What's next in style is what concerns NEXT. NEXT plc sells moderately priced clothing for men, women, and children; housewares; and furniture through about 515 stores (including some 25 stand-alone NEXT Home stores) in the UK and Ireland. It also franchises 180-plus stores elsewhere in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and Turkey. NEXT targets customers in their 20s and 30s who are looking for stylish but affordable clothes to take them through the next fashion cycle. Sales comes from its retail stores, its NEXT Directory catalog and website, and Ventura, a division which provides call center and customer support services

Bevo is the largest supplier of propagated plants in North America, providing greenhouses, field farms, nurseries, and wholesalers across the continent with healthy, vigorous, pest-and-disease-free plants. Plant propagation is a system under which seedlings are nurtured to the ideal level of development for finished growth in greenhouses. Each seedling is cultivated in a specific controlled temperature, nutrient, fertilizer, light and moisture environment to ensure the highest quality plant. Bevo's main products are vegetable plants such as tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and cucumbers, along with other plants such as bedding plants, flowers, trees, berries, and grasses. Bevo markets its products to established greenhouse growers, farms and nurseries throughout North America. Since incorporation in 1989, planned expansions have grown the Bevo propagation greenhouses in Langley, BC to the present 34 acres. As greenhouse growth and consumer demand for quality products continues so does the requirement for new vegetable, flower and other plants. The use of greenhouses to grow vegetables and flowering plants continues to increase.

With two locations, Gallery Furniture has evolved into a leading regional furniture retailer, accounting for about 20% of Houston's market share. Gallery Furniture also ranks as one of the nation's top sellers in terms of sales per square foot. In addition to mattresses (Simmons Beautyrest and Tempur-Pedic brands), it sells bedroom, dining room, home office, and living room furniture. The firm was founded in 1981. A fire in May 2009 destroyed its 100,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and damaged its North Freeway showroom.

1800Mattress.com offers mattresses from Sealy, Serta, Simmons, King Koil, and Tempur-Pedic, as well as its own private-label brand. Customers can order over the phone or on the Internet, 24 hours a day. Those who prefer to feel the merchandise before buying, however, can visit 1800Mattress.com's more than 100 showrooms in California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. It also ships products throughout the US and internationally. Founded in 1976, the company was originally named Dial-A-Mattress. In 2009 rival retailer Sleepy's acquired 1800Mattress.com out of bankruptcy for $25 million.

Lund Food Holdings has been adding pharmacies to many of its stores. The grocer also operates an online shopping and home delivery service.Lund Food Holdings operates about 20 Lunds and Byerly's upscale grocery markets in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The company took its present form in 1997 with the merger of Lunds and Byerly's. Both chains specialize in gourmet, high-quality foods, with locations offering artisan breads, bakeries, a line of organic foods and natural products, wine stores, florists, catering services, housewares, cooking demos, and community meeting rooms. Byerly's also runs a culinary school out of one of its stores. Through a partnership with Minnetonka-based PrairieStone Pharmacy.

While navigating the world of online storefronts, Hayneedle hopes to help its customers find a needle in all those virtual haystacks. Among the company's more than 220 Internet shopping domains are AdirondackChairs.com, Barstools.com, Hammocks.com, and PatioFurnitureUSA.com. Although an individual specialty store's scope of merchandise may be narrow, Hayneedle's ownership of multiple domains allows it to offer a vast range goods. Its products include home and patio furniture, kitchen appliances, outdoor decor, sporting goods, and toys and games. Hayneedle (formerly named NetShops) was formed in 2002 after its founders saw success with Hammocks.com. It is held by Sequioa Capital and Insight Venture Partners.

ACO Hardware, Inc. Founded in 1946 by Ted Traskos and his four brothers, ACO Hardware is still owned by the Traskos family. ACO Hardware can provide both the food and the supplies if you want to get your floor clean enough to eat off. The company's outlets sell automotive supplies, electrical goods, food and beverages, hardware, housewares, paint, lawn and garden necessities, patio furniture, and tools. It also rents equipment for carpet cleaning, plumbing, and home maintenance. ACO Hardware operates about 70 stores in southeastern Michigan, primarily in the Detroit area. Customers can view weekly specials and find hardware tips on the company's Web site.

Multiyork Furniture manufactures and markets custom-made contemporary home furnishings, including sofas (leather, upholstered, and sleepers), chairs, cabinets, and other living and dining room furniture pieces. Its mid- to upper-level products are sold through more than 60 stores across Great Britain. Multiyork Furniture has moved to the front of the UK home furnishings industry since its founding in 1978. Initially operating one store and workshop, the company was acquired by Wade Furniture Group in 1995, and CEO Peter Mallinson, former merchandise manager at Selfridges, was tapped to turn around the struggling firm.

Empire is also party to a joint venture with oil and gas properties in Alberta. Controlled by the Sobey family, Empire also develops and manages commercial and, to a lesser extent, residential real estate.Decline and fall? Not for this Empire of supermarkets, food distribution, movie theaters, and real estate. Empire Company owns Sobeys, Canada's #2 grocery chain (after Loblaw). Sobeys runs some 1,335 food and drug stores across Canada under names such as Sobeys, IGA, Foodland, Price Chopper, and Lawton's Drug; it distributes food to its company-owned stores and other retailers. Wholly-owned Empire Theatres operates about 50 theaters (380 screens) in eight provinces and is the #2 movie exhibitor in Canada.

Operating in the Pacific Northwest since the 1950s, the company was acquired by W. W. Monroe in 1974. Through more than 20 locations in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, Thermal Supply has built a business distributing air-conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment, parts, and accessories. The company, which grew from a mere three locations over the years, specializes in supplying products from Copeland, Larkin, Manitowoc, Mitsubishi, Sporlan, and other manufacturers.

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