Sam's Club

Sam's Club runs about 600 "no frills" stores in 48 US states, plus another 135 or so stores in Brazil, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The chain's 47 million-plus members -- many of them small-business owners -- pay an annual fee to shop there. The stores average 133,000 square feet and offer more than 4,000 discounted items, including bulk office supplies and food, electronic goods, jewelry, clothes, insurance and travel services, and Member's Mark store-brand products. Samsclub.com is the company's online incarnation.