CLOTHING FIRM CITED IN GROWTH RANKING.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

Women's apparel maker John Paul Richard Inc. has been named the nation's fastest-growing small business in a fourth annual ranking by Entrepreneur magazine and Dun & Bradstreet.

With $45.68 million in sales in 1997, the Chatsworth-based company was nearly $12 million ahead of second-ranked Telephone Company of Central Florida, a local and long-distance telephone service provider based in Lake Mary, Fla.

And the company - which makes women's sportswear sold out of major department stores such as Macy's and Sears - outranked the high-tech companies that typically make the top of the list, said Maria Anton, senior managing editor of Irvine-based Entrepreneur magazine.

``We do this ranking because we think it's important for small businesses to get recognition,'' she said. ``It shows the diversity of the different industries, it shows how small companies are making their mark.''

The rankings were based on companies' sales growth from their inception through 1997. To be listed, companies had to have been founded no earlier than 1995. Also, their founders must be active in the actual operation of the company and they must control no less than 51 percent of the company.

John Paul Richard Inc. was founded in July 1996 by John Paul Beltran and Richard Hirsch.

Two other local companies ranked in the top 100 of the magazine's list, which is featured in its June issue. Rankserve, a Newbury Park company specializing in copier products, was 48th; and PathNet Institute, a Van Nuys cancer testing and research firm, placed 71st.