Founded in 1912, furniture retailer Star Furniture operates 10 stores in Texas (seven in Houston and one each in Austin, Bryan, and San Antonio). The regional chain sells bedroom, dining room, living room, and home office furniture, as well as clocks, home entertainment walls, rugs, and more. Brands include Bernhardt, Broyhill, Howard Miller, Natuzzi, Hooker, Kincaid, Serta, Tempur-Pedic, and Thomasville, among others. The company also carries big screen HD televisions in its home theater department, but does not stock other appliances. Star Furniture is owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

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.

Cantoni is a tasteful retailer of modern home furnishings, with five stores in California, Georgia, and Texas. The company also offers residential and commercial staging and planning services. It also operates a warehouse and distribution center in Dallas. Michael Wilkov, Cantoni's president and founder, started the business in 1984 with a single showroom in Dallas, featuring furniture and accessories from around the world. Wilkov is the majority owner.

The Cato Corporation operates as a fashion specialty retailer for fashion and value conscious females principally in the southeastern United States. Its stores offer an assortment of apparel and accessories, including dressy, career, and casual sportswear; dresses; coats; shoes; lingerie; costume jewelry; and handbags. As of January 30, 2010, the Cato Corporation company operated 1,271 women’s fashion specialty stores in 31 states under the Cato, Cato Fashions, Cato Plus, It’s Fashion, and It’s Fashion Metro brand names. The Cato Corporation also provides its own credit card and a layaway plan for customers to purchase its merchandise. The Cato Corporation company was founded in 1946 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Founded in 1932 by Nicola and Pasquale D'Agostino Dahl's Foods regional supermarket chain in still owned and operated by the D'Agostino family.D'Agostino Supermarkets sells food for the body and soul to New York City residents. The company operates nearly 20 grocery stores, mostly in Manhattan but also in Westchester County, New York that feature deli and floral departments, seafood and meat counters, and an ample supply of fresh and organic produce. In addition to name-brand items, the grocer sells everything from ice cream to chips and chickens under its D'Agostino label; it also has developed the Earth Goods product line for environment- and health-conscious shoppers.

Ho-Chunk, Inc. (HCI) the economic development corporation run by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, manages about 18 subsidiaries in the fields of communications, construction, distribution, gasoline and convenience store retail (under the Heritage Express banner in Iowa and Nebraska), government contracting, lodging (The WinnaVegas Inn), marketing, used-vehicle sales, and more. The profits from these businesses are in turn managed by the Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that directs commercial growth and community infrastructure development for the tribe. "Ho-Chunk" is a modernized form of Hochungra, the Winnebago tribe's traditional name.

In 1923 Frank McCoy founded a roofing company, which his son, Emmett, combined with McCoy Supply to form the McCoy Corporation. Today the firm is still family owned and led by CEO Brian McCoy, Emmett's son. Even though it's battling home-improvement giants The Home Depot and Lowe's, McCoy still has time for a day off. The company owns and operates about 80 McCoy's Building Supply Centers, which are concentrated primarily in Texas but also in Arkansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. In keeping with its Texas roots, McCoy's also stocks farm and ranch products, and it runs two millwork facilities. The retailer adheres to a steadfast tradition of closing stores on Sundays.

Grupo Gigante has the tiendas SuperPrecio discount convenience store format and largest retail brand, with more than 180 locations in central and northern Mexico. It also sells furniture at about half a dozen Home Store locations in Mexico and, through a long-term joint venture, Office Depot de Mexico, it offers office supplies at roughly 200 Office Depot stores in Mexico, Columbia, and Central America. Catering largely to families, Gigante runs more than 80 Toks casual dining restaurants and coffee shops. Gigante Grupo Inmobilario is the firm's real estate development arm.

Worsley Operating Corporation (formerly Worsley Companies) operates about 210 convenience stores in North and South Carolina under the Scotchman, Youngs, S&E Food Mart, and Li'l Cricket banners. The stores sell fuel under the BP, Exxon, Shell, Mobil, and Sunoco brands as well as Worsley's own Carolina Petro brand. To fuel the body, many of its convenience stores offer Subway, Quiznos, and Blimpie fast food as well as the firm's own brand of breakfast and lunch items. Worsley also operates two truck stops in North Carolina. The company was founded in 1923 by W. C. Worsley Sr. Worsley Companies was acquired by an affiliate of the private investment firm Sun Capital Partners in 2008.

First Supply has been owned and operated by the Poehling family since it was founded in 1897. Why bother with the second or third, when you can buy through First Supply? With about 25 locations in the upper Midwest, First Supply distributes a large inventory of building, fluid-handling, heating and cooling, plumbing, refrigeration, and waterworks supplies to industrial customers and contractors. Several of the locations feature Gerhards Showrooms, which display kitchen and bath wares from manufacturers such as Delta, Kohler, Moen, and Jacuzzi. First Supply LLC also provides such services as pipe and hydraulic-hose fabrication and valve actuation.

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