)

(Due to a tabulation error in the research, STORES Magazine has issued a corrected list. This is being corrected to remove Coldwater Creek from the Top 10 list and replace it with Citi Trends at No. 10) 

Though the retail industry cooled last year to its slowest growth since 2002, a number of retail companies experienced fiery growth, according to the National Retail Federation. The hottest retailers, in general, grew through acquisitions, according to the trade group’s STORES Magazine.

NRF’s 2008 Hot 100 Retailers list, which will be included in STORES’ August issue, ranks the nation’s fastest-growing retailers that are publicly traded and have more than $100 million in annual sales.

Topping the list this year is CVS Caremark, which grew 2007 revenue by 74 percent because of its acquisition of Caremark. The No. 2 spot also went to a drugstore chain — Rite Aid, which purchased Brooks Pharmacy units in New England and Eckerd on the East Coast, saw revenue grow narly 40 percent. IHOP, which recently changed its name to DineEquity Inc, was No. 3 with last year’s purchase of Applebee’s.

WalMart, the world’s largest retailer, clocked in at No. 80, with 8.6 percent growth. Its mass market rival Target Corp, brought up the rear at No. 100, with 6.5 percent revenue growth.

Here is a list of the top 10 retailers, according to STORES Magazine: 

          1. CVS Caremark

          2. Rite Aid

          3. IHOP

          4. Amazon.com

          5. American Apparel

          6. GameStop

          7. BJ’s Restaurants

          8. Chipotle Mexican Grill

          9. FTD

          10. Citi Trends

     (Photo: Reuters)