Groupe Naf Naf, comic book slang for "woof woof," is always sniffing around for what's new and hot in the world of fashion. Its namesake chain offers young urban women's apparel in about 370 boutiques in Europe, including about 140 stores in France. It also sells urban men's and children's clothes under the Chevignon brand at some 190 location in Europe and another 120 shops worldwide. French clothing and shoe retailer Vivarte bought the company in January 2007 from the founding Pariente brothers, who opened their first store in Paris in 1973 and continue to run Groupe Naf Naf.

Reid Furniture is Scotland's largest independent retailer of home furnishings. Products offered include upholstered furniture, bedding, tables, lamps, rugs, and artwork. The family-run chain operates than 30 stores in Scotland, England, and Ireland. Reid's was the region's largest maker of upholstered furniture until it shutdown its manufacturing operations in 2008 and turned to cheaper foreign sources. The company, which was founded by former company chairman Sam Reid in 1970, was taken private by its management, including CEO Alan Marnie, in 2006.

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.

Incorporated in 1988, Zones, Inc. is headquartered just outside of Seattle, Washington. Zones has corporate offices in Portland, OR., and Bensenville, IL., regional offices in Texas, Maryland and Florida, as well as multiple field sales offices nationwide. Zones maintains a national network of company-owned logistics, integration and distribution facilities to support our client base with immediate access to inventory, configuration and deployment services from all time zones- resulting in lower shipping costs and the ability to leverage Zones' enhanced "follow the sun" logistics programs.

At Carphone Warehouse, "upward mobility" means calling someone while driving uphill. The firm has more than 2,400 stores in Europe that sell mobile phones, contracts, and services. It operates stores under the Carphone Warehouse banner in the UK and The Phone House in eight other European markets, including France and Spain. Carphone Warehouse also sells Internet access to homes in England and Europe and has begun selling laptops, touch phones, and other mobile devices at a new, larger store format called Wireless World. Founded in 1989 by CEO Charles Dunstone and former director David Ross, Carphone Warehouse sold 50% of its retail business in 2008 and spun off its TalkTalk telecom unit in 2010.

Midlands Co-op also boasts a portfolio of investment properties. The group has grown through the years by means of mergers with some 65 other societies, such as its agreement with the Ilkeston Consumer Co-operative Society in late 2006.Midlands Co-operative Society Limited is no newcomer to the co-op movement. The co-op is the largest independent retail society in the UK. Midlands Co-op's primary activities include retail, travel, funeral services, and transportation. The organization's more than 400 trading outlets span supermarkets, post offices, convenience stores, travel shops, and funeral homes

Locke Supply Co. was founded in 1955 by Don and Wanda Locke. After Don's death in 2000, the company's employees purchased Locke Supply from the family. Locke Supply has a lock on the HVAC business in Oklahoma City. Through about 160 locations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, the company distributes air-conditioning, heating, plumbing, electrical supplies, and tools. It also sells whirlpool baths and refrigeration equipment. Locke Supply's 300,000-square-foot distribution center holds brands like DeWalt, Bradford White, Eljer, and Armstrong Air.

IGA grocers are independent, but not alone. The world's largest voluntary supermarket network, IGA has 6,200 stores in more than 40 countries worldwide, including about 1,350 in the US. Collectively, its members are among North America's leaders in terms of supermarket sales. IGA (which stands for either International or Independent Grocers Alliance, the company says) is owned by about 35 worldwide distribution companies, including SUPERVALU. Members can sell IGA-brand private-label products (over 2,300 items) and take advantage of joint operations and services, such as advertising and volume buying. Some stores in the IGA alliance, which primarily caters to smaller towns, also sell gas.

Martin McColl is among the leading operators of newsstands and convenience stores in Great Britain. The company has more than 900 newsstands, 300 convenience stores, and 100 high street shops in England, Scotland and Wales. Its newsstands operate under the Martin's banner while its convenience stores operate under the McColl's banner. About 400 stores have post offices, making it the UK's leading owner of regional substations. Martin McColl, originally named TM Retail, was formed in 1998. Following a management-led buyout in 2005, the company changed its name and its business strategy. Its executive team owns about 80% of the company.

Founded in 1933, Famous Distribution, Inc. is owned and run by the Blaushild family. Tubing isn't always part of leisure in the water. Sometimes it's a part for waterworks, and one of the many products offered by Famous Distribution. In addition to tubing, Famous Distribution offers building facility and energy management systems, controls, fittings, pipes, valves, and other equipment and supplies for air conditioning, heating, industrial maintenance, plumbing, ventilation, and waterworks. Famous Distribution sells its products through about 20 locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia under the banners of Famous Supply, Pittsburgh Plumbing and Heating, and JF Good, among others.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.