The consumption structure is changing rapidly with an aging society, a falling birthrate and the rise of other business categories. It is no exaggeration to say that those department stores that are unable to respond to these changes will be shunned by consumers and will go into decline. We are at an existential moment, where the very value of department stores is in question. In this environment, Takashimaya aims to become the leading region-oriented department store, taking advantage of its powerful network of 20 stores nationwide. We are committed to earning the confidence of customers in the communities in which we operate, reflecting regional characteristics in our store operations, while at the same time cherishing features that have been specific to Takashimaya.

Gabberts Design Studio & Fine Furnishings offers high-end furnishings in a variety of styles -- ranging from traditional to contemporary and from casual to refined -- for your living room, dining room, family room, bedroom, and home office. Gabberts' 63,000-square-foot store in Edina, Minnesota employs in-house interior designers, which it considers a competitive advantage. Founded in 1946 by Don Gabbert as a tire and appliance store, the company was owned and run by the Gabbert family until it was acquired by HOM Furniture in 2008. Gabberts' new owner continues to operate the business under the Gabberts banner.

In 1923 Frank McCoy founded a roofing company, which his son, Emmett, combined with McCoy Supply to form the McCoy Corporation. Today the firm is still family owned and led by CEO Brian McCoy, Emmett's son. Even though it's battling home-improvement giants The Home Depot and Lowe's, McCoy still has time for a day off. The company owns and operates about 80 McCoy's Building Supply Centers, which are concentrated primarily in Texas but also in Arkansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. In keeping with its Texas roots, McCoy's also stocks farm and ranch products, and it runs two millwork facilities. The retailer adheres to a steadfast tradition of closing stores on Sundays.

Ultimate Acquisition Partners has the ultimate gift: an electronics store. Ultimate Acquisition Partners, L.P. company owns and runs Ultimate Electronics, a retailer of home theater, TV, audio and video products with more than 40 locations in 15 states. Ultimate Electronics stocks some 130 major brands and offers such in-store services as computer repair and TV and Internet service provider sign-up. The retailer also peddles products online. The Ultimate Electronics chain was operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection when CEO Mark Wattles formed Ultimate Acquisition Partners to buy the business in 2005. His Wattles Capital Management investment firm controls Ultimate Acquisition Partners, L.P. company.

Foot Locker, Inc. operates as a retailer of athletic footwear and apparel. Foot Locker, Inc. operates in two segments, Athletic Stores and Direct-to-Customers. The Athletic Stores segment offers athletic footwear and apparel under various formats, including Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Footaction, and CCS. This segment offers footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories, as well as casual wear for various activities, including basketball, running, training, walking, toning, and fitness for young males, women, and children. The Direct-to-Customers segment, through its affiliates, sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, team licensed, and private-label merchandise through catalogs and Internet Websites. As of March 9, 2010, Foot Locker, Inc. operated 3,500 stores in North America, Europe, and Australia. It also franchises its Foot Locker stores in the Middle East and the Republic of Korea. As of January 30, 2010, the company had a total of 22 franchised stores. Foot Locker, Inc. was founded in 1879 and is based in New York, New York.

Founded in 1885, the company is employee-owned. E. C. Barton & Company has the goods if you are expecting visitors at your house and need to add on. The firm, a member of industry cooperative Do It Best, sells lumber and building materials through some 125 locations throughout Texas as well as a dozen other states in the Southeast and the Northeast. Its divisions include Barton's, Builders Material Company, E.C.B. Brokerage and Surplus Purchasing, Surplus Warehouse, and Grossman's Bargain Outlet. E. C. Barton also manages an e-commerce site. Professional builders and remodelers generate most of its revenue.

Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer in the action sports, fashion, and music influences of the California lifestyle. The company sells casual apparel; and a selection of accessories and footwear to teens and young adults. It operates mall-based chain of retail stores under the Pacific Sunwear and PacSun names. Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. also operates an e-commerce Website at pacsun.com, which sells PacSun merchandise online. As of January 30, 2010, it leased and operated 894 stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico. Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Anaheim, California.

Hi School Pharmacy has a history founded in the tradition of the classic corner drug store. The original store, opened in 1925, was named High School Store due to its location across the street from Vancouver High School on Main Street, Vancouver, Washington. Because of its soda fountain and wide selection of candy and school supplies, it became a popular spot with the students. In 1939, two brothers, Ken and Matt Zapp, opened a pharmacy in the old Safeway building adjoining the High School Store. This doubled the size of the original store and greatly increased the variety of merchandise offered. More importantly, Hi-School Pharmacy, as it was duly named, became known as the place to have prescriptions filled.In 1948, Val and Dorothy Mowan purchased the Main Street store and over the next twenty years, remodeled and expanded the pharmacy and variety store to 10,000 square feet. In 1967, Steven Oliva, a Registered Pharmacist, bought Hi-School Pharmacy. In addition to filling prescriptions, Steve learned all aspects of the retail business from ordering and pricing merchandise to stocking shelves and advertising. His hard work and competitive nature, coupled with a booming economic environment in Southwest Washington, paid off. In the 1970’s, Hi-School Pharmacy expanded by building new stores, and by acquiring drug stores that had been previously operated by other companies, such as Pay’n Takit and Reder’s. With a strong core group of stores located in Vancouver, the company began to expand in other areas. The chain found its niche by locating in communities with smaller populations. Stores in the chain stretched from Northern California to multiple locations in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

America’s Body Company (ABC) was founded in 1976 as Great Lakes Truck Equipment a truck equipment distributor in Cleveland, OH. Since that time, ABC has grown to 14 locations nationwide with installation and service facilities located in Columbus, OH / Cleveland, OH / Louisville, KY / Tampa, FL / Clinton, MD / Portland, OR / LaGrange, TX / Pontiac, MI / Denver, PA / Bowmansville, PA / Reading, PA / Abington, PA / Seneca, PA / Suffolk, VA.ABC has all major OEM chassis pools available at all locations and General Motors and Ford ship-thru capability.ABC manufactures dry-freight van bodies and Citi Van cutaway van bodies. In addition, ABC distributes Pinnacle service bodies, Rugged American platform and stake bodies, Marauder dump bodies and snow plows.,/ ABC is an industry leader when it comes to developing new and innovative products and is broadly recognized as a national leader in “Green” technology utilizing weight-saving, fuel-saving composites and aluminum in various product lines. The Rugged American Platform, Landscaper and SMART Rack and the Pinnacle Aluminum Service Bodies and Service Van improve fuel efficiency up to 12%* and are inherently corrosions-resistant providing longer life.ABC has the one of the largest direct sales force in the industry, with more than 20 knowledgeable and experienced outside sales representatives nationwide. ABC sales representatives work closely with OEM dealers, fleets and end users to cultivate business in each local area. ABC, owned by The Reading Group, LLC, a Reading, PA-based leader in truck equipment founded in 1955 as Reading Body Works, is backed by one of the strongest engineering and research and development teams in the truck equipment industry.

North West Company's stores sell general merchandise, clothing, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. The company also operates a small fur trading business, a financial services division (prepaid credit and debit cards), a chain of convenience stores, and is a wholesale distributor of produce and meats to independent grocery stores in Canada.Established in 1997, North West Company Fund is the holding company for The North West Company, an operator of grocery and discount store chains located in remote areas of Canada, Alaska, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific. Its more than 220 stores include its flagship Northern, as well as Giant Tiger, NorthMart, and Cost-U-Less

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