Pottery Barn, Inc. sells casual home furnishings and accessories, such as sofas, tables, bedding, and tableware, at nearly 200 stores across the US and Canada. Pottery Barn also sells its wares by catalog and online. In 1999 the retailer launched Pottery Barn Kids, which operates retail stores and a separate Web site. Pottery Barn launched another specialty brand in 2003, PBTeen, which sells merchandise through catalogs, a Web site, and stores. Pottery Barn, which has roots that go back to 1949, is owned by home furniture and cookware retailer Williams-Sonoma.

Founded in 1939 by brothers Roger and Bill Slakey, the company became employee-owned in 1990. Slakey Brothers distributes heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and plumbing products through about 30 locations in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, as well as online. The company also operates three retail plumbing showrooms and three distribution centers. Its fleet of about 100 trucks delivers most of its orders within a 200-mile radius. Slakey Brothers offers brands such as 3M, BrassCraft, Honeywell, Kohler, and Nutone to contractors, the government, industrial users, and retailers. Subsidiary The Plumbery is a kitchen and bath retailer with three showrooms.

Kowalski's Markets is struggling to expand while it straps on its leather boxing mitts. The company, which operates about 10 supermarkets in the St. Paul and Minneapolis area of Minnesota, wants to be a heavyweight contender among high-end grocery stores there. However, stiff competition from other grocery chains and discounters have limited Kowalski's share of the Twin Cities market to just under 2%: an eighth-place ranking in the market. Indeed competition led the grocer to close a one-year-old store several years ago. Founded by husband and wife team James and Mary Anne Kowalski as a single supermarket in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1983, the regional grocery chain is still owned and run by the Kowalski family.

Le Chateau has repositioned itself to appeal to trend seekers of no particular age and has begun expanding into secondary markets. Le Chateau, which had hired Genuity Capital Markets in 2006 to explore a possible sale, took itself off the block in 2007. Le Chateau wants its customers to bring down the house with their fashion flair. The firm sells its own brand of clothing in more than 220 contemporary clothing stores in Canada, a handful of shops in the New York City area, and about 10 locations in the Middle East. The retailer sells apparel, footwear, and accessories to fashion-conscious men and women. About 40% of its apparel is made in Canada, allowing Le Chateau Inc. to respond quickly to changing trends.

LAWSON aims to be the "hot station" in the neighborhood for on-the-go Japanese. Japan's #2 convenience store chain (behind Seven-Eleven Japan), LAWSON operates more than 9,800 outlets throughout Japan and in Shanghai, China. Its stores offer original products including main dishes, prepared noodles, bakery and deli items, and rice balls. (Food and groceries account for about 85% of sales.) Subsidiary Lawson Ticket sells concert, sports, and other events tickets in LAWSON and Daiei stores. Lawson ATM dispenses cash to shoppers in about 6,000 LAWSON shops. Subsidiary Ninety-nine Plus sells perishable foods. Founded in 1975 as Daiei Lawson Co., the chain was spun off by financially troubled Daiei in 2000.

Doc's Drugs was founded by Dave Sartoris, who runs the company with his son Tony. After visiting the doc, customers in northeastern Illinois can fill their prescriptions at Doc's Drugs. The regional drugstore chain operates more than15 pharmacies under the Doc's Discount Drugs banner. In addition to dispensing prescription medications, Doc's Drugs sells medical equipment, collectibles, electronics, and toys, as well as offering in-store photo processing. Doc's Drugs also sells more than 100 products online. Doc's Drugs, Ltd. company is remodeling many of its stores to focus on its pharmacy operation, which accounts for 80% of sales. To that end, it is eliminating hardware, liquor, and groceries from its shelves.

Bashas' is an Arizona-based, family-owned and -operated grocery chain known for made-from-scratch bakery items, a full-service butcher shop, fresh local produce and award-winning Chefs Entrees.Brothers Ike and Eddie Basha, Sr. opened the first Bashas' grocery store in 1932. Their mission: provide exceptional service, deliver their personal best, exceed customers' expectations and offer quality products at competitive prices.While much has changed over the years, our mission remains the same. We will always strive to grow and improve our business, but we will never forget who we are and where we came from.Arizona's our backyard, and we have a vested interest in the neighborhoods we serve.With more than 130 stores serving the state's 15 counties, we're proud to be your hometown grocer

Rite Aid Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates retail drugstores in the United States. Rite Aid Corporation company’s drugstores primarily offer pharmacy services. It provides prescription drugs and front end products, which include over-the-counter medications, health and beauty aids, personal care items, cosmetics, household items, beverages, convenience foods, greeting cards, seasonal merchandise, and various other everyday and convenience products, as well as photo processing products. The company sells its products under the Rite Aid brand. It offers its products to customers covered by third party payors, such as insurance companies, prescription benefit management companies, government agencies, private employers or other managed care providers. As of February 27, 2010, Rite Aid Corporation operated 4,780 retail drugstores in 31 states, as well as in the District of Columbia. It has a strategic alliance with GNC to operate GNC stores within Rite Aid stores. Rite Aid Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

The Officers Club wants its customers to feel more like gentlemen, even if they aren't dressed that way. The company is a discount retailer of men's apparel, including such products as jeanswear, jackets, leatherwear, shoes and accessories, and office attire. Operating under the names The Officers Club, Petroleum Casualwear, and Blakes Menswear, the company has about 150 stores around the UK and sells merchandise through its Web site. The Officers Club recently faced allegations of misleading advertising by Britain's Office of Fair Trading. A pared-down version of the chain remains operational after CEO David Charlton purchased the majority of its assets from administrators in early 2009.

Etna Supply was founded in 1965. Unlike the volcano in Sicily that shares its name, Etna Supply spews out water, not fire. The company distributes equipment and supplies for residential and commercial plumbing, hydronic heating, waterworks and sewage facilities, and fire protection. It operates through about 15 locations in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Etna Supply company also offers related services, such as custom pipe flaring and threading, welding, valve and hydrant maintenance, and meter reading. Customers include architects, engineers, contractors, and homeowners.

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