Fry's Food and Drug Stores is owned by The Kroger Co., the 1 pure grocery chain in the US.Fry's Food and Drug Stores operates about 100 supermarkets under the Fry's Food & Drug banner, mostly in Phoenix but also in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to traditional supermarket fare, many Fry's stores have in-store pharmacies, and a third of its supermarkets offer full-service banking in partnership with Bank One. Fry's also operates about 20 Fry's Marketplace stores, large (up to 120,000 sq. ft.) multi-department stores that offer full-service grocery and pharmacy departments, as well as expanded general merchandise, electronics, home goods, and toy sections.

Cash Converters International makes cash advances in return for used merchandise, including electronics, jewelry, musical instruments, tools, and more, which it resells to the public. The second-hand goods retailer and pawnbroker operates about 500 franchised and company-owned stores in its home country of Australia and another 20 countries worldwide, including Canada, the US, and the UK. The company also offers customers cash advances on their paychecks. Stores operate under the Cash Converters banner. Texas-based EZCORP acquired a 30% stake in the firm in 2009.

Englefield Oil Company supplies fuel and lubricants and operates about 100 convenience stores under the Duke and Duchess Shoppe banner in Ohio and West Virginia. Many of the company's convenience stores sell BP brand gasoline. In addition, Englefield Oil operates several truck stops, a pair of Super 8 motels, several Taco Bell Express restaurants, and other various businesses in Ohio and West Virginia. Englefield also operates more than a dozen Pacific Pride automated commercial fueling sites. Chairman F. W. "Bill" Englefield III founded the company in 1961 with three service stations and an office operating out of his basement.

Auchan's mammoth markets make room for more than meals. France's second-largest food retailer (behind Carrefour), Auchan operates some 740 supermarkets and about 515 hypermarkets (French for supercenters) in about a dozen countries. France represents 47% of Auchan's sales, but the firm has stores throughout Europe and in China, Dubai, Russia, and Taiwan. (Auchan exited the US, Mexico, and Morocco in recent years.) Its hypermarkets carry up to 100,000 products, including groceries, apparel, consumer electronics, and fast food. They also provide travel services. Auchan's other core businesses include banking (Banque Accord), and shopping mall development (Immochan). The founding Mulliez family controls Auchan.

Casey’s General Stores, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the names of “Casey’s General Store”, “HandiMart”, and “Just Diesel” in the Midwestern states. The company’s stores offer food, beverages, dairy and bakery products, beer, sandwiches, fountain drinks, donuts, cookies, brownies, Danish rolls, pork and chicken fritters, chicken tenders, popcorn chicken, sub sandwiches, breakfast croissants and biscuits, breakfast pizza, hash browns, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, and potato cheese bites. It also provides nonfood items, which include tobacco products, health and beauty aids, school supplies, house wares, pet supplies, photo supplies, and automotive products. In addition, the company offers gasoline or gasohol for sale on a self-service basis. As of September 30, 2010, it operated approximately 1,542 stores in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Casey's General Stores, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa.

Big Dog Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of footwear and accessories for men and women in the United States. It also engages in developing, marketing, and retailing lifestyle collection of consumer products, including active wear, casual sportswear, accessories, and gifts for men, women, and children. The company operates in two segments, TWC and Big Dog Sportswear. The TWC segment operates footwear and accessories retail stores. Its products include work, formal, sport and active, casual, and all-weather footwear, as well as sandals, boots, slippers, and accessories. This segment also offers its products through catalog and Internet. As of December 31, 2007, it operated 186 stores in 38 states and the District of Columbia. The Big Dog Sportswear segment offers adult unisex activewear and casual sportswear, including screen-printed and embroidered t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, knit and woven casual shirts, fleece tops and bottoms, loungewear, boxer shorts, swimwear, and sleepwear; big-size apparel; and graphic t-shirts, shirts, fleece items, infant and toddler one-pieces, boxer shorts, dresses, and shorts for infants, toddlers, kids, and the youth. It also offers adult's and children's non-apparel items, including pet products, plush animals and other toys, sporting goods, stationery, calendars, and lunch boxes. In addition, this segment sells its products through catalog and Internet. As of March 1, 2008, it operated 100 retail stores. The Walking Company Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.

Passion Parties, Inc. gives new meaning to the concept of an intimate party. Passion Parties, founded in 1994, sells sensual products to women through home demonstrations, or "passion parties," throughout the US and Canada. Parties are led by more than 28,000 independent sales reps called Passion Consultants and are designed to be confidential, fun, and educational, as organizers peddle some 300 bath products, lingerie, edibles, books, and sex toys. Its primary product line, RomantaTherapy, boasts body lotions, fragrances, and gels. The company, a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, is careful to point out that its products are for enhancing intimacy among couples.

REWE Group other businesses include about 2,500 travel agencies, several tour operators, and foodservice. Founded in 1927, REWE is a cooperative owned by some 3,000 of its independent retail members.REWE Group sells the fuel that Germans love best food and drink. REWE is the third-largest food retailer in Germany (behind METRO AG and Lidl) and one of the largest in Europe overall. REWE operates more than 15,000 stores in some 15 European countries (about 10,900 in Germany), including Russia and Ukraine. Store formats include supermarkets (REWE), hypermarkets (toom), discount stores (Penny), drugstores (BIPA), DIY stores (toom Baumarkt), and consumer electronics stores (ProMarkt), among others.

Rip Griffin Truck Service Center tries to make sure you never go hungry again (in Scarlett O'Hara's words), at least when you're driving on the highways of North Texas. Rip Griffin's network of about 10 travel centers offers truckers, tour buses, and other travelers a smorgasbord of features, such as convenience stores, fuel, game rooms, laundry facilities, restaurants, and showers. Locations also offer truck maintenance and repair services. In addition to its travel center business, Rip Griffin sells Freightliner trucks through two Texas dealerships and provides fuel transportation services. In 2004 CEO Rip Griffin sold the company to Ohio-based TravelCenters of America.

The regional home improvement center chain was founded in 1962. A management group led by chairman and former CEO Charles Bender acquired the company in 1988 and now owns about one-quarter of Busy Beaver, which is facing heavyweight competition from big-box chains, such as Home Depot and Lowe's. They're busy as, well, you know what kind of animals at Busy Beaver Building Centers. The company has 15 stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia selling ceilings, flooring, lumber, plumbing fixtures, and other building materials, along with garden supplies, hardware, power equipment, and tools. Busy Beaver serves the professional contractor as well as the do-it-yourselfer.

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