R.C. Willey Home Furnishings drives traffic by giving away some 600,000 hot dogs a year at about a dozen stores in California, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. Despite Sunday store closures and operations in only four states, R.C. Willey is one of the nation's largest furniture retailers. Its offerings include furniture (La-Z-Boy, Flexsteel), appliances (GE, Maytag), electronics (Sony, Panasonic), and flooring. The firm also sells mattresses (Serta, Spring Air, Simmons). In 1932 Rufus Call (R.C.) Willey sold appliances door-to-door; today the company he founded is run by his son-in-law, chairman Bill Child, and grandsons. Berkshire Hathaway purchased the company in 1995.

Temperature Equipment Corporation has been selling Carrier equipment for over 70 years. TEC, started in 1935, is Carrier's third oldest independent distributor and one of Carrier's top performing distributors. TEC provides all HVAC needs from residential to commercial to industrial including equipment, controls, parts and supplies. TEC sells all Carrier brands, including Bryant, Payne, and Racan. TEC also sells complementary equipment and accessories. Headquartered in Lansing, IL, TEC's distribution territory covers all of Chicagoland, southwest Michigan and Northwest Indiana with locations East to South Bend, IN and Northwest to Rockford, IL. TEC serves its customers from 16 locations. In addition to its HVAC business, TEC-Properties leases office and warehouse space to a variety of tenants.

English Gardens Group, Inc. was founded in 1954 by the family of president John Darin and GM of the Troy store, Dean Darin. English Gardens helps the Motor City stay green. The company operates about 10 nurseries in the Detroit area and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Each location includes a nursery, garden center and pharmacy, florist, patio shop, and seasonal items. Stores also host seminars on planting, garden design, lawn care, and flower arrangement creation, among other topics. In addition to its products, English Gardens offers services such as landscape design and maintenance, holiday decorating, custom potting, and delivery.

William Sinclair Holdings took hold in UK gardens more than 120 years ago when it was founded by William Sinclair. The company makes gardening products for commercial and home use, exfoliated vermiculite, and expanded perlite (products that are used in different forms of insulation). Brands include J Arthur Bower's, Silvaperl, and New Horizon. The firm exports horticultural products to more than 50 countries. Over the last few years, the company has pared down its operations and is focusing on innovating recycled green products for both industrial and horticultural clients. Its products are sold through wholesalers, catalogs, and the company's Web site.

Mailing more than 180 million catalogs a year, Hanover Direct sells home fashions (The Company Store, Domestications), as well as men's and women's apparel (International Male, Silhouettes, and Undergear). Each catalog has a corresponding e-commerce site. In addition to its own websites, Hanover Direct also sells its products through affiliated third-party websites, such as Amazon.com. The company makes Scandia Down brand comforters and pillows for sale in its catalogs, on its websites, and several retail outlet stores. Hanover Direct is owned by the New York-based hedge fund Chelsey Capital.

Big Dog Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of footwear and accessories for men and women in the United States. It also engages in developing, marketing, and retailing lifestyle collection of consumer products, including active wear, casual sportswear, accessories, and gifts for men, women, and children. The company operates in two segments, TWC and Big Dog Sportswear. The TWC segment operates footwear and accessories retail stores. Its products include work, formal, sport and active, casual, and all-weather footwear, as well as sandals, boots, slippers, and accessories. This segment also offers its products through catalog and Internet. As of December 31, 2007, it operated 186 stores in 38 states and the District of Columbia. The Big Dog Sportswear segment offers adult unisex activewear and casual sportswear, including screen-printed and embroidered t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, knit and woven casual shirts, fleece tops and bottoms, loungewear, boxer shorts, swimwear, and sleepwear; big-size apparel; and graphic t-shirts, shirts, fleece items, infant and toddler one-pieces, boxer shorts, dresses, and shorts for infants, toddlers, kids, and the youth. It also offers adult's and children's non-apparel items, including pet products, plush animals and other toys, sporting goods, stationery, calendars, and lunch boxes. In addition, this segment sells its products through catalog and Internet. As of March 1, 2008, it operated 100 retail stores. The Walking Company Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.

Among the optimistic Americans who migrated westward in the late 1800's was A.C. Houston, who founded A.C. Houston Lumber in 1884. The pioneers of the time had set out to build new lives, and Houston established the company that would provide building materials to do so. The first A.C. Houston Lumber yards opened in the small Kansas towns of Eureka and Hamilton. More than one hundred twenty-five years later, A.C. Houston Lumber yards can be found in three western states of California, Idaho, and Nevada with the corporate headquarters being located in North Las Vegas. The corporate headquarters was located in Kansas until 1998, when it relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada.Much has changed since 1884, but the business philosophy of A.C. Houston has been passed down unchanged to third-generation family member, Robert A. Houston, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our goal is to sell products of quality and strength, give the customer their money's worth, and to treat each customer the way we, ourselves, would want to be treated," Houston says. A.C. Houston Primarily a volume supplier of lumber and building materials to the professional contractor, A.C. Houston Lumber operates retail centers offering products that supplement the construction trade. We fabricate roof and floor trusses at our manufacturing plants using computerized, state-of-the-art equipment in addition to providing engineering assistance and truss design. We encourage you to stop by one of our locations and chat with our staff. They are eager to assist you with all of your building material needs.

Modern Builders Supply (MBS) is an old hand when it comes to windows and doors. The company, founded in 1944, makes and markets window and door systems through its Polaris Technologies division. The company's brands include Polaris Dynatech and Polaris UltraWeld. MBS also distributes products from other leading manufacturers, including roofing, siding, and accessories (Alcoa, Certainteed, Owens Corning); kitchen components (4B Wood Cabinets, Kraftmaid); entry and storm doors (Pease, Therma-Tru); and tools and equipment (QualCraft, Werner). President and CEO Kevin Leggett runs the company with his brother, COO Eric.

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

Falkland Islands to and from the UK and Chile and provides other port services, including the "squishy" trade of squid fishing licenses. Its Momart International arm serves the fine art logistics market. FIH is also active in commercial and residential property development on the island as well as oil and gas exploration.Falkland Islands Holdings (FIH) does a little bit of Falkland everything. Through its Falkland Islands Company it runs about half a dozen retail (apparel, DIY, home furnishings, grocery, and building and office supplies) outlets, a hotel, and a pair of auto dealerships (Land Rover and Ford); its highly-evolved Darwin Shipping and Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company.

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