Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc. Wins National Award from Inc. Magazine
Makes Top 20 in Fifth Annual "ICIC - Inc. Magazine Inner City 100" List
CHESTER, PA, April 30, 2003 -
Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc. has been recognized by Inc Magazine as one of the nation's fastest-growing inner city businesses. The Fifth Annual ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100 awards, announced last week, ranked Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc. at #20 on the list out of over 5,000 nominations received. The Inner City 100 companies are profiled in Inc's May issue.
Now in its fifth year, the Inner City 100 provides unprecedented original data on fast growing U.S. inner-city businesses. The average annual growth rate for 2003 Inner City 100 companies - businesses that compete in the service, manufacturing, retail and wholesale/distribution sectors - was a stunning 647 percent for the five-year period 1997-2001, eclipsing by more than a hundred percentage points the average growth rate of last year's winners.
Educational Directories Unlimited enjoyed a growth rate of 813 percent during that time period, which earned it a position in the top fifth of the companies on the Inner City 100. Educational Directories Unlimited provides education-related information via technology driven services and connects students with college-level academic programs through a series of online directories that offer in-depth and current information on each institution's offerings. Educational Directories Unlimited's online directories include GradSchools.com (www.GradSchools.com), StudyAbroad.com (www.StudyAbroad.com), EducationforAdults.com (www.EducationForAdults.com), and CollegeAbroad.com (www.CollegeAbroad.com).
Educational Directories Unlimited's corporate headquarters are located in the city of Chester, PA, just outside of Philadelphia. The company posted $2.6 million in revenues in 2002.
"As Chester grows, so do our companies that contribute tremendously to this wonderful period of rebirth and renewal in our city. I am immensely pleased to celebrate Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc.'s wonderful distinction which it so richly deserves, as all of the residents of Chester applaud its tremendous success." says Wendell N. Butler, Jr., mayor of Chester.
The Inner City 100 companies were selected from a pool of 5,000 companies nominated from 155 cities. Criteria for the award included having at least 51 percent of operations located in economically distressed urban areas and having sales of at least $150,000 in 1997 and at least $1 million in 2001. The names of the winners were released on Thursday, April 24 at ICIC-Inc Magazine Inner City 100 Summit held at the Westin Copley Hotel in Boston.
"The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Inc. Magazine created the Inner City 100 list in 1997 as a way of highlighting the fact that business opportunities exist in America's inner cities, and that smart business owners are using the location to their advantage," says Michael Porter, Harvard Business School professor and ICIC's founder and CEO. "But for the past couple of years the list has been more revealing. It shows that inner-city business operators have learned how to adapt their businesses to the challenges of a down economy, to identify growth opportunities and to pursue them vigorously. The reality is they are the leading edge of a new business model."
"It is an honor to receive this prestigious award from ICIC and Inc Magazine," says Mark Shay, president of Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc. "We are proud to be bringing national recognition to the city of Chester. It's a central location with a strong regional workforce. Now with the new, exciting projects coming into Chester - such as Rivertown, which will convert an old power plant into Class A office space - we feel we're on the leading edge of a renaissance for the city."
About Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc.
Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc. (http://www.edudirectories.com)
is a unique college-oriented marketing firm that achieves a dynamic blend of academic purpose and commerce. Among Educational Directories Unlimited's computer-based recruiting tools are several comprehensive directories: GradSchools.com (http://www.gradschools.com); StudyAbroad.com (http://www.studyabroad.com); EducationforAdults.com (http://www.educationforadults.com); CollegeAbroad.com (http://www.collegeabroad.com); Distance.GradSchools.com (http://distance.gradschools.com); Business.GradSchools.com (http://business.gradschools.com) and StudentProspector.com (http://www.studentprospector.com). The Educational Directories Unlimited systems design provides a unique utility for prospective students, advisors, and educational administrators. Since its inception in 1995, Educational Directories Unlimited and its directories have captured a significant share of the "educational shoppers" market by providing students a wealth of information in an easy to use directory format.
For more information on Educational Directories Unlimited, please contact Matt Ulmer by phone at 484-766-9200, via e-mail at mulmer@edudirectories.com.