Woolworths' 160-odd general merchandise discount stores operate under the Big W name. It also runs about 415 consumer electronics shops under the Dick Smith Electronics and Tandy brand names. The retailer's Taverner Hotel Group operates some 285 hotels.Chow Down Under with Australia's #1 food retailer (ahead of Coles) -- Woolworths (aka "Woolies"). The diversified retailer operates about 3,200 stores in Australia and New Zealand, including 975 supermarkets under the Woolworths, Safeway, Foodtown, and Countdown banners. It also operates BWS and Dan Murphy's liquor stores. In addition, Woolworths sells gasoline and leverages its distribution network to provide wholesale merchandise for third-party supermarkets.

Founded in 1971 with a modest 800-sq.-ft. home furnishings showroom, City Furniture sells furniture, mattresses, rugs, and accessories through about 15 showrooms across the state of Florida (in Broward, Martin, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties). Half of the company's products are made in the US. Alongside countless others in its industry, City Furniture obtains 75% of its imported furniture from China; the balance comes from Vietnam and Indonesia. Its marketing in South Florida has the company exporting its products to the Caribbean and Latin America, as well.

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.

Charming Shoppes, Inc. operates as a specialty apparel retailer primarily for women in the United States. Charming Shoppes, Inc. operates retail stores and related e-commerce Web sites under the LANE BRYANT, LANE BRYANT OUTLET, FASHION BUG, and CATHERINES PLUS SIZES names. Its retail stores offer plus-size, misses, sportswear, dresses, coats, and intimate apparel, as well as accessories and casual footwear. Charming Shoppes, Inc. also sells food and specialty gifts through its FIGI’S catalog and related e-commerce Web site. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 2,121 retail stores. Charming Shoppes, Inc. was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.

Sierra Trading Post, Inc. was founded in 1986 by Keith Richardson. Sierra Trading Post is counting on you trading in your hard-earned cash for a pair of waterproof hiking boots or a brand new wetsuit. The company sells discounted men's and women's brand-name apparel, outdoor gear, footwear, and home decor through four retail locations in Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming; about 10 catalog titles; and its website. It buys overstock and closeout items from about 1,000 manufacturers, including Columbia, The North Face, Timberland, ECCO, Dr. Martens, and Birkenstock, and sells them to consumers at 35%-70% off of the original retail price. Sierra Trading Post's print catalogs have an annual circulation of about 60 million.

GNC is owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Board Plan, its affiliate Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund II, and management. GNC filed to go public in September 2010.What's good for the customer is good for GNC Acquisition Corporation (formerly General Nutrition Centers). GNC operates the world's leading nutritional-supplements retail chain devoted solely to items such as vitamins and dietary products. The company also makes Rite Aid private-label products. It sells its products online, as well, through a partnership with drugstore.com. GNC has 2,800 company-owned retail stores in the US and Canada; 1,900 store-within-a-store sites in Rite Aid's drugstores; and 2,220 franchised stores in 47 countries.

The Gymboree Corporation is a specialty retailer operating stores selling high-quality apparel and accessories for children under the Gymboree, Gymboree Outlet, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8 brands, as well as play programs for children under the Gymboree Play and Music brand. The Gymboree Corporation's history begins with the founding of Gymboree Play & Music in 1976, making it one of the oldest companies in its field. The appeal of the Gymboree brand was so broad that in 1986 Gymboree entered the apparel business—designing, manufacturing and retailing unique, high-quality merchandise for children ages newborn to nine.

Founded in 1985 by chairman John Hargreaves, the retailer was taken private in 2006 by Missouri Bidco, a company controlled by the Hargreaves family, for about $1.5 billion. Clothes might make the man, but they also make Matalan one of Britain's largest value-fashion retailers. Based on the US warehouse club concept, the firm's 200-plus stores sell fashionable name-brand and private-label apparel for men, women, and children, as well as housewares, at bargain prices. Its brand-name merchandise includes Calvin Klein, Farah, Jeff Banks, Playtex, and Wrangler; its private labels include Wolsey, Be Beau, Et Vous, Influence, Jeff & Co., and Soon. Matalan also sells through its e-commerce site.

Baltimore Door & Frame was founded in 1982. Baltimore Door & Frame is looking to have customers line up at its doorstep -- for its doors. The company makes and markets wood and metal doors, door frames, and related hardware accessories. Baltimore Door & Frame's inventory includes hollow metal doors and frames manufactured by Pioneer, detention doors, wood doors, exit devices, door closers, hinges, Schlage and other locks, door stops, and other goods. As part of its menu of services, the company also offers residential and commercial keying services.

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.

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