Family-owned and -operated Von Maur runs about 25 upscale department stores in 10 midwestern states, offering its customers amenities such as an interest-free credit card, free gift wrapping, and free shipping within the US. The stores range in size from 42,000 to 203,000 sq. ft. and offer clothing from brands such as Burberry, Kenneth Cole, and Tommy Bahama. Distinguishing itself from the rest of the pack, the Von Maur chain has avoided advertising and big blowout sales; it even closes up shop on traditional retailer high-dollar days such as the Fourth of July. The von Maur family opened its first store in Davenport, Iowa, in 1872.

Charming Shoppes, Inc. operates as a specialty apparel retailer primarily for women in the United States. Charming Shoppes, Inc. operates retail stores and related e-commerce Web sites under the LANE BRYANT, LANE BRYANT OUTLET, FASHION BUG, and CATHERINES PLUS SIZES names. Its retail stores offer plus-size, misses, sportswear, dresses, coats, and intimate apparel, as well as accessories and casual footwear. Charming Shoppes, Inc. also sells food and specialty gifts through its FIGI’S catalog and related e-commerce Web site. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 2,121 retail stores. Charming Shoppes, Inc. was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.

GNC is owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Board Plan, its affiliate Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund II, and management. GNC filed to go public in September 2010.What's good for the customer is good for GNC Acquisition Corporation (formerly General Nutrition Centers). GNC operates the world's leading nutritional-supplements retail chain devoted solely to items such as vitamins and dietary products. The company also makes Rite Aid private-label products. It sells its products online, as well, through a partnership with drugstore.com. GNC has 2,800 company-owned retail stores in the US and Canada; 1,900 store-within-a-store sites in Rite Aid's drugstores; and 2,220 franchised stores in 47 countries.

In 1757 James Latham went deep into the woods and never came out. James Latham PLC imports and distributes hardwoods, softwoods, plywood, and related timber products. Its operating companies include Lathams Limited (timber and panel importing), ATP Limited (specialist panels), Bausen Hardwood (hardwood and engineered flooring) and James Latham Gateshead (sheet material and specialist fabrication). James Latham plc has offices scattered across England. James Latham plc also has a distribution center in Scotland. James Latham's founding Latham family still owns 54% of James Latham plc company.

Established in 1955, Sony of Canada Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, of Tokyo, Japan, a world leader in High Definition. Sony provides end-to-end solutions through products that include the market-leading Blu-ray Disc™ players, BRAVIA® televisions, Cyber-shot® digital cameras, Handycam® Camcorders, VAIO® computers, broadcast cameras, IPELA security cameras and video conferencing and many more products that deliver the true entertainment experience.Sony is one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world with a portfolio that includes electronics, music, movies, games and online businesses. With headquarters in Toronto, sales offices in Vancouver and Montreal and distribution centres in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and Whitby, Ontario, approximately 900 employees support a network of more than 500 authorized dealers and over 60 Sony Style retail locations across Canada. sony Canada is proud to support the communities in which it operates through corporate sponsorships of organizations that include the Make-A-Wish® Canada, the United Way of Canada and Earth Day Canada.

Connor Co. was founded as Kinsey & Mahler, a brass valve manufacturer, in 1850. It became Connor Co. in 1936. Goldilocks would like Connor Co. If it's too hot or too cold, the heating and A/C company can make it just right. Through about 20 locations in Illinois and one in St. Louis, the company distributes heating and air conditioning equipment along with boilers, fittings, furnaces, pipes, pumps, valves, wells, and other industrial equipment. Connor company also conducts its business online. Connor Co. boasts sheet metal fabrication and valve automation facilities and peddles Kohler products within its showrooms in many locations.

Times certainly have changed since H.D. Snell opened his first store in Sayre, Oklahoma, back in 1916. There are 50 stores now under three distinct brands: United Supermarkets, Market Street and Amigos United. Almost 1 million guests shop those stores every week in 30 cities all across west and north Texas.And, while you'll notice some differences from one store to the next, one thing is always the same: United Supermarkets still embodies the philosophy of its founder - quality, value, guest service and community involvement. We believe our growth and success are tied to our unwavering commitment to service - to our guests, team members and communities. The United "spirit" flourishes in the attitudes and enthusiasm of our 10,000 plus team members, who keep alive H.D. Snell's principles of honest pricing, quality and freshness, outstanding selection, uncompromising integrity, unparalleled guest service and community involvement.

Industria de Diseno Textil (Inditex) makes disposable chic fashions that are here today and gone tomorrow. The Spanish designer-cum-retailer uses technology and an armada of designers to master cheap chic. Inditex sells on a global scale, with some 4,430 shops in 75-plus countries under eight different banners: Zara, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Zara Home, and Uterque. Located mostly in Europe, the firm's stores answer to popular trends by telling designers in Spain what customers are asking for locally. Inditex responds in about two weeks with new designs. Amancio Ortega Gaona, Spain's wealthiest businessman, founded Zara in 1975 and later created Inditex as a holding company.

A.S. Watson (ASW) is the retail and manufacturing arm of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa. Like its powerful parent company, ASW is a giant in its industries, with operations in some 35 markets throughout Asia and Europe. Its businesses include supermarkets (Park'N Shop), health and beauty stores (Watson's, Drogas, Trekpleister, and Kruidvat), Fortress consumer electronics and appliance stores in Hong Kong and Macau, soft drink and water bottling operations, and wine retailing (Watson's Wine Cellar). In all, ASW operates 20-plus retail chains with more than 8,700 stores including the UK's Superdrug and Savers chains. ASW also has a joint venture with German discount health and beauty chain Rossmann.

Small Island Trader sells ceramics and crystal objects online to private buyers globally. Its web site contains more than 50,000 items, ranging from Wedgwood china to collectible paperweights and Versace ashtrays and other collectibles. The company secures its merchandise from about 20 leading ceramics manufacturers. Founded in 1997 by husband-and-wife team Alexandra and Jim Murray (managing director and creative director, respectively), the company is still owned by the couple.

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