Founded as an auto supply store in 1938 by chairman Dave Lack, Lack's Stores branched out into furniture during WWII, in an effort to maintain company sales. Its diversification paid off, and Lack's automotive and hardware offerings were phased out in the 1970s. Today, the family-owned and -operated company sells home furnishings, bedding, major appliances, and home electronics through some 35 retail stores, operating under the Lacks and Lacks Home Furnishings banners. Most of the company's stores are located throughout the state of Texas. Lack's operates one retail location in Duncan, Oklahoma.

Protecting Ronald Reagan's papers and propping up the San Francisco art world would seem like a tall order, but Pacific Coast Building Products does both. The building materials manufacturer and distributor made roof tiles for Reagan's presidential library and concrete blocks for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Through its subsidiaries, Pacific Coast sells building products for residential, commercial, and industrial construction to builders and contractors in the western US, Hawaii, and Canada. It also provides installation and transportation services. The late Fred Anderson (father-in-law of president and CEO David Lucchetti) founded Pacific Coast Building Products, Inc. company as Anderson Lumber in 1953; his family owns the firm.

he regional grocery chain also operates about a half a dozen larger Smith's Marketplace stores (154,000 sq. ft. on average) in Utah that combine full-service grocery, pharmacy, and general merchandise departments. Smith's joined the Kroger family when Kroger, the 1 US grocer, bought its parent, Fred Meyer, in 1999.From a small grocery store founded by Ren Smith in Brigham City, Utah, Smith's Food & Drug Centers has grown into a regional powerhouse with supermarkets in Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, and four other western states. Most of its 130-plus stores are conventional supermarkets with in-store pharmacy departments and many offering bakeries, one-hour photo labs, and other services.

Grand Home Furnishings, formerly Grand Piano & Furniture, got its start as a piano and musical instrument store in Roanoke, Virginia. Several decades later, the company sells mattresses and home furnishings through more than 15 stores in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee. The company stocks furniture from such manufacturers as Hooker, La-Z-Boy, Klaussner, Vaughan-Bassett, Meadowcraft, and Thomasville, and the mattresses come from Sealy and Tempur-Pedic, to name a few. Grand Home Furnishings was founded in 1910, and acquired in 1945 by the current owners, the Cartledge family. George Cartledge Jr. is the company's CEO.

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.

Waxman Industries takes plumbing repairs out of the toilet. Faucets and showers are just a few of the thousands of specialty plumbing and floor- and surface-protection products the company makes and distributes. Customers include do-it-yourself warehouse stores, home improvement centers, and mass merchandisers. Its WAMI Sales division distributes a wide portfolio of products, such as pipes and values, to industrial supply and wholesale operators in the US. Beyond American borders, Waxman operates internationally through its TWI International subsidiary, and its Waxman Consumer Products Group runs more than 10 manufacturing centers in Asia.

Pathmark's rival in the Northeast, acquired the chain for about $1.4 billion in late 2007. Three years later, A&P filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Pathmark rings up about 45% of A&P's annual sales.Pathmark Stores hopes it's finally on the upward path now that it has become part of the A&P family of grocery chains. Pathmark operates about 140 supermarkets, under the Pathmark and Pathmark Sav-A-Center banners, in densely populated areas in four states: Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Many of its stores are Pathmark Super Centers, which offer an expanded selection of general merchandise and foods, nearly all have pharmacies, and more than half have in-store banks

Dollar General's at ease with living off the crumbs of Wal-Mart. The retailer commands a chain of more than 9,000 discount stores in 35 states, primarily in the southern and eastern US, the Midwest, and the Southwest. Offering basic household items, such as cleaning supplies and health and beauty aids, as well as some apparel and food, it targets low-, middle-, and fixed-income shoppers. Stores are generally located in small towns off the radar of giant discounters. Its big-city stores (about 30% of its total) are situated in lower-income neighborhoods. Some 25% of its merchandise is priced at $1 or less. Two years after being taken private by affiliates of KKR and Goldman Sachs, the chain went public in 2009.

Rite Aid Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates retail drugstores in the United States. Rite Aid Corporation company’s drugstores primarily offer pharmacy services. It provides prescription drugs and front end products, which include over-the-counter medications, health and beauty aids, personal care items, cosmetics, household items, beverages, convenience foods, greeting cards, seasonal merchandise, and various other everyday and convenience products, as well as photo processing products. The company sells its products under the Rite Aid brand. It offers its products to customers covered by third party payors, such as insurance companies, prescription benefit management companies, government agencies, private employers or other managed care providers. As of February 27, 2010, Rite Aid Corporation operated 4,780 retail drugstores in 31 states, as well as in the District of Columbia. It has a strategic alliance with GNC to operate GNC stores within Rite Aid stores. Rite Aid Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

Food Emporium offers free delivery with $50 purchases (with some restrictions). The Food Emporium's store count has slipped as its stores in New York State and Connecticut have been converted to other A&P banners.The Food Emporium operates about 15 upscale supermarkets in densely-populated Manhattan and a store in Connecticut. A division of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2010, Food Emporium stores are small (8,000 to 17,000 square feet). The grocery chain also operates an online shopping service (www.thefoodemporium.com), offering pick up and home delivery service to shoppers in 33 ZIP codes in Manhattan, where it competes with Internet grocer FreshDirect

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