Big Y Foods began as a 900-sq.-ft. grocery at a Y intersection in Chicopee,Massachusetts.It now operates some 60 supermarkets throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut. Most of its stores are Big Y World Class Markets,offering specialty areas such as bakeries and floral shops, as well as banking.The rest consist of Big Y Supermarkets and a single gourmet food and liquor store called Table & Vine in Springfield,Massachusetts.Some Big Y stores provide child care, dry cleaning, photo processing, and even propane sales,and their delis and food courts offer to-go foods.Big Y is owned and run by the D'Amour family and is one of New England's largest independent supermarket chains.

Mattress Holding Corp. operates some 530 company-owned and franchised Mattress Firm stores in about 20 states. The company sells conventional (Sealy, Simmons) and specialty (Tempur-Pedic, Sleep Number) mattresses, bed frames, and other bedding accessories, and is the #1 seller of Sealy mattresses in the country. From its humble beginning in 1986 when three friends pooled their resources to purchase a downtrodden spot in a Houston strip center, the Mattress Firm chain has grown into a leading US bedding retailer. The company was acquired in 2007 by investment firm J.W. Childs Associates (JWC).

Founded in 1943, BMD employee owned. California's many immigrants might feel a bit more at home thanks to BMD Building Materials Distributors. The company imports building materials from around the world and distributes them to lumberyards, building material dealers, home improvement chains, and window and door specialty retailers, primarily in California, Colorado, and other western states. It also exports building materials throughout the world. Products include cabinets, construction tools, countertops, housewrap and insulation, millwork, roofing, siding, and stairs. BMD offers inventory management, logistics, and warehousing services and operates a dozen distribution centers in the US and western Canada.

Times certainly have changed since H.D. Snell opened his first store in Sayre, Oklahoma, back in 1916. There are 50 stores now under three distinct brands: United Supermarkets, Market Street and Amigos United. Almost 1 million guests shop those stores every week in 30 cities all across west and north Texas.And, while you'll notice some differences from one store to the next, one thing is always the same: United Supermarkets still embodies the philosophy of its founder - quality, value, guest service and community involvement. We believe our growth and success are tied to our unwavering commitment to service - to our guests, team members and communities. The United "spirit" flourishes in the attitudes and enthusiasm of our 10,000 plus team members, who keep alive H.D. Snell's principles of honest pricing, quality and freshness, outstanding selection, uncompromising integrity, unparalleled guest service and community involvement.

GN Hello Direct, Inc. was acquired in 2000 by GN Netcom, a Denmark-based maker of hands-free telecom equipment. Ah, the poetic justice GN Hello Direct delivers. The company sells telephones and accessories (including headsets and amplifiers) to small and midsized businesses and the very telemarketers who ring you just when dinner is served. It also sells the phones that screen those annoying telemarketer calls, as well as recording, distance-conferencing, mobile navigation, and VoIP products. More than 50 major brands are represented in the firm's inventory, including AT&T, Panasonic, and Motorola, plus its own Hello Direct and GN Netcom labels. Products are sold through GN Hello Direct's catalog and website.

eXpansys UK Limited began trading on the London-based AIM exchange in 2007. Though the universe may be in constant expansion, eXpansys believes one's collection of gadgets should also be in a state of constant growth. eXpansys UK Limited is an online retailer of wireless technology (PDAs, mobile and wireless phones, iPods, MP3 players, laptop computers). The company has distribution centers in Australia, France, Germany, and the US; its products are sold worldwide through retail divisions in more than 20 countries. eXpansys investors have included 3i Group, Elderstreet Downing, Elderstreet Investments, Triven, and The Wireless Warehouse.

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.

C&A targets budget-conscious shoppers from Sao Paulo to Shanghai and all points in between. The company sells moderately priced apparel for men, women, and children through more than 1,600 stores in Brazil, Mexico, China, and about 20 European countries (where the majority of its network is concentrated), as well as online. Its portfolio of a dozen in-house brands include Clockhouse, Westbury, and Your Sixth Sense. The Brenninkmeijer family owns the company through Switzerland-based COFRA Holding. Brenninkmeijer men hold nearly all the top positions within the business, which traces its roots back to 1841, when the brothers Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer opened a textile warehouse in the Netherlands.

Food Emporium offers free delivery with $50 purchases (with some restrictions). The Food Emporium's store count has slipped as its stores in New York State and Connecticut have been converted to other A&P banners.The Food Emporium operates about 15 upscale supermarkets in densely-populated Manhattan and a store in Connecticut. A division of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2010, Food Emporium stores are small (8,000 to 17,000 square feet). The grocery chain also operates an online shopping service (www.thefoodemporium.com), offering pick up and home delivery service to shoppers in 33 ZIP codes in Manhattan, where it competes with Internet grocer FreshDirect

Fred's, Inc. and its subsidiaries sell general merchandise through retail discount stores and pharmacies in the southeastern United States. It offers pharmaceuticals, household goods, food and tobacco products, apparel and linens, health and beauty aids, household cleaning supplies, disposable diapers, pet foods, paper products, and various beverage products principally to low, middle, and fixed income families. The company also sells general merchandise to franchised Fred's stores. As of April 3, 2010, it operated 669 discount general merchandise stores, including 24 franchised stores. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.

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