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.

Bi-Mart Corporation retailer operates about 70 general merchandise membership stores throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.(About 20 are in the Portland area.) Just $5 buys a lifetime membership to the deep-discount chain, which has enrolled more than 1 million members to date. Stores offer automotive departments, clothing and shoes, food and alcohol, housewares, full-service pharmacies, and photo departments, with a focus on national brands. A pioneer in membership-based retail, Bi-Mart was started in 1955 by a group of investors in Yakima, Washington. The firm was bought by CEO Marty Smith and other senior managers from Rite Aid Corp. in 1997. Today, the company is employee-owned.

Loblaw is also Canada's largest wholesale food distributor. Loblaw Companies is a subsidiary of Canada's George Weston.When grocery shopping in Canada, it's hard to escape the long arm of Loblaw. Loblaw Companies Ltd. is the market share leader among Canadian supermarket operators. Its corporate, franchised, and affiliated banners (22 in all) fly over more than 1,440 stores nationwide. Trade names include Loblaws, Atlantic SaveEasy, Extra Foods, Fortinos, No Frills, Provigo, Your Independent Grocer, T&T, and Zehrs Markets, to name a few. Its stores offer more than 8,000 private-label products, including its signature President's Choice brand, as well as traditional and organic grocery fare

Orgill, Inc. is the nation’s largest independently owned hardlines distributor providing retailers across the United States and in more than 60 countries throughout the world access to more than 60,000 products and industry-leading retail services. Over the past decade Orgill, a privately held company based in Memphis, TN., has emerged as the fastest growing hardlines distributor in the United States. Orgill’s market-focused approach to distribution has earned the company a reputation of unsurpassed customer service. Through its mix of sophisticated marketing programs, low-cost distribution services, highly flexible programs and a corporate dedication to support the uniqueness of individual retailers, Orgill has emerged as a viable alternative to the industry’s co-operatives. With five domestic distribution centers and three export consolidation facilities, Orgill, Inc. distributes hardware and home improvement products to hardware, home improvement and building material retailers of all types and sizes.

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.

Established in 1932, Beard Hardwoods is one of America's leading hardwood lumber manufactures. The home office is in Greensboro, North Carolina. For over 75 years, Beard Hardwoods has devoted itself to delivering the highest possible quality and personal service. This long tradition of quality and service continues into this new era, whether customers are next door, or on the other side of the globe. Beard Hardwoods dry kilns, sales office, and export facility is located on U.S. Highways I-85 and I-40 and is within a few hours delivery time to the ports of Wilmington, NC, Norfolk, VA, and Charleston, SC.

Industria de Diseno Textil (Inditex) makes disposable chic fashions that are here today and gone tomorrow. The Spanish designer-cum-retailer uses technology and an armada of designers to master cheap chic. Inditex sells on a global scale, with some 4,430 shops in 75-plus countries under eight different banners: Zara, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Zara Home, and Uterque. Located mostly in Europe, the firm's stores answer to popular trends by telling designers in Spain what customers are asking for locally. Inditex responds in about two weeks with new designs. Amancio Ortega Gaona, Spain's wealthiest businessman, founded Zara in 1975 and later created Inditex as a holding company.

What do adventurers Ted Baker and J. Peterman have in common? They're both charming, slick, stylish (of course), and sheer fabrications of marketing. British clothier Ted Baker is the official outfitter of trendy lads in the UK. For men on the go, Ted makes a wrinkle-proof suit, an anti-bacterial shirt, and a bed-in-a-box linen set whose pillows contain a special condom pocket. For the birds and the nippers, there are Ted Baker Woman, Teddy Boy, and Teddy Girl. Accessories include skinwear, fragrances, eyewear, and watches. Ted has about 70 retail shops located in the UK and internationally; "his" clothes can also be found in about 125 other stores. CEO Raymond Kelvin owns about 40% of Ted Baker.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the world's largest luxury goods company, with brands that are bywords for the good life and everything showy. LVMH makes wines and spirits (Dom Perignon, Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, and Hennessy), perfumes (Christian Dior, Guerlain, and Givenchy), cosmetics (Bliss, Fresh, and BeneFit), fashion and leather goods (Donna Karan, Givenchy, Kenzo, and Louis Vuitton), and watches and jewelry (TAG Heuer, Ebel, Chaumet, and Fred). LVMH's selective retail division includes Sephora cosmetics stores, Le Bon Marche Paris department stores, and 61% of DFS Group (duty-free shops). Chairman Bernard Arnault and his family, through Groupe Arnault, own about 47% of LVMH.

In 1936 F.A. Bailey signed a franchise agreement with Carrier Corporation, forming F.A. Bailey and Sons which lasted more than five decades as a successful Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning contracting company, headquartered in Charleston, SC. The Climatic Corporation emerged from that contracting business in 1956 to become the independent distributor of air conditioning equipment and parts in South Carolina. For the next 45 years that business exploded and the corporation began to add other distribution lines, such as electronics, appliances, real estate development and consulting services to their portfolio. With the success of each venture, The Climatic Corporation added locations, warehouses, customer service teams, sales teams, operations positions, etc. but continued to run a lean, efficient organization that allowed for personal relationships and a team effort. We grew with our customers, not beyond them. Today, The Climatic Corporation enjoys a solid business model with programs, plans and alliances that support and leverage the success of our partners even in an uncertain environment. We look forward to a future of continued growth and many new successes for our corporation and for our business partners.

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