Founded in 1952 by namesake -- the late Jack Fruth -- the company is family owned and operated. Fruth Pharmacy operates about 25 drugstores in southern Ohio and West Virginia. While prescriptions account for the majority of sales, Fruth pharmacies also sell gift items and computer supplies, and have floral departments and digital printing. The regional drugstore chain competes by constantly trying new things, such as participating in the Face2Face diabetes program and testing in-store dollar departments. It is countering Wal-Mart Stores's $4 generic offering with a discount generic drug program created by Cardinal Health.

E.H. Booth & Co. invests care into each of its products and want its customers to, too. The holding company for Booth's Supermarkets, the upscale retail grocery chain sells groceries and fresh produce from about 25 small community grocer locations across Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Cumbria in Northwest England. Booth's Supermarkets stock a range of top brand products of all sorts, including wine, but what sets Booth's apart is is dedication to providing a variety of fresh, organically-grown produce, and hormone-free meats and dairy products from local farms. Founded in 1847, Booths is Britain's oldest family-owned and run grocery business.

E-Z Mart Stores founder Jim Yates kept his first convenience store in Ashdown, Arkansas, open until 11. The company now boasts 300 outlets across five southern states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas). Rather than build its own stores, the company usually expands through acquisitions. In addition to the standard hot dogs, chips, sodas, and cigarettes, most E-Z Mart locations also offer Shell, Conoco, Phillips 66, or CITGO gasoline. Yates died in late 1998 when the plane he was piloting crashed, leaving his daughter Sonja Hubbard at the company's helm as CEO.

he regional grocery chain also operates about a half a dozen larger Smith's Marketplace stores (154,000 sq. ft. on average) in Utah that combine full-service grocery, pharmacy, and general merchandise departments. Smith's joined the Kroger family when Kroger, the 1 US grocer, bought its parent, Fred Meyer, in 1999.From a small grocery store founded by Ren Smith in Brigham City, Utah, Smith's Food & Drug Centers has grown into a regional powerhouse with supermarkets in Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, and four other western states. Most of its 130-plus stores are conventional supermarkets with in-store pharmacy departments and many offering bakeries, one-hour photo labs, and other services.

Marks and Spencer Group plc, through its subsidiaries, engages in retailing clothing, food, and home products in the United Kingdom and internationally. It offers clothing, including womenswear, lingerie, menswear, school wear, and kids wear; flowers, gifts, cards and stationery, books, compact discs, and digital versatile discs (DVDs). The companys home and furniture products include bedroom furniture, beds and mattresses, cabinet furniture, conservatory and outdoor products, dining tables and chairs, and sofas and armchairs for living and dining rooms, kitchen, home offices, bedrooms, and bathrooms; and cookware, dinnerware, home accessories, household electricals, lighting, luggage, soft furnishings, storage products, and towels and bathmats. In addition, it sells TVs, blu-rays, and DVD players; home cinema products; hi-fi and radios;

Hartco was founded by chairman and CEO Harry Hart in 1960 and, though now public, is still operated largely by the Hart family. If you really heart computers, Hartco is for you. Through its operating divisions, which together include more than 60 locations across Canada, Hartco delivers IT products, services, and solutions to private and public sector organizations. Its distribution and franchise segment operates under the Metafore, MicroAge, and Northwest Digital brands. Its commercial segment includes the business activities operated by the company's limited partnerships under the names of Metafore LP, Solutions Technologiques Dorval LP, and MicroAge.

QuikTrip provides a quick fix for those on the go. QuikTrip (QT) owns and operates some 535 gasoline/convenience stores in nine states, mostly in the central US. QT stores, which average 4,200 to 5,000 sq. ft., feature the company's own QT brand of gas and diesel fuel, as well as brand-name beverages, candy, and tobacco, and QT's Quik 'n Tasty and HOTZI lines of sandwiches. QT's 15-plus travel centers offer scales, food, fuel, showers, and other services for truckers. The firm's FleetMaster program offers commercial trucking companies detailed reports showing drivers' product purchases, amounts spent, and odometer readings. QT was co-founded in 1958 by chairman Chester Cadieux. His son Chet runs the company.

Costco Wholesale UK Limited operates about 20 members-only warehouse clubs in England and Scotland. The company is owned by the #1 US wholesale club operator Costco Wholesale, which has been gradually adding UK locations. The big-box stores sell appliances, consumer electronics, health and beauty products, groceries, and more. Membership fees are similar to those in the US. The company has been able to grow faster than competitors, including Wal-Mart-owned ASDA and Britain's #1 retailerTesco, because its status as a warehouse-club chain exempts it from zoning rules other retailers face when opening new stores. Costco Wholesale UK ultimately aims to grow to 40 stores and is exploring entering the Irish market.

Luckily, Ace has John Madden up its sleeve. Despite the growth of warehouse-style competitors, Ace Hardware has remained a household name, thanks to ads featuring Madden, a former Oakland Raiders football coach and retired TV commentator. By sales the company is the #1 hardware cooperative in the US, ahead of Do It Best. Ace dealer-owners operate about 4,500 Ace Hardware stores, home centers, and lumber and building materials locations in all 50 US states and more than 60 other countries. From about 15 warehouses Ace distributes such products as electrical and plumbing supplies, garden equipment, hand tools, housewares, and power tools. Its paint division is also a major paint manufacturer in the US.

Since the first Fagen Pharmacy was opened in 1972, it has been the goal that each Fagen Pharmacy provides professional pharmaceutical services in a friendly and helpful environment. These are the principles present in each Fagen Pharmacy. Besides pharmaceutical services, Fagen Pharmacy has many locations that have a full retail offering, as well as other services including but not limited to: shipping, home health, postal services and delivery. Fagen also offers shingles and flu vaccinations and offers a very good uninsured program as well.

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