Incorporated in 1988, Zones, Inc. is headquartered just outside of Seattle, Washington. Zones has corporate offices in Portland, OR., and Bensenville, IL., regional offices in Texas, Maryland and Florida, as well as multiple field sales offices nationwide. Zones maintains a national network of company-owned logistics, integration and distribution facilities to support our client base with immediate access to inventory, configuration and deployment services from all time zones- resulting in lower shipping costs and the ability to leverage Zones' enhanced "follow the sun" logistics programs.

Bidz.com combines the markdowns of a dollar store, the format of an auction house, and the convenience of the Internet to bring sparkling deals to shoppers. The company buys closeout merchandise and sells it using a live-auction format, with $1 opening bids. It mostly sells jewelry, including gold, platinum, and silver items set with diamonds, as well as precious and semi-precious stones. Visitors can also find deals on electronics, apparel, and a range of collectibles (such as fine art, antiques, coins, and sports cards). In addition, the company operates Buyz.com, a fixed-price e-commerce site that offers similar items being listed for auction.

LAWSON aims to be the "hot station" in the neighborhood for on-the-go Japanese. Japan's #2 convenience store chain (behind Seven-Eleven Japan), LAWSON operates more than 9,800 outlets throughout Japan and in Shanghai, China. Its stores offer original products including main dishes, prepared noodles, bakery and deli items, and rice balls. (Food and groceries account for about 85% of sales.) Subsidiary Lawson Ticket sells concert, sports, and other events tickets in LAWSON and Daiei stores. Lawson ATM dispenses cash to shoppers in about 6,000 LAWSON shops. Subsidiary Ninety-nine Plus sells perishable foods. Founded in 1975 as Daiei Lawson Co., the chain was spun off by financially troubled Daiei in 2000.

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.

Mid-Am Building Supply is a wholesale distributor of building materials to lumber dealers. We offer products including but not limited to interior and exterior doors, windows, siding, roofing, insulation, fasteners, cabinets, moldings, locks and many other items. We deliver these products to our customers on modern, curtain-side tractor-trailer trucks throughout the week. Currently, nearly 400 people make up the Mid-Am team. These associates are spread throughout our service centers located in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Illinois. Customers are serviced in a seven state area.

Reid Furniture is Scotland's largest independent retailer of home furnishings. Products offered include upholstered furniture, bedding, tables, lamps, rugs, and artwork. The family-run chain operates than 30 stores in Scotland, England, and Ireland. Reid's was the region's largest maker of upholstered furniture until it shutdown its manufacturing operations in 2008 and turned to cheaper foreign sources. The company, which was founded by former company chairman Sam Reid in 1970, was taken private by its management, including CEO Alan Marnie, in 2006.

Rooms To Go, with 120 stores in about 10 southern states and Puerto Rico -- has transformed itself into one of the top-selling furniture retailers in the US by taking the package approach to retailing. Rooms To Go (RTG) markets its limited selection of furniture to brand-conscious, time-pressed customers. It packages low- to moderately priced furniture and accessories and offers discounts for those willing to buy a roomful. The chain also operates the Rooms to Go Kids chain that sells furniture for kids and teens from more than 45 stores. CEO and owner Jeffrey Seaman and his father, Morty, founded RTG in 1990 after selling Seaman Furniture Company.

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.

Acting as a holding company for subsidiaries The Brick Warehouse LP (dba The Brick) and United Furniture Warehouse, The Brick Group was founded to take Canada's biggest furniture business public. Other retail banners include The Brick Superstore, Urban Brick, and the unfortunately-named The Brick Mattress Store. Together the five chains offer furniture, mattresses, appliances, and consumer electronics through about 235 retail furniture stores (about 50 are franchise locations) across Canada and the company's Web site, catering to low-, middle-, and high-end consumers. The Brick Group began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2004.

O'Connell Oil operates about 30 Convenience Plus convenience stores and a half a dozen gas stations throughout western Massachusetts, serving customers with Citgo, Mobil, and Shell brand gasoline. Three O'Connell's Heating Oil & Service locations provide heating oil and air conditioner repair services. The company also runs plumbing and industrial lubricant divisions. Namesake Ralph M. O'Connell founded the company in 1925.

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