O'Connell Oil operates about 30 Convenience Plus convenience stores and a half a dozen gas stations throughout western Massachusetts, serving customers with Citgo, Mobil, and Shell brand gasoline. Three O'Connell's Heating Oil & Service locations provide heating oil and air conditioner repair services. The company also runs plumbing and industrial lubricant divisions. Namesake Ralph M. O'Connell founded the company in 1925.

Founded by Burt Orrin Kinney, who opened the company's first drugstore in 1903, Kinney Drugs has grown to number more than 90 stores in central and northern New York and Vermont. Most of the company's stores are free-standing units, with pharmacies, one-hour photo developing services, and a growing selection of convenience foods. The 100%-employee-owned company maintains its own distribution warehouse and offers about 800 different products, including Kinney-branded over-the-counter medicines. Besides retail stores, the firm operates ProAct prescription benefit management firm, HealthDirect institutional pharmacy services, and HealthDirect mail order pharmacy services.

Founded by Rowland Schaefer and later run by his daughters, Bonnie and Marla Schaefer, Claire's Stores was sold to an affiliate of the New York-based private equity firm Apollo Management for about $3 billion in 2007. If the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys, for young women and girls, it may be the price of their accessories. For thrifty, fashion-conscious females ages 3 to 27, Claire's Stores is the queen of costume jewelry, handbags, and hair bows. The company operates nearly 3,000 boutiques, primarily in malls, under the Claire's and Icing banners. The chain is present in all 50 US states, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Canada, as well as about 10 European countries.

Slumberland has some reclining, bedding, and sofa solutions. Primarily situated in the upper Midwest region of the US, the company operates more than 110 stores in 10 US states. It first opened its doors as a mattress shop and La-Z-Boy specialty shop in 1967, but today Slumberland has extended its reach into furniture for the bedroom, dining room, and living room. The company is a leading retailer of La-Z-Boy upholstery and also sells Natuzzi leather pieces and both Sealy and Simmons mattresses. Franchising has become an increasingly vital part of Slumberland's strategy for expansion.

In Germany a trip to the corner drugstore is often a trip to Anton Schlecker. Fa. Anton Schlecker company is Germany's largest drugstore operator with about 10,650 discount retail outlets there. It also operates another 3,300 stores in about a dozen countries in Europe, including Austria, France, Italy, Poland, and Spain. Schlecker stores stock more than 4,000 product lines, including branded and private-label items. The shops also feature over-the-counter drugs, cosmetics, baby products, tobacco, photo services, and more. It is owned by German billionaire Anton Schlecker, who opened his first drugstore in 1975.

Founded in 1952 by namesake -- the late Jack Fruth -- the company is family owned and operated. Fruth Pharmacy operates about 25 drugstores in southern Ohio and West Virginia. While prescriptions account for the majority of sales, Fruth pharmacies also sell gift items and computer supplies, and have floral departments and digital printing. The regional drugstore chain competes by constantly trying new things, such as participating in the Face2Face diabetes program and testing in-store dollar departments. It is countering Wal-Mart Stores's $4 generic offering with a discount generic drug program created by Cardinal Health.

Founded in 1982 by two meat wholesalers, Bristol Farms returned to local management in late 2010 when grocery and wholesale giant SUPERVALU sold it to a team of local managers and West Coast investment firm Endeavour Capital. Bristol Farms operates more than a dozen upscale specialty supermarkets in California's Los Angeles,Orange,and Ventura counties, as well as a single store in San Francisco. Smaller than traditional supermarkets(its stores average about 14,000 sq. ft.),more than two-thirds of the company's sales come from fresh products.The grocery chain, which is known for its gourmet items and seasonable edible gifts,also sells wine and spirits.

J Sainsbury plc operates approximately 872 stores comprising 537 supermarkets and 335 convenience stores; and holds 294 freehold and long leasehold stores, as well as 2 property joint ventures containing 43 supermarkets. In addition, it provides insurance, credit cards, savings products, and loans. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.J Sainsbury plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in retailing, financial services, and property investment businesses in the United Kingdom. The company’s stores offer a range of food, and complementary non-food products and services primarily under the Sainsbury’s brand. It also provides an Internet-based home delivery shopping service.

Dean & DeLuca also offers its goods through consumer and corporate gift catalogs, as well as online. It has operated in Japan since 2003 through a distribution agreement with ITOCHU there. Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca opened their first market in SoHo in 1977.You could go to Manhattan's tony SoHo neighborhood for a taste of Dean & DeLuca, but increasingly, you don't have to. The purveyor of pricey gourmet foods, fine wines, cheeses, baked goods, coffees and teas, and high-end kitchenware operates about 15 specialty markets and cafes in select US cities and is growing rapidly in Japan. The company opened its first cafe in the Middle East, located in Dubai, in 2008 and now has a store in Kuwait.

The consumption structure is changing rapidly with an aging society, a falling birthrate and the rise of other business categories. It is no exaggeration to say that those department stores that are unable to respond to these changes will be shunned by consumers and will go into decline. We are at an existential moment, where the very value of department stores is in question. In this environment, Takashimaya aims to become the leading region-oriented department store, taking advantage of its powerful network of 20 stores nationwide. We are committed to earning the confidence of customers in the communities in which we operate, reflecting regional characteristics in our store operations, while at the same time cherishing features that have been specific to Takashimaya.

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