Hip H&M

Stefan Persson, chairman of Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz, vividly remembers his company's first attempt at international expansion. It was 1976, the year H&M opened its London store in Oxford Circus. "I stood outside trying to lure in customers by handing out ABBA albums," he recalls with a wry laugh. Persson, then 29, the son of the founder, waited for the crowds. And waited. "I still have most of those albums," he says.

Don't cry over that vinyl, Stefan. ABBA is still hot, but H&M is even hotter. Hotter than Shakira in July. Hotter even than harem pants, which, incidentally, is one of the items flying out of H&M's stores this season. (Warning to female shoppers: If you don't want to be a fashion pioneer, those pants may not be for you. Try the peasant blouse instead.)