There’s Blackwell’s “worst-dressed” list, and then there’s the “Sageworks Seven.”

If your bank lends to car dealers—or even auto parts stores—you’re feeling some of the auto industry’s pain, no matter how far you are from Detroit. Ripple effects from the auto industry, and from the homebuilding sector, seen in such things as the falloff in furniture sales, dominated this ranking of the worst-performing retail industries in 2008.

The data was compiled by Sageworks, Inc., the largest aggregator of performance data regarding privately held companies. The raw data comes from thousands of CPA firms and banks that utilize Sageworks’ analytical services and software.