7-Eleven operates about 6,800 company-owned or franchised stores in the US and Canada under the 7-Eleven name. The retailer also has an interest in more than 1,000 stores in Mexico. Globally, 7-Eleven operates, franchises, or licenses more than 37,500 stores worldwide. The US's leading convenience store chain was taken private in late 2005 by its largest shareholder, the Japanese retail conglomerate Seven & i Holdings, the holding company for Seven-Eleven Japan, Ito-Yokado, Denny's restaurants, and other businesses.

99 Cents Only Stores sells closeout and regular general merchandise for 99 cents or less. With about 275 stores, the company sells name-brand and private-label food and beverages, health and beauty aids, household goods, hardware, toys, and more. Though about 200 of its stores are in California, the company also operates locations in Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. The firm's Bargain Wholesale unit distributes discounted merchandise to retailers, distributors, and exporters. The Gold family owns about 35% of the company and is actively involved in running it. Chairman David Gold is the founder, and his son Jeff is president; son-in-law Eric Schiffer is the firm's CEO.

Bi-Mart Corporation retailer operates about 70 general merchandise membership stores throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.(About 20 are in the Portland area.) Just $5 buys a lifetime membership to the deep-discount chain, which has enrolled more than 1 million members to date. Stores offer automotive departments, clothing and shoes, food and alcohol, housewares, full-service pharmacies, and photo departments, with a focus on national brands. A pioneer in membership-based retail, Bi-Mart was started in 1955 by a group of investors in Yakima, Washington. The firm was bought by CEO Marty Smith and other senior managers from Rite Aid Corp. in 1997. Today, the company is employee-owned.

Big Lots, Inc. is the nation's #1 broadline closeout retailer, with some 1,360 Big Lots stores (down from a high of 1,500 at the start of 2005) in 47 states. (More than one-third of its stores are located in California, Florida, Ohio, and Texas.) It sells a variety of brand-name products that have been overproduced, returned, discontinued, or result from liquidations, typically at 20%-40% below discounters' prices, as well as private-label items and furniture. Its wholesale division, Big Lots Wholesale, sells its discounted merchandise to a variety of retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and other wholesalers.

Bosselman, Inc. operates some 40 Pump & Pantry convenience stores and 25 Boss Truck Shops, which sell tires and offer truck repair services, in Nebraska and more than 15 other states. Family-operated Bosselman also runs about half a dozen eating establishments (mostly Grandma Max's) and five motels. Other operations include Bosselman Energy (wholesale oil, fuel, and propane delivery) and Bosselman Tank & Trailer (truck, tank and trailer sales, repairs, and inspections). A handful of Bosselman travel centers fly the Pilot banner. Founder Frederick H. Bosselman -- a farmer and part-time truck driver -- opened his first truck stop in 1948.

C. N. Brown company operates about 90 convenience stores under the Big Apple Food Stores banner, mostly in Maine but also in New Hampshire. The company provides heating oil, K-1, propane, and diesel gasoline through subsidiary Red Shield Heating Oil's more than 30 locations in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. C. N. Brown also operates a handful of car washes in Maine. The family-owned and -operated company was founded in 1948 by Carlton Brown.

Carrefour Polksa is the Polish arm of the French retail giant Carrefour SA. Carrefour Polksa has about 350 stores, only about 75 of which are the large hypermarkets its French parent company is best known for. The other stores in Poland are smaller supermarkets under the name Carrefour Express, convenience stores under the brand 5 minut, and gas stations. Carrefour Polksa opened its first store in Lodz in 1997. In 2007 it bought 183 Albert supermarkets, 15 Hypernova hypermarkets, and four gas stations from Royal Ahold. The next year the company introduced mobile phone service, called Carrefour Mova.

Cash Converters International makes cash advances in return for used merchandise, including electronics, jewelry, musical instruments, tools, and more, which it resells to the public. The second-hand goods retailer and pawnbroker operates about 500 franchised and company-owned stores in its home country of Australia and another 20 countries worldwide, including Canada, the US, and the UK. The company also offers customers cash advances on their paychecks. Stores operate under the Cash Converters banner. Texas-based EZCORP acquired a 30% stake in the firm in 2009.

Costco Wholesale UK Limited operates about 20 members-only warehouse clubs in England and Scotland. The company is owned by the #1 US wholesale club operator Costco Wholesale, which has been gradually adding UK locations. The big-box stores sell appliances, consumer electronics, health and beauty products, groceries, and more. Membership fees are similar to those in the US. The company has been able to grow faster than competitors, including Wal-Mart-owned ASDA and Britain's #1 retailerTesco, because its status as a warehouse-club chain exempts it from zoning rules other retailers face when opening new stores. Costco Wholesale UK ultimately aims to grow to 40 stores and is exploring entering the Irish market.

Costcutter Supermarkets Group owns or franchises some 1,600 supermarkets and convenience stores under the Costcutter and Costcutter Express banners throughout the UK and Northern Ireland. Smaller Costcutter Express stores (averaging about 1,000 sq. ft.) sell gasoline. Costcutter holds about a 4.6% share of the rapidly-consolidating convenience store market. The company had agreed to merge with Nisa-Today's, a buying group of some 700 independent retailers, but the deal collapsed. (Costcutter is the largest member of the Nisa-Today's buying group.) Founded in 1986 by its Chairman Colin Graves, Costcutter is owned by the Bibby Line Group.

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.