B&G was founded in 1944 by Charlie Bartle and Cecil Gibson. Bartle & Gibson (B&G) sounds like a classical guitar duet; though it's not, it does bring a certain harmony to the lives of its customers. Catering primarily to residential contractors, B&G is a leading independent wholesaler of plumbing, heating, electrical, and irrigation supplies in Canada. Bartle & Gibson Co. Ltd. operates about 30 branches in British Columbia, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories, offering such major brands as 3M, Bemis, Honeywell, Klein Tools, and OSRAM SYLVANIA. It is served by two distribution centers.

Champion Window Manufacturing is looking for a home-improvement boom as its window of opportunity. The company makes custom-built, vinyl-framed replacement windows and doors and sells them directly to homeowners through about 75 sales and installation offices in some 30 states. It also manufactures patio rooms, porch enclosures, and vinyl siding; remodels basements; and sells patio furniture made by third-party vendors. Champion Window, founded in 1953 by Alvin Levine and Arthur Stevens as a maker of aluminum storm windows, doors, and awnings, was owned by former executives Edward Levine (son of Alvin) and Bernard Barbash until mid-2007, when a private-equity investor gained control of day-to-day operations.

Fresh Encounter was founded in 1995 by Mike Needler when he purchased CWC Companies from his father-in-law. Today, the business is owned and run by the Needler family.They aren't offering encounters of the third kind, but they can help you out with a carton of milk and a loaf of bread. Fresh Encounter operates 30-plus supermarkets in Ohio and eastern Indiana under the Community Markets, Fulmer Community Markets, Great Scot Community Markets, and Sack 'N Save Supermarket banners. To better compete with larger national chains, such as Kroger and Wal-Mart, Fresh Encounter's stores emphasize personalized service, 10 for $10 items specials, fresh-cut meat, community involvement, and private label products.

MPS Builders and Merchants Ltd. company was founded in 1995 by officers Iain Melvin, Dale Potts, and Martyn and Erica Smith. MPS is really into hitting the bricks-- and other heavy building construction supplies. Through three depots in England, MPS is a merchant distributor of bricks, concrete products, ducting, grates and manhole covers, pipes and plumbing supplies, septic tanks, walls, and other building materials. Customers include civil-engineering firms, groundwork contractors, and residential and commercial builders. Deals include nationwide (UK) delivery of goods.

Metro as a brand was founded in 1957 by its chairman, Mr Ong Tjoe Kim.Retail business under the stewardship of the late Mr Ong flourished and grew to become one of Singapore’s major department store chains. Metro Holdings Limited was formed in 1973 and listed on the Stock Exchange of Singapore that same year. Metro continued to grow its retail business over the years and later diversified into property development, leisure, construction sectors.

Grupo Salinas is the group of companies owned by Ricardo B. Salinas, one of Mexico's wealthiest citizens. While not a holding company, Grupo Salinas has interests in financial services, media, retail, and telecommunications -- a few of which are listed on Mexico's stock exchange. It has controlling interests in the nation's #2 network, TV Azteca, cellular service provider Iusacell, and electronics retaler Grupo Elektra. Motorcycle manufacturer Italika launched production in 2005 and is Mexico's top seller, producing 300,000 bikes per year. Grupo Elektra's financial service firms, Banco Azteca, Seguros Azteca, and Afore Azteca, serve low-income families in Mexico, Brazil, and Peru.

Bergdorf Goodman has been doing business at its prime location since 1901. Ladies who lunch love to shop at Bergdorf Goodman, a Fifth Avenue purveyor of luxury women's apparel, handbags, precious and designer jewelry, makeup, perfume, shoes, and tableware, as well as men's accessories, by designer labels such as Chloe, Giorgio Armani, and Marc Jacobs. Owned by the upscale department store operator Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman operates two opulent stores across from each other on 58th Street in Manhattan, that ring up about 13% of Neiman's total revenue. The smaller store, which opened in 1991, is devoted exclusively to men. The elite retailer also sells via a catalog and a website.

Founder and president Bill Meadows began his business in the mid-1960s by growing produce and selling it on roadsides. He incorporated Meadow Farms as a nursery in 1974 and discontinued his produce business. Meadows Farms can help turn your lawn into something more like a meadow, if that's what you want. The company operates about two dozen nurseries in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The nurseries sell plants, garden tools and accessories, gifts, housewares, seeds, soils, and other garden related merchandise. The company also offers landscaping and ground maintenance services. Meadows Farms also includes the Meadows Farms Golf Course, which features the Longest Hole in the US at 841 yards.

Founded in 1971 with a modest 800-sq.-ft. home furnishings showroom, City Furniture sells furniture, mattresses, rugs, and accessories through about 15 showrooms across the state of Florida (in Broward, Martin, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties). Half of the company's products are made in the US. Alongside countless others in its industry, City Furniture obtains 75% of its imported furniture from China; the balance comes from Vietnam and Indonesia. Its marketing in South Florida has the company exporting its products to the Caribbean and Latin America, as well.

Founded by William Pike in 1958, Pike Nurseries, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2007, blaming the worst drought in Georgia in a century, and put itself up for sale. After closing some of its nurseries, Pike's retail operation was sold to California-based Armstrong Garden Centers (AGC) for $5.2 million in a bankruptcy auction in March 2008. Pike's wholesale businesses were also sold off. Pike Nurseries helps keep thumbs green across Atlanta. Pike Nurseries, Inc. runs about 15 Pike Family Nurseries in the Atlanta area and a single nursery in North Carolina (down from about 20 locations in 2007). Stores sell plants, chemicals, tools, shrubs, trees, and garden furniture.

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