Founded in 1946, EWM's current incarnation resulted from a series of buyouts, the last of them by the company's own management, led by CEO Philip Day in 2002. In 2005 EWM acquired Inverness-based kilt-maker Hector Russell. Get a taste as well as a wrap of Scotland at Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM). A niche retailer specialising in womens and mens wear and traditional Scottish products and gifts, EWM operates some 190 shops throughout the UK. The retailer also operates about 95 tourist shops and more than 25 larger stores that sell apparel, gifts, and other items. More than 30 EWM shops include dining facilities, and more than 10 sell single malts and blended whiskies.

Audiophile Music Direct Inc. is owned by president Jim Davis. Audiophile Music Direct, which does business as Music Direct, brings the music to you. The company sells analog and digital music recordings, high-end stereo equipment, and related accessories through its catalog and online store. Brands include Audio-Technica, Avid, Godar Electronics, Marantz, RCA, and Sennheiser. Products range from SACDs by jazz masters and rock 'n' roll acts to amplifiers for more than $25,000. Music Direct also specializes in those hard-to-find items that only an audiophile would love, such as an antistatic gun for removing dust from vinyl records.

Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg founded the employee-owned firm in 1930. It takes its name from a combination of its founders' names.Give Hy-Vee a high five for being one of the largest privately owned US supermarket chains, despite serving some modestly sized towns in the Midwest. The company runs more than 200 Hy-Vee supermarkets in eight Midwestern states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. About half of its stores are in Iowa, as are most of its two dozen Hy-Vee drugstores. It distributes products to its stores through several subsidiaries, including Lomar Distributing (specialty foods) and Perishable Distributors of Iowa (fresh foods).

Overwaitea Food Group's Bulkley Valley wholesale operation supplies some 1,800 grocery and convenience stores throughout Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. OFG is a unit of The Jim Pattison Group, one of Canada's largest private companies.Canadians could grow fat shopping at Overwaitea Food Group's stores. One of Western Canada's leading grocers, Overwaitea Food Group (OFG) operates more than 120 supermarkets under the Overwaitea Foods, Save-On-Foods, PriceSmart, Urban Fare, and Cooper's Foods names. In addition to large selections of natural and bulk foods, OFG's stores offer private-label products (Western Classics, Value Priced, and Good & Kind). Urban Fare's upscale markets are located in cities in Western Canada.

Most businesses get started small, and this is also true of ODL. Our roots sprang forth during World War II in 1945, as a small business in Cy Mulder's home. From that we grew into Art Craft Novelty shop in a humble brick building in Zeeland, Michigan. More than 65 years later, that small company has grown to become an industry leader thanks in part to the innovations we have introduced. ODL prides itself not only on manufacturing first-rate products, but knowing where our products have a place in the market. We understand our customer's desires and we are proud to live up to our motto: Building Value into Building Products®.

Raymours Furniture Company operates more than 90 retail stores, including about 10 clearance centers, in half a dozen states. It sells furniture for just about every room in the house (bedroom, dining room, home office, living room), offering such pieces as bookcases, entertainment centers, headboards, mattresses, nightstands, recliners, sofas, and tables. Brands such as Broyhill, Hooker, Klaussner, La-Z-Boy, Natuzzi, and Tempur-Pedic are represented. Founded in 1947 by brothers Arnold and Bernard Goldberg, Raymour & Flanigan is run by next-generation Goldbergs, president and CEO Neil and EVPs Michael and Steven.

Kowalski's Markets is struggling to expand while it straps on its leather boxing mitts. The company, which operates about 10 supermarkets in the St. Paul and Minneapolis area of Minnesota, wants to be a heavyweight contender among high-end grocery stores there. However, stiff competition from other grocery chains and discounters have limited Kowalski's share of the Twin Cities market to just under 2%: an eighth-place ranking in the market. Indeed competition led the grocer to close a one-year-old store several years ago. Founded by husband and wife team James and Mary Anne Kowalski as a single supermarket in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1983, the regional grocery chain is still owned and run by the Kowalski family.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the United States. Its stores offer new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, including alternators, starters, fuel pumps, water pumps, brake system components, batteries, belts, hoses, chassis parts, and engine parts; maintenance items comprising oil, antifreeze, fluids, filters, wiper blades, lighting, engine additives, and appearance products; accessories consisting of floor mats, seat covers, and truck accessories; and a line of auto body paint and related materials, automotive tools, and professional service equipment. The company’s stores sell a selection of brand name and private label products for domestic and imported automobiles, vans, and trucks to do-it-yourself customers and professional installers. As of December 31, 2009, it operated 3,421 stores. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.

Neiman Marcus department stores offer high-fashion, high-quality women's and men's apparel (from such labels as Chanel and Prada), shoes and accessories, fine jewelry, china, crystal, and silver. The company operates about 40 Neiman Marcus stores in some 20 states and Washington, DC, as well as two Bergdorf Goodman stores in New York City and more than 25 Last Call clearance center outlets that sell marked down goods. Its mail-order and e-commerce business, Neiman Marcus Direct, distributes catalogs (which offer apparel, home furnishings, and gourmet foods) under the Neiman Marcus By Mail and Horchow names. The upscale retailer is owned by Newton Holding.

Repco has all you need for getting down under the bonnet. It sells some 175,000 auto parts and accessories through more than 430 stores located in Australia and New Zealand. The company is an Original Equipment Supplier (OES) and is part of the Independent Aftermarket (IAM) group. The largest car-parts and accessories chain in Australia and New Zealand, Repco also imports and distributes auto parts through its Motospecs division. Its Ashdown Ingram division supplies auto electrical goods and services, while its McLeod's business provides motorcycle accessories. The company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of CCMP Acquisition Co. Pty. Limited (owned by CCMP Capital Asia Pte. Ltd.) in 2007.

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