| Index of coverage | Top Ten 1. Teradyne Inc. 2. Analog Devices Inc. 3. LTX Corp. 4. EMC Corp. 5. Helix Tech. Corp. 6. ACT Manufacturing 7. Millipore Corp. 8. Talbots Inc. 9. Cytyc Corp. 10. FleetBoston Year's Best Company of year Highest Market Value Fastest Growth Biggest Stock Gain Comeback of the Year Highest Sales Contents Overall performance Banking Biotech Growth   1. ACT Manuf.   2. Provant Inc.   3. Analog Devices   4. Sapient Corp.   5. Foilmark Inc. Bulls and Bears   Bulls   1. J. Jill Group   2. Inverness Medical   3. Reebok Intl.   4. Bostonfed Bancorp   5. John Hancock   Bears   1. Aztec Tech.   2. Engage Inc.   3. CMGI Inc.   4. Telaxis Comm.   5. NaviSite Inc. Employment IPOs Profitability Sales The Globe 100 Market value 100 Sales 100 Return on equity 100 Growth 50 Highest leveraged Top employers Most productive Industry summary Biggest profits Biggest losses The Bulls The Bears Top profit margins Debt-free companies Street's darlings Street's wallflowers 2000 Mass. IPOs Recoveries Nose Dives All the charts for this year's Globe 100    | 2000 Globe 100 | Search the Globe: Today Yesterday

1. J. JILL GROUP A year to remember: up 344% 5/22/2001     BEARS & BULLS Old economy companies led Bay State Bulls The shining lights of the local investment world were companies that sell sneakers, blood tests, clothes for middle-age women, and life insurance. Continued THE BULLS 1. J. Jill Group 2. Inverness Medical Tech. 3. Reebok Intl. 4. Bostonfed Bancorp 5. John Hancock Financial THE BEARS 1. Aztec Tech. Partners 2. Engage Inc. 3. CMGI Inc. 4. Telaxis Communications 5. NaviSite Inc. The Bulls The Bears All the charts o Massachusetts company saw its stock price surge more during the 12-month period that ended March 31 than J. Jill Group, a Quincy-based retailer that sells Casual Friday-type clothing to affluent middle-age women. 1999 was a transition year. A company that began as a catalog merchant announced plans to discontinue its Nicole Summers line, opened its first store, and launched a retail Web site. J. Jill's goal? To evolve into a $1 billion lifestyle brand with 300 to 500 stores. J. Jill currently operates about 30 stores and plans to open between 25 and 30 new stores a year. Though 2000 sales were roughly flat, at about $250 million, profits rose to $12.8 million following a small loss from a 1999 restructuring. During the 12 months that ended March 31, J. Jill's stock price rose 344 percent to $17.50, the largest gain for any company in The Globe 100 universe. Many apparel retailers aim at teens and younger women, but few focus on women between the ages of 35 and 55, said Gordon R. Cooke, J. Jill's chief executive. And, he said, older women find shopping at department stores a time-consuming hassle. Lifestyle chains such as J. Jill and Talbots Inc. position themselves as convenient alternatives where wardrobes can be quickly purchased at a store, a Web site, or a catalog. For a woman who wants classic styles, Hingham-based Talbots may be the place to go, but for a woman who wants something sophisticated and casual with an earthy, Bohemian flair, there's J. Jill. CHRIS REIDY

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