William Sinclair Holdings took hold in UK gardens more than 120 years ago when it was founded by William Sinclair. The company makes gardening products for commercial and home use, exfoliated vermiculite, and expanded perlite (products that are used in different forms of insulation). Brands include J Arthur Bower's, Silvaperl, and New Horizon. The firm exports horticultural products to more than 50 countries. Over the last few years, the company has pared down its operations and is focusing on innovating recycled green products for both industrial and horticultural clients. Its products are sold through wholesalers, catalogs, and the company's Web site.

Agri-Starts was founded in 1984 by owners Randall Strode and Gerri Abner. Agri-Starts produces and wholesales tissue culture liners and micro cuttings. Put more simply, the company clones plants. The cloning process begins with a single growing tip cut from a plant. From this cut thousands of small plants are grown on a gelled nutrient-rich medium with growth regulators in a temperature- and light-controlled environment. Once the plants are large enough to harvest, Agri-Starts sells them as liners in cell packs to nurseries worldwide. The company maintains about 1,300 plant varieties, and its specialties include elephant ears, bananas, blueberries, and coleus plants.

Piggly Wiggly Carolina was founded in 1947 when Joseph T. Newton purchased a Piggly Wiggly grocery franchise from the Piggly Wiggly Corp. Sister company Greenbax operates the Pig's Favorite Customer (PFC) loyalty card program for the company. Once the largest family-owned private company in South Carolina, Piggly Wiggly Carolina became 100% employee-owned in 2005.Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company operates more than 100 supermarkets throughout South Carolina and southeastern Georgia. About 10 South Carolina locations offer online shopping. In addition to traditional supermarket fare, the company offers in-store pharmacy departments and health screenings at some locations.

Sleepy's, Inc. operates more than 700 stores, mostly in New York and New Jersey, but also in about 10 other eastern states. Some of the stores have Sleepy's Kids concessions inside. Sleepy's outlets sell the mattresses and box springs of more than a dozen major manufacturers, including Simmons, Sealy, and Serta, as well as brass, iron, and motorized beds. The firm offers low-price guarantees, delivery, and other services, and it sells products throughout the US by phone. Sleepy's acquired the mattress.com domain name and 1-800-Mattress telephone network in 2009. Chairman Harry Acker, who founded the firm in 1957, owns Sleepy's.

Great Harvest Franchising acquired Montana Mills from doughnut-maker Krispy Kreme in 2005. The six-store bakery chain in upstate New York was converted to Great Harvest locations in early 2006. Founded by Pete and Laura Wakeman in 1978, Great Harvest was sold in 2001 to a group of North Carolina investors, including Mike Ferretti, who became CEO.Great Harvest Franchising (dba Great Harvest Bread Company) helps entrepreneurs not only bake bread but earn it. The company franchises its name and baking techniques to more than 210 bakeries in some 40 US states. In exchange for sending 7% of their sales to Great Harvest, owners receive bread recipes, baking techniques, and advice about accounting and store design.

Improvement Direct operates a network of about a dozen online retail stores that sell a wide array of home décor items, bath and kitchen appliances, and furniture. Products include everything from lamps to sinks to beds. It offers such brand names as Bosch, Emerson, Kohler, and Moen. Environmentally-conscious consumers also have their choice of energy-saving appliances, faucets, lighting, and water heaters. Improvement Direct ships from about 50 warehouses and through more than 30 vendor partners. The private company was founded in 2000 by president Chris Friedland and EVP Dave Boctor.

The doors may be closed at Price Rite Pharmacy, but priceritepharmacy is open for business. Operating what's known as a closed-door pharmacy, Price Rite Pharmacy provides prescription and over-the-counter medications, nutritional products, skin and wound care supplies, incontinence supplies, and more to customers in the San Diego area. The company also offers "Medicine-On-Time" service, which packages a customer's multiple daily medicines in sealed dosage bubble packets. While priceritepharmacy serves the general public, it does not operate any retail locations; instead it fills orders via mail order and delivery service.

Borders Group runs more than 500 Borders superstores in about 45 states and Puerto Rico, as well as about 175 small-format shops under the Waldenbooks, Borders Express, and Borders Outlet banners. Its bookstores offer up to 170,000 book, music, and movie titles and regularly host live literary events and musician showcases to attract customers. The chain also peddles products via its website. Faced with declining sales due to the ailing book business, Borders sold its Paperchase stationery and gift business in the UK in 2010.

Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermarkte serves do-it-yourselfers and other practical types. Praktiker (practitioner or enthusiast in English) is Germany's #2 do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvement retailer with about 340 Praktiker, Max Bahr, and extra BAU + HOBBY stores in Germany and another 90 Praktiker shops in eight mostly Eastern European countries (it goes by batiself in Luxembourg). Germany accounts for two-thirds of Praktiker's sales but growth comes from international locations. The discount stores sell name brand and private label items and host DIY classes. Praktiker offers bathroom fixtures, building materials, electrical and gardening items, hardware, paint, tools, wallpaper, and wood products.

Dan's Super Market got its start in 1949 when Roy Rockstad (father of present day CEO Terry Rockstad) and Eugene Leary pooled their resources and bought out a Piggly Wiggly store in Bismarck, North Dakota. As for Dan himself, he's a fictional character used in the company's ads.Dan's Super Market operates a regional chain of about a half-dozen grocery stores in North Dakota. (The firm sold its two grocery stores in Wyoming in 2004 and its South Dakota location soon after.) Each Dan's store stocks about 30,000 items and is supplied by grocery wholesaler and retailer SUPERVALU. The regional supermarket chain also sells groceries online. Four of the six stores have pharmacy departments.

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