Chairman and owner Bruce Halle founded Discount Tire in 1960 with six tires -- four of them recaps. Concerned about that upcoming "re-tire-ment"? Discount Tire, one of the largest independent tire dealers in the US, can provide several options. With more than 780 company-owned stores in 20-plus states, the company sells such leading tire brands as Michelin, Goodyear, and Uniroyal, as well as wheels from Enkei, Konig, and TSW. Discount Tire operates mostly in the West, Midwest, Southwest, and Southeast. Some of its California stores operate as America's Tire Co. because of a naming conflict. Customers can search for tires by make and model on the company's website.

Hampton Lumber Sales (HLS) is the sales division of privately held Hampton Affiliates. The division sells dimensional lumber, stud lumber, industrial lumber and clears, panel products, and engineered wood products. HLS sells more than a billion board ft. of Hampton's mill products and another billion ft. of outside-mill products. It ships products by unit, container, railcar (utilizing Hampton's private fleet of center beam railcars), or truckload to serve its wholesale customers. Additionally, the unit offers reload services from centers in California, Oregon, and Washington. Formed in 1950, HLS has grown to be one of the largest forest products wholesalers in the nation.

Some people may not like to eat Atomic Spears, but these guys think it is all A Matter of Taste. The company sells specialty food products, such as Atomic Spears (pickles) and Atomic Shrooms (mushrooms), Glow Babies (pickled carrots), P.B. Loco (flavored peanut butter), and cheddar beer soup. A Matter of Taste also peddles quilts and assorted commemorative figurines. While A Matter of Taste Inc. sells its products from its Web site, it also operates a single retail store in Washington.

Shoppers in Western Canada in search of everything from cough syrup to computers shop London Drugs. London Drugs Limited company is one of Canada's leading pharmacy chains with 70-plus shops in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. London Drugs sells a mix of traditional drugstore products, as well as general merchandise, and computer and home entertainment equipment from large stores (average size 34,000 sq. ft.). Bucking the trend among Canadian pharmacy operators to grow by acquisition, London Drugs is expanding by building new stores and adding new services, such as in-store postal outlets. Chairman Brandt Louie owns London Drugs through family-owned H.Y. Louie Co.

Outlet mall capital Reading, Pennsylvania, has conceived more than bargain shopping. It's given us Boscov's Department Store, which operates about 40 stores (down from 50 in 2007) that anchor malls mainly in Pennsylvania and four other mid-Atlantic states. The stores sell men's, women's, and children's apparel, shoes, and accessories, as well as jewelry, cosmetics, housewares, appliances, and sporting goods. It also operates an online store. After expanding too rapidly amid a worsening outlook for department stores, Boscov's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008 and was later purchased by a group led by its chairman and CEO Albert Boscov. Boscov's was founded by Solomon Boscov in 1911.

The Gymboree Corporation is a specialty retailer operating stores selling high-quality apparel and accessories for children under the Gymboree, Gymboree Outlet, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8 brands, as well as play programs for children under the Gymboree Play and Music brand. The Gymboree Corporation's history begins with the founding of Gymboree Play & Music in 1976, making it one of the oldest companies in its field. The appeal of the Gymboree brand was so broad that in 1986 Gymboree entered the apparel business—designing, manufacturing and retailing unique, high-quality merchandise for children ages newborn to nine.

White Flower Farm, founded in 1950, is owned by CEO Eliot Wadsworth who purchased it from founder William Harris in 1976. Harris and his wife Jane Grant, both successful journalists before taking the gardening path, founded the nursery. White Flower Farms has a lot of colors on its palette. Through catalogs and its Web site, White Flower Farm sells a wide range of annuals, bulbs, houseplants, perennials, shrubs and vines, and vegetables that it grows in its own nursery. White Flower Farm, Inc. also offers tools, gifts, garden accessories, and tips for making the garden grow. A retail store at the nursery is open from April to October. White Flower Farm, Inc. maintains five acres of display gardens open to the public.

Headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, FleetPride is the nation’s largest independent distributor of heavy-duty truck and trailer replacement parts, with over 190 branches spanning the country. FleetPride also sponsors a nationwide network of over 200 repair and maintenance facilities known as FleetCare Truck Service Centers. We employ over 2,300 experienced parts and service professionals across all of our business disciplines.Formed in 1999, FleetPride has earned a solid and loyal customer base across several markets by providing outstanding customer service and real value. Our customers include fleets and operators from large corporations, local businesses and municipalities. We serve many industries such as freight, shipping, leasing services, agricultural, food and beverage, construction, waste management and many others.

FJ Benjamin additionally controls an expanding roster of upscale pubs and sports bars in Singapore and Indonesia. Guess? what? FJ Benjamin brings 20-plus upscale western brands to Southeast Asia and Australia. The company operates about 185 retail outlets and distributes fashion apparel in eight Asia Pacific cities. (The company began opening Gap stores in Singapore and Malaysia in 2006.) With brands like Guess?, Valentino, Gap, La Senza, and house label RAOUL, FJ Benjamin derives two-thirds its turnover from the retailing and distribution of fashion products. The balance of its business lies in the distribution of timepieces, with Guess?, Girard-Perregaux, Nautica, and Marc Ecko boosting sales.

Focus (DIY) Limited company is owned by US investment firm Cerberus Capital Management. Focus (DIY) Limited has its sights fixed on weekend warriors. The company markets a range of products for do-it-yourselfers engaged in light home improvement and gardening projects, including power tools, hardware, appliances, decking and flooring, contemporary home and patio furniture, garden buildings, and plants and seeds. Focus sells its merchandise through about 180 stores in the UK and Ireland, as well as through its Web site. The site also offers guides, price lists, and calculators for DIY projects.

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