Founded in 1943, BMD employee owned. California's many immigrants might feel a bit more at home thanks to BMD Building Materials Distributors. The company imports building materials from around the world and distributes them to lumberyards, building material dealers, home improvement chains, and window and door specialty retailers, primarily in California, Colorado, and other western states. It also exports building materials throughout the world. Products include cabinets, construction tools, countertops, housewrap and insulation, millwork, roofing, siding, and stairs. BMD offers inventory management, logistics, and warehousing services and operates a dozen distribution centers in the US and western Canada.

xel Johnson is one of the region's largest food importers and retailers.Through interests in affiliated units,the company operates discount and upscale supermarkets and department stores, imports and wholesales food for supermarkets and restaurants,and invests in small and midsized Swedish companies.Operating primarily in Sweden, Axel Johnson is one of four financially and legally independent corporations that are owned by Antonia Ax:son("Ax:son" is an abbreviated form of Axelson)Johnson and make up the Axel Johnson Group.

Founded in 1970, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Grupo Famsa has consolidated its position as a leading public company in the retail sector. Its activities focus on satisfying the different consumption, financing and saving needs of its customers and their families.Famsa business plan is based on developing a unique portfolio of complementary businesses based on consumer credit and savings. Famsa México, Banco Ahorro Famsa and Famsa USA, our three business units, provide a comprehensive value offer aimed at enhancing the quality of life of a large market segment that demands personalized services and credit options that are not offered by the traditional banking sector.

Pier 1 Imports, Inc. operates as an importer and specialty retailer of imported decorative home furnishings and gifts in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates retail stores under the name of ‘Pier 1 Imports’. These stores offer various furniture, decorative home furnishings, dining and kitchen goods, bath and bedding accessories, candles, gifts, housewares, seasonal assortments, and other specialty items for the home. The company’s decorative accessories include decorative wood accents, lamps, vases, dried and artificial flowers, baskets, ceramics, dinnerware, bath and fragrance products, candles, bedding, and seasonal and gift items. Its furniture products comprise furniture and furniture cushions to be used in living, dining, office, kitchen and bedroom areas, sunrooms, and on patios, as well as consists of wall decorations and mirrors. As of August 28, 2010, the company operated 1,048 stores in the United States and Canada, as well as operated 36 locations in Mexico. Pier 1 Imports, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

Ross Stores, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates two chains of off-price retail apparel and home accessories stores in the United States. Its stores offer branded and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions, as well as gift items, linens, and other home-related merchandise. The company’s merchandise offerings also comprise product categories, such as small furniture and furniture accents, educational toys and games, luggage, gourmet food and cookware, watches, and sporting goods, as well as fine jewelry in selected Ross stores. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 1,005 stores, including 953 Ross Dress for Less (Ross) locations in 27 states and Guam, and 52 dd’s DISCOUNTS stores in 4 states. Ross Stores, Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

In 1940 José Navarro, Sr. founded Navarro Discount Pharmacies in Havana, Cuba. The first store was located on Monte Street and had a large client base including the employees of the Power Company. Later a second store opened and together the two pharmacies were considered among the best on the Island, with great selection and low prices. Following radical political change in Cuba, in 1961 the new government confiscated the Navarro stores along with many other private companies, forcing the family to flee to the United States. Upon arriving in Miami, José Navarro, Sr. cashed an insurance policy and used the $4000 proceeds to open a pharmacy on S.W. 8th Street and 13th Avenue, in what would become the heart of Miami’s Little Havana sector.Navarro Discount Pharmacies continued to expand, eventually growing to 28 stores in Miami-Dade County. Navarro holds a 17% market share in South Florida with annual sales in excess of $320 million, making the company the most profitable performer on a sales-per-square foot basis than any other drug chain in recent years. Further expansion plans are firmly in place with new stores projected to open each year. In order to fuel expansion, in 2007 Navarro Discount Pharmacies partnered with MBF Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm headed by Mike Fernandez, who commands over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. This partnership has positioned Navarro to expand its presence in the market and achieve its vision of becoming the first choice pharmacy and discount drug chain store for families in each community we serve.

Simply Amazing (which does business as Amazing Savings) operates about a dozen closeout retail stores in New York and New Jersey. The company offers overstocked and discontinued goods (such as apparel, housewares, and appliances) purchased in bulk from manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. Begun as a single shop in 1989, Simply Amazing operated 14 stores in three states when it bought ailing Odd Job Stores in 2003. Post-acquisition, it ran about 85 stores in nine states. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in early 2005 and shuttered 69 stores as part of the reorganization that led within a few months to its emergence from bankruptcy.

Menard is owned by president and CEO John Menard, who founded the company in 1972. If sticks and stones break bones, what can two-by-fours and two-inch nails do? That is what Menard is wondering now that its biggest rivals (#1 home improvement giant The Home Depot and #2 Lowe's) are hammering away at its home turf. One of the largest home improvement chains in the Midwest, Menard has more than 250 stores in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The stores sell home improvement products, such as floor coverings, hardware, millwork, paint, and tools. Unlike competitors, all the company's stores have full-service lumberyards.

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.

Interstate Companies, Inc., provides a broad range of automotive products and services through its group of businesses. Its Interstate PowerSystems unit distributes engines, transmissions, heater systems, mobile refrigeration products, generators, and other products manufactured by Detroit Diesel, Deutz, Dresser Waukesha, Espar, Allison, Carrier, and others. Its AssemblySystems division offers parts, kits, and assemblies to bus and coach OEMs throughout North America. The BearingsSytems unit provides bearing, power transmission, and conveyor services. Founded in 1957, Interstate Companies has more than 15 locations throughout Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Dakotas.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.