Rockler Companies, Inc. company was founded in 1954 as a mail-order supplier of woodworking materials. Rockler Companies, a nationwide retail chain specializing in woodworking supplies, operates about 30 Rockler stores in about 20 states under the Rockler Woodworking and Hardware banner. The stores sells hardware (hinges, drawer slides), hand and power tools, finishes, wood and supplies, and shop equipment -- primarily to do-it-yourselfer types. It also sells cabinets; closet, kitchen, bath, and TV organizers; and TV and computer mounting equipment. In addition, Rockler operates a catalog business, six Web sites (including one for women in woodworking), and distributes its products through more than 60 independent partner stores.

Grand Home Furnishings, formerly Grand Piano & Furniture, got its start as a piano and musical instrument store in Roanoke, Virginia. Several decades later, the company sells mattresses and home furnishings through more than 15 stores in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee. The company stocks furniture from such manufacturers as Hooker, La-Z-Boy, Klaussner, Vaughan-Bassett, Meadowcraft, and Thomasville, and the mattresses come from Sealy and Tempur-Pedic, to name a few. Grand Home Furnishings was founded in 1910, and acquired in 1945 by the current owners, the Cartledge family. George Cartledge Jr. is the company's CEO.

The Buckle, Inc. operates as a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for young men and women in the continental United States. Its casual apparel products include denims, casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, and outerwear. The Buckle also sells its products online. As of March 23, 2010, it operated 408 retail stores in 41 states under the ‘Buckle’ and ‘The Buckle’ brand names. The Buckle was formerly known as Mills Clothing, Inc. and changed its name to The Buckle, Inc. in April 1991. The Buckle, Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska.

Groupe Lapeyre is one of France's largest manufacturers and distributors of joinery (doors, windows, and cabinetry). Its business-to-consumer unit includes Lapeyre, which distributes kitchen and bathroom products, as well as exterior and interior doors, windows, staircases, and flooring, through about 130 sales outlets. The division also includes some 180 K par K stores that sell and install windows and verandas, and Gimm, which produces PVC and wooden windows and doors. Its business-to-business unit includes Oxxo and Les Zelles, which produce and sell PVC windows and shutters. Groupe Lapeyre is a part of Saint-Gobain's building distribution division. In France, the doors and windows are always open for Lapeyre.

Shoppers Food Warehouse founded in 1949 as Jumbo Food Stores, Shoppers Food & Pharmacy is owned by food wholesaler and retailer SUPERVALU.Shoppers Food & Pharmacy offers large-scale, one-stop shopping to customers in Baltimore; Washington, DC; and northern Virginia under the Shoppers Food & Pharmacy banner. Its 60-plus discount food stores average about 55,000 sq. ft. and offer a variety of products and services, including produce, baked goods, meats and seafood, salad bars, cookware, and prepared foods, among other items. The regional chain boasts more than 30,000 everyday low prices with no loyalty card needed. Shoppers is one of the largest supermarket operators in the Washington, DC, metro area, trailing Giant Food and Safeway.

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.

PriceSmart is wise in the ways of members-only club retailing. The retailer runs more than 25 membership stores under the PriceSmart name in about a dozen countries and one US territory in Central America and the Caribbean. It sells low-cost food, pharmacy, and basic consumer items. In each store, nearly half of the merchandise comes from the US, and the other half is sourced locally. In-store services include auto/tire centers, banking, and photo developing. PriceSmart stores are typically smaller than wholesale clubs in the US, averaging about 50,000-75,000 sq. ft., and the membership fees average about $25. PriceSmart was founded in 1976 by father-and-son team Sol and Robert Price.

Ross Stores, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates two chains of off-price retail apparel and home accessories stores in the United States. Its stores offer branded and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions, as well as gift items, linens, and other home-related merchandise. The company’s merchandise offerings also comprise product categories, such as small furniture and furniture accents, educational toys and games, luggage, gourmet food and cookware, watches, and sporting goods, as well as fine jewelry in selected Ross stores. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 1,005 stores, including 953 Ross Dress for Less (Ross) locations in 27 states and Guam, and 52 dd’s DISCOUNTS stores in 4 states. Ross Stores, Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Allied Building Products Corp. was founded in 1950 as a family-operated roofing and custom sheet metal fabrication business. Allied Building Products counts home builders and contractors as part of its circle of friends. Serving the commercial and residential construction markets, the company distributes exterior and interior building materials, including roofing, siding, drywall, and acoustical tile, from major manufacturers. Allied also markets products under its own Cutting Edge and Tri-Bilt brands. The firm operates about 180 branches in 30 states, and it maintains a fleet of more than 2,700 vehicles, including cranes and delivery trucks. Allied is a subsidiary of Oldcastle (itself a subsidiary of CRH).

Gabberts Design Studio & Fine Furnishings offers high-end furnishings in a variety of styles -- ranging from traditional to contemporary and from casual to refined -- for your living room, dining room, family room, bedroom, and home office. Gabberts' 63,000-square-foot store in Edina, Minnesota employs in-house interior designers, which it considers a competitive advantage. Founded in 1946 by Don Gabbert as a tire and appliance store, the company was owned and run by the Gabbert family until it was acquired by HOM Furniture in 2008. Gabberts' new owner continues to operate the business under the Gabberts banner.

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