In the early 1900s, Herman and Sarah Reitman ran a small department store in Montreal. They would be extremely proud to see that their children and grandchildren have taken their family operated business to such levels and transformed it into one of Canada’s largest fashion retailers. The Reitmans Company was founded after a second store opened in 1926. Since then, a number of stores have opened every year, and other banners have emerged, namely Smart Set, RW&CO., Penningtons, Addition-Elle, Thyme Maternity and Cassis. Today, the Company operates over 950 stores throughout Canada. Reitmans (Canada) Limited is a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RET, RET-A). Although Reitmans (Canada) Limited is one of the largest publicly-owned retail companies in Canada, it still operates with a strong family culture.

Brice keeps men looking sharp in and out of the office without going over budget. The company operates about 220 stores, which are mostly located in shopping malls across France, and has clothing outlets in Belgium and Poland. The stores market contemporary business and casual wear to men between the ages of 25 and 45. Brice International, a subsidiary of French supermarket operator Auchan, acquired the company from the founding Marcade family. The company began as a trouser shop, opening its first store in 1985, and eventually expanded into the design and sale of full lines of menswear.

AUTOBACS SEVEN was founded in 1947. AUTOBACS SEVEN is driven to provide one-stop shopping to Japanese motorists. The company sells automotive items at about 520 stores throughout Japan, under the names AUTOBACS, Super AUTOBACS, AUTO Helloes, and AUTOBACS Hashiriya Tengoku, among others. AUTOBACS are small, automotive convenience-type stores, while the larger-sized Super AUTOBACS carry a broad range of auto products. The Hashiriya Tengoku locations boast used parts. AUTOBACS also provides safety inspections and maintenance services, and it sells cars and gas. In 2009 the company sold its US arm, AUTOBACS STRAUSS (acquired in 2007), and exited the US market.

REWE Group other businesses include about 2,500 travel agencies, several tour operators, and foodservice. Founded in 1927, REWE is a cooperative owned by some 3,000 of its independent retail members.REWE Group sells the fuel that Germans love best food and drink. REWE is the third-largest food retailer in Germany (behind METRO AG and Lidl) and one of the largest in Europe overall. REWE operates more than 15,000 stores in some 15 European countries (about 10,900 in Germany), including Russia and Ukraine. Store formats include supermarkets (REWE), hypermarkets (toom), discount stores (Penny), drugstores (BIPA), DIY stores (toom Baumarkt), and consumer electronics stores (ProMarkt), among others.

Grafton Merchanting GB believes in building a solid store base for its customers. A subsidiary of the Grafton Group, the company is the umbrella organization of its parent's building supply retail operations in the UK, which include Buildbase, Jackson Building Centres, Hirebase, Civils & Lintels, Plumbase, PDM, L&G Forest Products, Hendricks Lovell, Acorn Insulation, and Keelsupply. Its network consists of more than 400 locations, which sell lumber, hardware, tools, plumbing and electrical supplies, gardening items, and other building materials, as well as offer hiring services. Grafton Merchanting also sells online. Formed in 2008, the firm brought together Buildbase with Grafton Group's other retail banners.

Since 1859, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc. (A&P) has fulfilled the shopping needs of families throughout North America with freshness, quality, variety and value. In December 2007, Pathmark Supermarkets, with its 141 stores, joined the A&P Family of Supermarkets.With corporate headquarters in Montvale, N.J., A&P operates 395 stores in the United States under 6 retail banners which include conventional supermarkets, food and drug combination stores, discount food stores, and several in-store Health Clinics. A&P employs 40,688 associates. Annualized sales volume is approximately $8.8 billion. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol "GAP." The Company distributes private label product lines sold exclusively throughout its U.S. banners under the trade names America's Choice, Master Choice, Health Pride, Savings Plus, and Pathmark.With pride in its 152-year history, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company today looks forward to a future of continued service to its customers, communities and employees throughout North America.

Leader's Holding Company (better known as Leader's Casual Furniture) is a small furniture chain that that operates some 20 retail showrooms throughout the state of Florida. The furniture retailer sells such brand names as Capris, Jonathan Taylor, Carlton, Tropitone, Palm Springs Rattan, and Garden Classics. As part of its products portfolio, the company peddles indoor (including wicker and rattan) and outdoor home furnishings and related accessories. The family-owned company got its start as a single retail location in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1971.

Grand Home Furnishings, formerly Grand Piano & Furniture, got its start as a piano and musical instrument store in Roanoke, Virginia. Several decades later, the company sells mattresses and home furnishings through more than 15 stores in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee. The company stocks furniture from such manufacturers as Hooker, La-Z-Boy, Klaussner, Vaughan-Bassett, Meadowcraft, and Thomasville, and the mattresses come from Sealy and Tempur-Pedic, to name a few. Grand Home Furnishings was founded in 1910, and acquired in 1945 by the current owners, the Cartledge family. George Cartledge Jr. is the company's CEO.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. hasn't outgrown the mall scene, but it's spending more time in other places. Beyond its 850 US mall-based stores, Sears has more than 1,300 other locations nationwide. The company operates more than 900 independently owned Sears Hometown Stores (formerly known as dealer stores) in small towns and about 105 Sears hardware stores and some 85 Orchard Supply Hardware shops. Sears' stores sell apparel, tools, and appliances, and provide home services (remodeling, appliance repairs) under the Sears Parts & Repair Services and A&E Factory brands. It also sells appliances and tools online. Sears was acquired by Kmart Holding Corp. in 2005. The deal formed Sears Holdings, which owns both chains.

Jewson first began operating as a provisions store in 1836. Jewson, a part of the Saint-Gobain Building Distribution division, operates more than 500 branches throughout the UK and is Britain's #2 building materials merchant behind Wolseley UK. Jewson stores supply timber and building materials (bathrooms, doors and windows, drains and foundations, dry lining and insulation, flooring, hardware, ironmongery, landscaping, masonry, painting and decorating, plumbing and heating, roofing, and tools) to mostly small contractors and do-it-yourselfers. About half the company's stores offer tool and equipment rentals, and reservations can also be made online.

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