A.S. Watson (ASW) is the retail and manufacturing arm of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa. Like its powerful parent company, ASW is a giant in its industries, with operations in some 35 markets throughout Asia and Europe. Its businesses include supermarkets (Park'N Shop), health and beauty stores (Watson's, Drogas, Trekpleister, and Kruidvat), Fortress consumer electronics and appliance stores in Hong Kong and Macau, soft drink and water bottling operations, and wine retailing (Watson's Wine Cellar). In all, ASW operates 20-plus retail chains with more than 8,700 stores including the UK's Superdrug and Savers chains. ASW also has a joint venture with German discount health and beauty chain Rossmann.

Super A Foods, owned and operated by the Amen family, was founded by its chairman and CEO Louis Amen in 1971.Faster than a speeding shopping cart. More powerful a manager's page. Able to scan grocery items in a single swipe. It's Super A! Super A Foods operates about a dozen grocery stores in and around Los Angeles that cater to Latino and Asian customers. The local supermarket operator offers groceries, bakery and deli items, meat, frozen foods, and fresh produce, as well as beer and wine.

Fellow countryman John Scheepers founded the company in 1905; he made the tulip the symbol of spring and came to be known as The Tulip King. John Scheepers isn't sheepish about its specialty. The company sells more than 700 varieties of tulips, narcissi, lilies, amaryllis, and rare and unusual Dutch bulbs through catalogs and online. It also sells bulb food and offers tips and planting information on its Web site. Company president Jan Ohms owns John Scheepers and sister company Van Engelen, a bulb wholesaler. Ohms is a fourth generation bulb specialist from Holland.

CompUSA has been rebooted after a major crash in 2008. The company operates about 35 stores, mostly in Florida, but also in several other states and Puerto Rico, as well as an e-commerce site. It sells computers and peripherals, TVs, gaming consoles, cameras, and other electronics and accessories. CompUSA is a division of Systemax, a multi-channel marketer of consumer electronics and digital media technology. In 2008 Systemax acquired CompUSA's brand, website, and retail outlets. Originally a pioneer in big-box computer sales, CompUSA is reformatting itself as a next-generation retailer.

Louis Brockway and Fred Smith founded their namesake company in 1890. Brockway-Smith has found the right opening to success. Doing business as BROSCO, Brockway-Smith company is a wholesale distributor of millwork products throughout New England. Products, including doors, windows, and specialty millwork, as well as columns, mantels, moldings, posts, and stairs, are sold by a network of dealers in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Brockway-Smith operates through four distribution centers in Massachusetts, New York, and Maine. Customers include architects, building materials dealers, and contractors.

Craving Italian fashions? La Rinascente operates more than a dozen upscale la Rinascente department stores in cities across Italy. The company's flagship store near the Duomo in Milan -- Italy's fashion capital -- accounts for about 50% of sales. The retailer also operates the UPIM chain of some 340 company-owned and franchised stores throughout Italy and a single concept store in Rome called Jam. La Rinascente tempts shoppers with luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Gucci. Aldo and Senatore Borletti founded La Rinascente in 1917. Today the company is owned by its chairman, the Italian entrepreneur Maurizio Borletti (Aldo's grandson)

Japanese retailer Isetan is more than a century old, but it does try to appeal to the younger generation. Its department stores sell apparel, home furnishings, appliances, jewelry, and personal items. The company also operates restaurants and offers real estate, financial, and travel services. It manages a half dozen stores in Japan; its main location in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo accounts for about half the firm's sales. Among the first Japanese retailers to enter other Asian markets, Isetan oversees store operations in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The company is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, created in 2008 when Isetan acquired its more than 300-year-old rival Mitsukoshi.

Hampton Lumber Sales (HLS) is the sales division of privately held Hampton Affiliates. The division sells dimensional lumber, stud lumber, industrial lumber and clears, panel products, and engineered wood products. HLS sells more than a billion board ft. of Hampton's mill products and another billion ft. of outside-mill products. It ships products by unit, container, railcar (utilizing Hampton's private fleet of center beam railcars), or truckload to serve its wholesale customers. Additionally, the unit offers reload services from centers in California, Oregon, and Washington. Formed in 1950, HLS has grown to be one of the largest forest products wholesalers in the nation.

Tory Burch is an attainable, luxury, lifestyle brand defined by classic American sportswear with an eclectic sensibility, which embodies the personal style and spirit of its co-founder and creative director, Tory Burch. Perceiving a void in the market for a sophisticated American aesthetic at an accessible price point, Tory wanted to create stylish yet wearable clothing and accessories for women of all ages. Tory Burch was launched in February 2004 as a lifestyle concept with multiple product categories, including ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes and jewelry. Going against the minimalist trend that was popular at the time, Tory designed her flagship boutique, in downtown New York, to feel more like a room in her own home than a traditional retail store. Key design elements featured in all boutiques include orange lacquer doors, mirrored walls, and Lucite fixtures.Tory’s childhood on a farm outside of Philadelphia, as well as her mother and father’s unique sense of personal style, influence the aesthetic of the collection. Her sensibility is also inspired by art, photography, films travel, and the work of interior designer David Hicks. Graphic prints, bold colors and ethnic detailing are all signatures of the brand. Celebrity fans include Cameron Diaz, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Lopez, Uma Thurman and Hilary Swank. Tory Burch is available at free-standing Tory Burch boutiques across the US, www.toryburch.com and over 450 select department and specialty stores worldwide.

Butera acquired three stores in Illinois from bankrupt Eagle Food Centers. Family-owned and -operated from its inception, Butera became an employee-owned company in the early 1990s. Butera Finer Foods, Inc. If you're in the Windy City and you're in the market for foodstuffs, find your way to Butera's. Butera Finer Foods runs about 10 full-service supermarkets under the Butera Market banner in northern Illinois. The stores specialize in produce, deli items, and international foods at low prices. Since its founding in 1968 by Paul Butera Sr. and his brother Joe, some 25 Butera Finer Foods supermarkets have been opened. Butera's twin sons Joseph and Paul Jr. currently run 10 of them.

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