When it comes to the private retail industry — ranging from clothing and specialty foods to grocery stores and gas stations — used-car dealerships lead the pack for sales growth and profitability.

That’s according to financial information company Sageworks, who reported sales growth and profitability among used-car dealerships is higher than for all privately held retailers.

Take this for an example:

Used-car dealerships saw sales grow about 8 percent in both 2013 and the first half of this year, according to Sageworks data.

In comparison, privately held retailers across all product categories averaged 6.2 percent sales growth over the last 12 months.

And in 2011 and 2012, following the recession, used-car dealers saw an even bigger spike in sales.

According to Sageworks, used-car dealers grew sales by 10 percent and 11 percent in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

And sales isn’t the only metric growing for used-car dealers — they are making more on the pre-owned units, as well.

Used-car dealers’ profit margins averaged 4.1 percent in the most recent 12 months, Sageworks reported.

This number also marks a 6-year high and more than double industry’s 2009 net profit margin of 1.8 percent, according to Sageworks data.

For more on dealer profit margin movement, see the following Auto Remarketing story:
Sageworks: Revenue Growth Slows for Private Used-Car Dealers