Williams-Sonoma, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of home products. It offers culinary and serving equipment, including cookware, cookbooks, cutlery, informal dinnerware, glassware, table linens, specialty foods, and cooking ingredients; and bridal and gift items under the Williams-Sonoma brand name. The company also provides home furnishing categories, including furniture, textiles, decorative accessories, lighting, and tabletop items under West Elm brand; bed and bath products under Pottery Barn brand; and children’s furnishings and accessories under Pottery Barn Kids brand name. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. sells its home products through five retail store concepts, which include Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm, and Williams-Sonoma Home; seven direct-mail catalogs that comprise Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Bed and Bath, PBteen, West Elm, and Williams-Sonoma Home; and six e-commerce Websites, which consist of williams-sonoma.com, potterybarn.com, potterybarnkids.com, pbteen.com, westelm.com, and wshome.com. As of January 31, 2010, it operated 610 retail stores, including 259 Williams-Sonoma, 199 Pottery Barn, 87 Pottery Barn Kids, 36 West Elm, 11 Williams-Sonoma Home, and 18 Outlet stores located in 44 states of the United States; Washington, D.C.; Canada; and Puerto Rico. The company was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Spahn & Rose Lumber Co. is a retail lumber company with about 25 locations throughout Iowa and, to a lesser extent, in Illinois and Wisconsin. The company, which was organized in 1904, produces roof and floor truss systems and sells a variety of building supply products from such suppliers as Andersen (windows), Georgia-Pacific (lumber), CertainTeed (building materials), DuPont (plastics and flooring), MidContinent Cabinetry, (cabinets), Stanley Black & Decker (hand tools) and more. Spahn & Rose is promoting a range of green products, including recycled goods, solar reflective windows, and arsenic-free lumber.

Tesco PLC, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a grocery retailer offering various food, non-food, and other retailing services. It operates various store formats that offer food and non-food products, such as fresh produce, wines and spirits, in-store bakery, ready-meals, sandwiches, DVDs, books, electrical equipment, homewares, clothing, health and beauty items, and garden furniture. The company also provides telecom services, including mobile network, home phone, Internet access, Internet phone, and various telecom products and services in store and online. In addition, it offers financial and insurance services ranging from savings accounts and credit cards to car and travel insurance. The company operates in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, and the United States. As of May 1, 2009, it operated 4,308 stores. The company has a collaboration agreement with Microsoft Corporation to launch home video viewing. Tesco PLC was formerly known as Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited and changed its name to Tesco PLC in 1983. The company was founded in 1919 and is based in Cheshunt, United Kingdom.

Chairman Max Gondon founded AMS in 1969. The company was acquired in 2007 by CRH, an Ireland-based building materials maker. Acoustical Material Services (AMS) sells the materials builders need to put a roof over your head -- not to mention hold your whole house together. The company provides acoustical ceiling products, lath and plaster, drywall, doors, and frames, as well as other construction supplies. Customers include large and small contractors, subcontractors, building owners, and dealers. AMS distributes products from about 20 locations in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah, as well as Mexico (via AMS De Mexico). It also exports to markets in Guam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

Groupe Lapeyre is one of France's largest manufacturers and distributors of joinery (doors, windows, and cabinetry). Its business-to-consumer unit includes Lapeyre, which distributes kitchen and bathroom products, as well as exterior and interior doors, windows, staircases, and flooring, through about 130 sales outlets. The division also includes some 180 K par K stores that sell and install windows and verandas, and Gimm, which produces PVC and wooden windows and doors. Its business-to-business unit includes Oxxo and Les Zelles, which produce and sell PVC windows and shutters. Groupe Lapeyre is a part of Saint-Gobain's building distribution division. In France, the doors and windows are always open for Lapeyre.

Paragon Pharmacies was formed by a reverse merger with Rinoa Enterprises in 2008. Paragon Pharmacies harkens back to the ideal of an old-fashioned community drugstore -- albeit one with electronic refills that has its own Facebook page. The company operates about 18 retail pharmacies, three central fill pharmacies, and one home healthcare operation in Western Canada. The stores -- operating under the Paragon Community Pharmacy and Super Drug Mart brands -- are located in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba. Paragon also offers prescription services to assisted living and long-term care facilities through its Paragon Home Health brand.

GasAmerica Services operates a chain of combination gas station/convenience stores under the GasAmerica banner, all found in Indiana and Ohio. Its 90-odd locations offer the usual assortment of food, drinks, and supplies, and, of course, gasoline. The company issues a convenience card for frequent customers that allows users to earn points for rebates, take advantage of special discounts, receive coupons by mail, and enter the monthly sweepstakes for computers and free gas. GasAmerica Services offers biofuels, including E85 (85% ethanol), B10 (10% biodiesel from soybeans). Founded in 1916, the firm has been blending ethanol into gasoline for more than 20 years.

Kwik Trip operates about 350 Kwik Trip and Kwik Star convenience stores throughout Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The company also runs several Hearty Platter restaurants, about 40 Tobacco Outlet Plus (TOP) cigar stores, and car washes at some Kwik Trip store locations. All Kwik Trip stores built since 1990 are owned by Convenience Store Investments, a separate company, which leases the land and stores to Kwik Trip. Kwik Trip, which opened its first store in 1965 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is owned by the family of CEO Don Zietlow.

Savers depends on thrifty people to make its business a financial success. The resale giant is the largest for-profit thrift store chain in North America. It operates about 225 Savers, Value Village, and Village des Valeurs (in Quebec) stores in more than 20 US states, 10 Canadian provinces, and Australia. The company's retail outlets sell everything from designer and vintage clothing to unique home decor, electronics, hardcover and paperback books, and toys. Savers also partners with 120 charity offices. Founded in 1954 as Salvage Management Corp., Savers is owned by the private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co.

CEO and president Dan Brettler founded the company in Bellevue, Washington, in 1987. When you outgrow toy cars, you're likely to find Car Toys. Car Toys sells in-car DVD systems, satellite radios, audio components, security systems, navigation systems, radar detectors, and wireless phones and plans. The company offers such brands as Alpine, Audiovox, JBL, Motorola, Panasonic, Pioneer, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. Car Toys peddles its products through about 50 retail locations in several states, including Colorado, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, as well as through its website. In addition to offering electronics, Car Toys stores provide installation services and advice.

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