A leading home furnishings retailer, Value City Furniture (VCF) is operated by American Signature and is part of its network of some 130 superstores in 20 US states in the East, Midwest, and Southeast. It offers furniture for the bedroom, dining room, and living room, as well as mattresses, bedding, and other accessories. VCF stores feature furnishings from more than 30 manufacturers and even carry American Signature's private-label furniture and bedding. The retailer also peddles its wares online. Founded in 1948, VCF is owned by holding company Schottenstein Stores.

Launched in 1993 in the UK, QVC UK's TV announcers reveal and demonstrate everything from fluffy toys and collectors' knives to jewelry and fashion. About 15,000 products come from such manufacturers as Panasonic, Hush Puppies, Canon, Birkenstock, and Samsung reaching most homes receiving cable, direct broadcast, or satellite programming throughout England, Ireland, and Scotland. The company is the UK arm of QVC, Inc., part of Liberty Media's Liberty Interactive Group. "Quality, value, and convenience," better known as QVC, the Shopping Channel, is famous for its diversity of weird and wonderful objects sold by presenters such as Simon Biagi and and Alison Keenan, over both the telly and the Internet.

Carls Furniture is a home furnishings retailer with about 20 stores, including more than 10 Carls Patio showrooms, in Florida. Carls offerings include indoor furniture for the living room, bedroom, and dining room (sofas, chairs, dining table sets, occasional tables, entertainment centers, curios), as well as outdoor patio furniture collections (aluminum, wicker, teak). It also sells mattresses under the Sealy and Stearns & Foster brands. Carls' owners Mike Baker, Bob Dragin, and Fred Friedman purchased Carls Furniture in 1974. The company's Carls Patio division plans to continue growing in California through its Berk's and Saddleback of San Diego furniture operations.

Founded in 1940 by Einer and Marie Jensen in Blue Jay, California, Jensen's was bought by longtime employee Gene Fulton in 1981 when the Jensens retired. The small grocery chain is owned and operated by the Fulton family.When in Palm Springs, customers check out the fine foods at Jensen's. Supermarket retailer Jensen's operates about 10 upscale grocery stores located in the mountains and deserts of Southern California. Each store specializes in offering gourmet items, as well as traditional supermarket fare including extensive selections of fresh produce, meats, and wines.

Cache, Inc. operates as a mall-based specialty retailer of women’s lifestyle sportswear and dresses primarily in the United States. The company offers eveningwear; casual and daytime sportswear, including tops, bottoms, and dresses; and accessories, such as jewelry, belts, and handbags under the Cache brand. It also offers its products online through its Web site, cache.com. As of May 12, 2010, the company operated 285 Cache and Cache Luxe stores in 43 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Cache, Inc. was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Retailing giant Daimaru Matsuzakaya opened for business Monday, bringing to fruition the 2007 mega-merger between department store chains Daimaru Inc. and Matsuzakaya Bargain hunt: Shoppers flock for bargains at the Matsuzakaya department store in Tokyo's Ueno district Monday as the merged Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co. began operations. KYODO PHOTOThe new chain, which combined under holding firm J. Front Retailing Co., will take over strategic planning and product procurement duties from J. Front to save costs amid the current deflation.

The Foschini Group (TFG) is an investment holding company operating in the retail and financial services segments within southern Africa. The Group trades primarily in South Africa with retail turnover emanating from Botswana, Swaziland and Namibia accounting for 3,8% of the Group turnover. Comprising 14 trading brands in over 1 500 stores, the Group brings a lifestyle range of brands that are prominent household fashion brands into the retail market. TFG Apparel Supply Company manages the supply of locally made apparel and co-ordinates the merchandise sourcing, shipping and quality assurance activities. A further two trading divisions offer financial services. All the trading divisions are supported by numerous service divisions which provide centralised support services. Foschini Limited, which commenced trading in 1924, has been listed on the JSE Limited since 1 January 1941 and is regarded as one of the foremost independent chain store groups in the country. It is listed on the main board in the Consumer Services – Retail sector.

Founded in 1980, Room & Board operates about a dozen stores in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, and the District of Columbia. The company's furniture collections feature contemporary sofas, chairs, and tables (dining and accent), as well as office, bedroom, and outdoor furniture. Room & Board's Shop From Home operation, which consists of a print catalog and website, is the fastest-growing segment of its business. And despite a slump in furniture sales in the US, the company is expanding.

The Gap, Inc. operates as a specialty retailing company. The company offers clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, children, and babies under the Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, and Athleta brand names. Its products include wardrobe basics, such as denim, khakis, and T-shirts; fashion apparel; casual apparel and accessories; maternity apparel; women’s underwear, sleepwear, loungewear, and sports and active apparel; and shoes and accessories. The company also franchises agreements with unaffiliated franchisees to operate Gap and Banana Republic stores worldwide. As of March 24, 2010, it operated approximately 3,100 stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan, and Ireland. The Gap also offers its products through catalogs, as well as gap.com, bananarepublic.com, oldnavy.com, piperlime.com, and athleta.com Web sites. The Gap, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is based in San Francisco, California.

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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