Argos is one of the UK's leading retail outlets with about 745 locations throughout the country and in Ireland. The chain sells a wide variety of products, including consumer electronics, electrical appliances, jewelry, and toys, as well as other household goods and furniture. It also sells gardening supplies, power tools, and sporting equipment. In addition to its stores, Argos sells goods through its catalog and Web site. It is the flagship brand of the Home Retail Group (formerly Argos Retail Group), which was spun-off by GUS and began trading on the London Stock Exchange in 2006. You might not find the Golden Fleece, but this multi-channel, general merchandise retailer offers plenty of other treasures.

It was M.O. Lee - then president of VF Corporation - who suggested holding a public sale one Saturday morning to clear out excess inventory of Berkshire International. That day, the merchandise completely sold out, even though the only advertising had been word of mouth. The store was so busy that even Lee bagged merchandise and manned the cash register. “You could see his mind working,” said John Jackson, merchandise manager of Intimate Apparel at the time. “He was thinking he could make the store bigger. We just had a drop cloth on the back wall, and we kept moving it back.”Pleased and surprised at the success of the sale, Lee scheduled a bigger one for two weeks later, with merchandise brought in from other VF sources. That sale was even more successful, and the VF Outlet business was launched. Selling Berkshire and Vanity Fair surplus products, the factory store was 5,000 square feet, with only a drop cloth separating it from the manufacturing facility. VF Corporation - which opened the store in 1970 - was one of the earliest outlet operators, and opened the first outlet center in the country, in Reading, Pennsylvania.

C. C. Dickson was founded in 1933 and is owned by the Dickson family including chairman Clyde Dickson, Jr. C. C. Dickson has never played a tune, but still has plenty of fans. Operating through about 110 locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, the company distributes parts, supplies, and equipment for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration. Products include air distribution supplies (Air King, Duro-Dyne); blowers and fans (Chelsea and Lau); compressors (Blissfield, Copeland); controls (Barber-Coleman, Maxitrol); pumps (Bell & Gossett, Hartel); and refrigerants (Honeywell, Icor).

ACO Hardware, Inc. Founded in 1946 by Ted Traskos and his four brothers, ACO Hardware is still owned by the Traskos family. ACO Hardware can provide both the food and the supplies if you want to get your floor clean enough to eat off. The company's outlets sell automotive supplies, electrical goods, food and beverages, hardware, housewares, paint, lawn and garden necessities, patio furniture, and tools. It also rents equipment for carpet cleaning, plumbing, and home maintenance. ACO Hardware operates about 70 stores in southeastern Michigan, primarily in the Detroit area. Customers can view weekly specials and find hardware tips on the company's Web site.

Kum & Go brings convenience to America's heartland. The company's 460-plus stores in about a dozen states throughout the Midwest offer beer, cigarettes, fountain drinks, coffee, snacks, and other items craved by late night shoppers and daytime commuters alike. Kum & Go also sells gasoline at most of its convenience stores and even offers an ethanol blend (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) at several locations in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and South Dakota. Corporate customers can take advantage of Kum & Go's fleet fueling service. Kum & Go, founded in 1959 by W.A. Krause & Tony Gentle, is the nation's third-largest private owner and operator of convenience stores. The company gives 10% of annual profits to charity.

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.

The Pampered Chef, a direct seller of more than 300 gourmet kitchen gadgets, cookware, cookbooks, and foodstuffs. It boasts about 60,000 independent sales reps who hawk their wares at in-home kitchen parties (à la Tupperware) throughout North America, Germany, and the UK. It's the largest of its kind in the US. Reps demonstrate product use and care and share recipes. As incentive (à la Mary Kay), reps can ultimately "earn" jewelry and trips. Founded in 1980 by home economist and educator Doris Christopher, The Pampered Chef was acquired by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in 2002.

Peoples Drug Mart wants to give the power of Canada to the people through vitamins and supplements. Peoples Drug Mart operates about 45 drugstores throughout British Columbia under the Peoples Drug Mart and Peoples Pharmacy banners. The stores stock a number of wellness and household products under its own People First brand as well as other national brands. About 70% of the company's stores are located in rural communities and are equipped with pharmacists who are trained in palliative care. Drug stores running under the Peoples Drug Mart and Peoples Pharmacy names are independently owned.

Borrowing its moniker from the Latin for "you," Vobis lays claim to one of Europe's largest chains of computer retail stores. The company makes computers under its own brand and distributes technology products from such companies as Apple, Intel, and Sony. Under pressure from other retailers, the company's former parent, European retailing giant METRO AG, tried unsuccessfully to sell Vobis several times before CEO Jurgen Rakow and board member Jurgen Bochmann agreed to take a 25% stake in the company. METRO transferred the remaining 75% of its interest in Vobis to Divaco, an investment firm controlled by METRO.

Lands' End has surrounded a number of sales channels. The firm markets casual apparel for men, women, and children through its flagship and specialty catalogs, website, and Sears department stores. It also has more than 290 in-store Lands' End Shops at Sears locations and operates more than a dozen free-standing retail stores in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan. Lands' End also offers home goods, luggage, school uniforms, and logoed business apparel and products. Lands' End with the misplaced apostrophe in its name has been expanding its online presence, but catalogs continue to be its primary sales channel. Lands' End is a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck, which is itself owned by Sears Holdings.

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