The Gap, Inc. operates as a specialty retailing company. The company offers clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, children, and babies under the Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, and Athleta brand names. Its products include wardrobe basics, such as denim, khakis, and T-shirts; fashion apparel; casual apparel and accessories; maternity apparel; women’s underwear, sleepwear, loungewear, and sports and active apparel; and shoes and accessories. The company also franchises agreements with unaffiliated franchisees to operate Gap and Banana Republic stores worldwide. As of March 24, 2010, it operated approximately 3,100 stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan, and Ireland. The Gap also offers its products through catalogs, as well as gap.com, bananarepublic.com, oldnavy.com, piperlime.com, and athleta.com Web sites. The Gap, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Lehman Hardware & Appliances has all you need to live life unplugged. The company sells appliances and other items, such as toys and tools, which require little or no electricity. It has long served the Amish at its store in Kidron, Ohio, but the company also fills orders through a toll-free number and its Web site, and sells many Amish-made items. Lehman Hardware's traditional products include grain mills, oil lamps, treadle sewing machines, wagons, wood ovens, and weathervanes. It also sells equipment to harness solar energy as well as efficient electric appliances. National anxiety about terrorism has benefited Lehman Hardware's sales. Owner and retired president Jay Lehman founded Lehman Hardware and Appliances, Inc. in 1955.

Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. Nordstrom company offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. It sells its products through various channels, including ‘Nordstrom’ full-line stores, ‘Nordstrom Rack’ off-price stores, ‘Last Chance’ clearance stores, and ‘Jeffrey’ boutiques; and through catalog and the Internet. Nordstrom, Inc. also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. Its credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. Nordstrom company also designs and contracts to manufacture private label merchandise sold in its retail stores. As of March 19, 2010, it had 187 retail stores located in 28 states. Nordstrom, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Charming Shoppes, Inc. operates as a specialty apparel retailer primarily for women in the United States. Charming Shoppes, Inc. operates retail stores and related e-commerce Web sites under the LANE BRYANT, LANE BRYANT OUTLET, FASHION BUG, and CATHERINES PLUS SIZES names. Its retail stores offer plus-size, misses, sportswear, dresses, coats, and intimate apparel, as well as accessories and casual footwear. Charming Shoppes, Inc. also sells food and specialty gifts through its FIGI’S catalog and related e-commerce Web site. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 2,121 retail stores. Charming Shoppes, Inc. was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.

Bernecker's Nursery, Inc. was founded in the 1960s by Leo Bernecker. Bernecker's Nursery has it made in the shade. Bernecker's Nursery raises and distributes shade-acclimated Chamaedorea Seifrizii palms and other tropical indoor plants. The company nurtures the Chamaedorea Seifrizii, which has reed-like stems and feathery fronds, to thrive in either artificial or natural light. Other indoor tropical plants available from Bernecker's are aglaonemas, dracaenas, ficus, rhapis, and spathiphyllums. Customers include interiorscapers and nurseries in the US, Canada, Latin America, and other areas.

Specsavers was founded in 1984 as the first company to offer half ownership to resident opticians. Specsavers Optical Group is focused on serving squinters on a budget. The company, famous for its ongoing two-for-one offering, specializes in affordable eyecare. Through its 1,300 Specsavers stores in Europe and Australia, consumers can receive eye exams, as well as buy glasses and contact lenses. The company makes more than 2,000 styles of glasses at its three UK factories. Specsavers also sells contact lenses online; it is Europe's largest contact lens home-deliverer. Through its hearing care business, Specsavers Hearcare Group, the company offers hearing tests and sells hearing aids at Specsavers locations.

Fry's Food and Drug Stores is owned by The Kroger Co., the 1 pure grocery chain in the US.Fry's Food and Drug Stores operates about 100 supermarkets under the Fry's Food & Drug banner, mostly in Phoenix but also in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to traditional supermarket fare, many Fry's stores have in-store pharmacies, and a third of its supermarkets offer full-service banking in partnership with Bank One. Fry's also operates about 20 Fry's Marketplace stores, large (up to 120,000 sq. ft.) multi-department stores that offer full-service grocery and pharmacy departments, as well as expanded general merchandise, electronics, home goods, and toy sections.

It was M.O. Lee - then president of VF Corporation - who suggested holding a public sale one Saturday morning to clear out excess inventory of Berkshire International. That day, the merchandise completely sold out, even though the only advertising had been word of mouth. The store was so busy that even Lee bagged merchandise and manned the cash register. “You could see his mind working,” said John Jackson, merchandise manager of Intimate Apparel at the time. “He was thinking he could make the store bigger. We just had a drop cloth on the back wall, and we kept moving it back.”Pleased and surprised at the success of the sale, Lee scheduled a bigger one for two weeks later, with merchandise brought in from other VF sources. That sale was even more successful, and the VF Outlet business was launched. Selling Berkshire and Vanity Fair surplus products, the factory store was 5,000 square feet, with only a drop cloth separating it from the manufacturing facility. VF Corporation - which opened the store in 1970 - was one of the earliest outlet operators, and opened the first outlet center in the country, in Reading, Pennsylvania.

In the UK and Ireland, some of the best known and respected companies are part of Saint-Gobain. Together these businesses offer an unrivalled range of products and innovative material solutions that give architects and designers the ability to respond to the latest trends, whilst meeting the most exacting performance and legislative standards. Saint-Gobain’s businesses form a robust, integrated supply chain partner that has the strength and flexibility to support the most diverse range of customer requirements. This adds up to a unique capability that can support everything from the biggest landmark projects, such as the Emirates Stadium and Fort Dunlop, to ongoing repair and maintenance programmes. As well as fast, efficient access to a comprehensive range of products, we can provide specialist technical expertise and resources. From product specification and design, to fabrication and delivery to site or production line, we are committed to working closely with our customers to help them get the most out of our products and services.

Founded by the husband-and-wife team Tom and Gun Denhart in 1983, it sells its premium apparel -- as well as backpacks, baby toys and gifts -- online, by catalog, and more than 25 retail and outlet stores throughout the US. Unhappy with the cotton apparel available after their son's birth, the Denharts started their own mail-order business and named it after Gun's grandmother: Hanna Andersson. The apparel company is owned by Sun Capital Partners (SCP). Hanna Andersson brings a whole new meaning to the concept of having your own MiniMe. The Swedish-inspired firm makes and sells colorful 100% cotton and organic cotton clothing and sleepwear for the whole family, specializing in mother-daughter ensembles.

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