Fletcher Building is a supplier to many a Kiwi home. The company makes and distributes concrete, steel, fiberglass insulation, roofing, and panel products for the residential and commercial construction markets worldwide. It runs more than 30 businesses through five divisions: building products, distribution, infrastructure, laminates and panels, and steel. Included in its network are AHI Group (the world's largest maker of stone chip-coated metal roof tiles), The Laminex Group (top producer of decorative surfaces in Australia and New Zealand), and Formica Corporation (manufacturer of the eponymous high-pressure laminate products). Fletcher's operations span North America, Europe, and the Asia/Pacific region.

FJ Benjamin additionally controls an expanding roster of upscale pubs and sports bars in Singapore and Indonesia. Guess? what? FJ Benjamin brings 20-plus upscale western brands to Southeast Asia and Australia. The company operates about 185 retail outlets and distributes fashion apparel in eight Asia Pacific cities. (The company began opening Gap stores in Singapore and Malaysia in 2006.) With brands like Guess?, Valentino, Gap, La Senza, and house label RAOUL, FJ Benjamin derives two-thirds its turnover from the retailing and distribution of fashion products. The balance of its business lies in the distribution of timepieces, with Guess?, Girard-Perregaux, Nautica, and Marc Ecko boosting sales.

Founded in 1977, Speedy has grown to become the UK's largest operator of tool rental locations. If work slows down because tools are lacking, construction workers can go to Speedy Hire. The company rents tools and building equipment to companies, contractors, DIY consumers, the government, and utilities through some 400 outlets in the UK and Ireland. The company hires out access towers, drills, generators, heaters, pumps, and woodworking tools, among other items. Its some 60 lifting depots rent joists, jacks, and below-the-hook material-handling equipment. In 2007 Speedy Hire acquired the tool rental business of Hewden Stuart Plc, adding more than 180 locations to its network of depots across the UK.

Waldbaum operates about 65 supermarkets in New York City, on Long Island, and in Westchester County, New York. To serve the city that never sleeps, many Waldbaum stores are open around the clock and most have in-store bakeries; about half have pharmacies. The 100-year-old chain is owned by ailing A&P, which filed for bankruptcy in 2010 capping years of struggle following the purchase of its regional rival Pathmark Stores in 2007. As a result of the Pathmark purchase, four Waldbaum supermarkets on Long Island and Staten Island were sold to rivals King Kullen and Stop & Shop in 2008 to satisfy Federal Trade Commission competition requirements.

The doors may be closed at Price Rite Pharmacy, but priceritepharmacy is open for business. Operating what's known as a closed-door pharmacy, Price Rite Pharmacy provides prescription and over-the-counter medications, nutritional products, skin and wound care supplies, incontinence supplies, and more to customers in the San Diego area. The company also offers "Medicine-On-Time" service, which packages a customer's multiple daily medicines in sealed dosage bubble packets. While priceritepharmacy serves the general public, it does not operate any retail locations; instead it fills orders via mail order and delivery service.

Focus (DIY) Limited company is owned by US investment firm Cerberus Capital Management. Focus (DIY) Limited has its sights fixed on weekend warriors. The company markets a range of products for do-it-yourselfers engaged in light home improvement and gardening projects, including power tools, hardware, appliances, decking and flooring, contemporary home and patio furniture, garden buildings, and plants and seeds. Focus sells its merchandise through about 180 stores in the UK and Ireland, as well as through its Web site. The site also offers guides, price lists, and calculators for DIY projects.

Thrifty White Drug Stores is big on small towns. The pharmacy chain operates about 85 traditional drugstores in rural Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin. While most stores are located in shopping centers or strip malls, about 10 pharmacies operate in supermarkets and health clinics. Thrifty White Drug Stores is employee-owned and typically locates its shops in towns with populations of 1,000 to 90,000 people. Thrifty White Drug Stores also has several tele-pharmacies in North Dakota to serve communities that are too small to support a full-scale retail pharmacy. Thrifty White Drug Stores traces its roots to a single store opened in the Dakota Territory of Jamestown in 1884.

Young's Nurseries is actually more than 70 years old. Young's Nurseries Incorporated, founded in 1930 by brothers John and David Young, operates two nurseries in Wilton and Woodbury, Connecticut. It offers trees, shrubs, flowering and foliage plants, and local favorites along with delivery and installation. Its design center specializes in landscape design and installation, including pools, patios, and water features, for home owners and businesses. Young's Nurseries Incorporated is owned by its president Scott Denison and vice presidents Thomas Daily, Dave Gindek, and Thomas Kuring.

Dickson Concepts (International) aims to satisfy the Asian market's hunger for luxury goods. The company operates about 500 stores (some through joint ventures) in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. (Hong Kong and China account for about 75% of sales.) The company operates single-brand luxury retailers, including ones selling Bertolucci, Chopard, Brooks Brothers, and Tommy Hilfiger. Dickson Concepts also operates stores under various luxury names, including Harvey Nichols and three Seibu department stores in Hong Kong. Sales are split between locals and tourists. Group executive chairman Dickson Poon owns 40% of Dickson Concepts.

The consumption structure is changing rapidly with an aging society, a falling birthrate and the rise of other business categories. It is no exaggeration to say that those department stores that are unable to respond to these changes will be shunned by consumers and will go into decline. We are at an existential moment, where the very value of department stores is in question. In this environment, Takashimaya aims to become the leading region-oriented department store, taking advantage of its powerful network of 20 stores nationwide. We are committed to earning the confidence of customers in the communities in which we operate, reflecting regional characteristics in our store operations, while at the same time cherishing features that have been specific to Takashimaya.

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