J & R Electronics redefines block party. J & R Electronics Inc. is a leading electronics retailer with 10 specialty electronics shops in the same New York City block. The stores make up one retail megastore, J&R Music and Computer World, which measures more than 300,000 sq. ft. and is known for discount prices and customer service. The firm also operates an in-store shop at Macy's in Herald Square and peddles products through its website. J & R's merchandise includes audio and video products, computers, cameras, software, office products, music, movies, and games. Co-owners Joe and Rachelle Friedman used their wedding money to finance the founding of J & R Electronics in 1971.

Founded in 1988 by two fanatical skiers (Tim Slade and Jules Leaver) who sold clothing from their backpacks to support their skiing habits, Fat Face opened its first shop in London's Fulham Road in 1993. Its name is derived from an Olympic ski trail in the Alps. Fat Face was acquired by the London-based private equity firm Bridgepoint Capital in 2007 for about $707 million. Fat Face draws more than just name from a ski theme. Fat Face Limited company sells ski-and-surf-style activewear and outdoor clothing from more than 140 shops in the UK, Ireland, and France, as well as by catalog and online. Products include extreme sports apparel, footwear, jewelry, and accessories.

Balducci's has the right ingredients to attract hungry gourmands.The chain operates half a dozen upscale specialty food stores under the Balducci's name in Connecticut, Maryland, New York,and Virginia.The markets offer such fare as fresh pasta,Wagyu beef,and imported cheeses.It also stocks prepared meals and beer and wine.Louis "Pop" Balducci opened the first Balducci's in Brooklyn in 1915 and expanded to Greenwich Village in Manhattan in 1946.In 2009 the private equity firm Irving Place Capital (formerly Bear Stearns Merchant Banking)sold six Balducci's stores to an investor group led by Jim Demme,senior advisor to the New York City-based investment firm Angelo,Gordon&Co.

Big Lots, Inc. is the nation's #1 broadline closeout retailer, with some 1,360 Big Lots stores (down from a high of 1,500 at the start of 2005) in 47 states. (More than one-third of its stores are located in California, Florida, Ohio, and Texas.) It sells a variety of brand-name products that have been overproduced, returned, discontinued, or result from liquidations, typically at 20%-40% below discounters' prices, as well as private-label items and furniture. Its wholesale division, Big Lots Wholesale, sells its discounted merchandise to a variety of retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and other wholesalers.

Founded in 1960, Pacific Sales became a subsidiary of retail giant Best Buy in 2006. Pacific Sales fills its sails with Pacific breezes and kitchen appliances. Its Kitchen and Bath Centers offer high-end kitchen appliances, plumbing fixtures, and home entertainment systems through about 35 stores in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Brands include ASKO, Electrolux, Kohler, Sony, TOTO, Viking, and Yamaha. The company's showroom stores are open to the public as well as to builders, contractors, and designers, and they feature a special department for multi-unit projects. Pacific Sales also offers installation and repair services.

Casual Male Retail Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of men’s apparel in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company operates its stores under the Casual Male XL, Casual Male XL Outlets, Rochester Clothing, B & T Factory Direct, Shoes XL, and Living XL trade names. Its retail stores offer a range of basic sportswear, other casual apparel, dress wear, and accessories, as well as a line of its private label collections, such as Harbor Bay, 626 Blue-Vintage Surplus, Synrgy, Comfort Zone, and Oak Hill; and casual clothing for the big and tall customers. As of January 30, 2010, Casual Male Retail Group operated 395 Casual Male XL retail stores, 65 Casual Male XL outlet stores, and 19 Rochester Clothing stores; and a direct business, which included various catalogs and e-commerce sites. The company was formerly known as Designs, Inc. and changed its name to Casual Male Retail Group, Inc. in August 2002 as a result of the acquisition of Casual Male business from Casual Male Corp. Casual Male Retail Group, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts.

Hannaford Bros. may have started as a fruit and vegetable stand in 1883, but it has expanded from its Maine roots to become an upscale grocer with more than 170 stores under the Hannaford Supermarkets banner throughout Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, upstate New York, and Vermont. Still, produce continues to be a major focus at the Hannaford supermarkets, as are expansive meat selections and natural food products. More than 75% of the Hannaford stores are combination grocery stores and pharmacies. The stores average about 48,500 sq. ft. Maine's largest supermarket chain, Hannaford Bros. is owned by Delhaize America (parent of Food Lion), which in turn is owned by Belgium's Delhaize Group.

PPR has transformed itself from a conglomerate to the world's third-largest luxury group (behind LVMH and Richemont). PPR's stable of global luxury brands includes a 99% stake in Italian luxury goods company Gucci Group, and luxury brands Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Boucheron, Bottega Veneta, Stella McCartney, and Yves Saint Laurent, among others. The group's other activities include the multichannel merchant Redcats, Fnac music and book stores, the Conforama chain of household furniture and appliance stores, and the German athletic shoemaker PUMA. More than half of PPR's sales are generated outside of its home country. PPR is run by Francois-Henri Pinault, the son of its founder Francois Pinault.

Grocery Outlet founded in 1946, the third-generation family-owned company sold an equity stake to the Boston-based private equity firm Berkshire Partners in fall 2009. Grocery Outlet Inc. Company Profile Grocery Outlet operates about 135 deep-discount supermarkets in a half dozen western states, primarily California, Oregon, and Washington. The stores, which average about 20,000 square feet, sell a wide range of name-brand products, including groceries, wine and beer, fresh produce, household items, health and beauty care products, and over-the-counter drugs at up to 60% less than traditional supermarket chains. More than 50 of Grocery Outlet's stores are located in California.

Charleston Gardens Ltd, a casual furniture retailer, sells indoor and outdoor furniture (including wicker) and related accessories (fountains, planters, jardinieres). Charleston Gardens also peddles hearth products and tableware through its one retail location in Charleston, South Carolina. The company also sells through a catalog and the company's Web site.

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