AUTOBACS STRAUSS INC. was created in 1982 through the acquisition of Strauss, a New York City auto-parts chain founded in 1919, by R&S Auto. It spent two years under the ownership of Japan's AUTOBACS SEVEN CO. before being sold back to its former owner Glenn Langberg in 2009. If your car conks out in the city that never sleeps you might seek out AUTOBACS STRAUSS (formerly Strauss Discount Auto) for a wake-up call. The auto parts and service chain has about 75 locations in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The stores sell accessories and car-care products, as well as hard parts such as batteries, mufflers, radiators, and spark plugs, tires, and tools. Many locations also offer repair services.

PriceSmart is wise in the ways of members-only club retailing. The retailer runs more than 25 membership stores under the PriceSmart name in about a dozen countries and one US territory in Central America and the Caribbean. It sells low-cost food, pharmacy, and basic consumer items. In each store, nearly half of the merchandise comes from the US, and the other half is sourced locally. In-store services include auto/tire centers, banking, and photo developing. PriceSmart stores are typically smaller than wholesale clubs in the US, averaging about 50,000-75,000 sq. ft., and the membership fees average about $25. PriceSmart was founded in 1976 by father-and-son team Sol and Robert Price.

The Buckle, Inc. operates as a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for young men and women in the continental United States. Its casual apparel products include denims, casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, and outerwear. The Buckle also sells its products online. As of March 23, 2010, it operated 408 retail stores in 41 states under the ‘Buckle’ and ‘The Buckle’ brand names. The Buckle was formerly known as Mills Clothing, Inc. and changed its name to The Buckle, Inc. in April 1991. The Buckle, Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska.

Through its eponymous print catalog and e-commerce site, Dr. Leonard's Healthcare Corp. offers a variety of health products aimed at seniors, along with clothing, collectibles, exercise equipment, home furnishings, housewares, and shoes. It also runs Carol Wright Gifts, an affiliated catalog and online retailer that sells similar merchandise as well as kitchen gadgets, travel items, gardening supplies, and holiday gifts. The company was established in 1979 by Dr. Leonard Feldman, and it operates as a subsidiary of direct marketing giant AmeriMark Holdings.

J. Front Retailing fronts the retail operations of leading Japanese department stores The Daimaru and Matsuzakaya Holdings. The holding company was created by the merger of the two ailing rivals in 2007. The Daimaru, founded as a drapery shop in 1717, operates about 15 upscale shops in western Japan. Matsuzakaya, founded in 1611 as a kimono retailer, runs eight department stores in central Japan, including its flagship location in Nagoya. J. Front's Peacock Stores unit operates some 90 supermarkets in the Chubu, Kansai, and Tokyo districts of Japan. The company's other activities include construction, credit services, direct marketing, furniture making, restaurants, and wholesale textiles.

Founded in 1980, Room & Board operates about a dozen stores in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, and the District of Columbia. The company's furniture collections feature contemporary sofas, chairs, and tables (dining and accent), as well as office, bedroom, and outdoor furniture. Room & Board's Shop From Home operation, which consists of a print catalog and website, is the fastest-growing segment of its business. And despite a slump in furniture sales in the US, the company is expanding.

Sears, Roebuck and Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), is a leading broadline retailer providing merchandise and related services. Sears, Roebuck offers its wide range of home merchandise, apparel and automotive products and services through more than 2,300 Sears-branded and affiliated stores in the United States and Canada, which includes approximately 929 full-line and approximately 1,200 specialty stores in the U.S. Sears, Roebuck also offers a variety of merchandise and services through sears.com, landsend.com, and specialty catalogs. Sears, Roebuck offers consumers leading proprietary brands including Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard and Lands' End -- among the most trusted and preferred brands in the U.S. Sears, Roebuck is the 2010 ENERGY STAR® Retail Partner of the Year. The company is the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 12 million service calls made annually.

Laura Ashley Holdings, once famous for its fancy floral print fashions, Laura Ashley Holdings has turned to furniture, home accessories, and decor (about 78% of sales) to fill the till. Of the company's some 230 UK shops, less than half carry its traditional product line of women's and children's clothing. The company has repositioned itself as a lifestyle brand that is largely home furnishings, as it has shuttered apparel and accessories stores. Also, to efficiently sell off excess inventory, the company opened a few outlet stores and has implemented a selling strategy at its stores to maximize sales per square footage.

Launched in 1993 in the UK, QVC UK's TV announcers reveal and demonstrate everything from fluffy toys and collectors' knives to jewelry and fashion. About 15,000 products come from such manufacturers as Panasonic, Hush Puppies, Canon, Birkenstock, and Samsung reaching most homes receiving cable, direct broadcast, or satellite programming throughout England, Ireland, and Scotland. The company is the UK arm of QVC, Inc., part of Liberty Media's Liberty Interactive Group. "Quality, value, and convenience," better known as QVC, the Shopping Channel, is famous for its diversity of weird and wonderful objects sold by presenters such as Simon Biagi and and Alison Keenan, over both the telly and the Internet.

DBL is all about B2B PDQ. The distribution company delivers consumer electronics from warehouses in Pennsylvania and California to retailers nationwide. Its inventory includes more than 17,000 consumer electronics products from batteries to GPS devices to video games from Audio Technica, Plantronics, Garmin, Canon, Hitachi, and others. DBL specializes is serving Internet retailers who need a broad selection but don't often have large warehouse space. Its fulfillment services include special bundling and labeling and custom packaging and insert options. The firm also offers database marketing, inventory management, and order tracking. Ingram Micro owns DBL, operating it under its Consumer Electronics Division.

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