Old Time Pottery a chain of about 30 stores in about 10 states in the South and Midwest selling discounted closeout and overstock housewares, silk flowers, framed art, linens, rugs, craft supplies, seasonal merchandise, and more. The company gets its inventory, which it displays in a warehouse-type setting, from the canceled orders and excess stock of manufacturers. And it needs lots of inventory, as stores average about 2 acres in size. Founded in 1986, Old Time Pottery is controlled by the Peterson family. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2009 and exited it in August 2010.

First Supply has been owned and operated by the Poehling family since it was founded in 1897. Why bother with the second or third, when you can buy through First Supply? With about 25 locations in the upper Midwest, First Supply distributes a large inventory of building, fluid-handling, heating and cooling, plumbing, refrigeration, and waterworks supplies to industrial customers and contractors. Several of the locations feature Gerhards Showrooms, which display kitchen and bath wares from manufacturers such as Delta, Kohler, Moen, and Jacuzzi. First Supply LLC also provides such services as pipe and hydraulic-hose fabrication and valve actuation.

Harps operated as a family-run chain until 2001 when it became an employee-owned business.It's tough to survive in the face of Arkansas giant Wal-Mart, but Harps Food Stores (founded when Sam Walton was 12 years old) is putting up a fight. The company, which got its start when Floy and Harvard Harp put down $500 cash and opened the first Harp's Cash Grocery in 1930, operates more than 60 grocery stores, mostly in Arkansas but also in Missouri and Oklahoma. Its stores, operating under the Harps Food Stores and Price Cutter Food Warehouse banners, range in size from 13,000 to 63,000 sq. ft. and often feature bakeries, pharmacies, and meat departments

The Peacock Group has only just begun to display its full colorful strut, even though it's been fluttering around for more than a century. Founded in 1884 as Peacock's Penny Bazaar, the value-priced fashion retailer operates two chains: Peacock's, with 460 UK stores and about 45 franchised locations in Turkey, the Middle East, Ukraine, and Russia, sells women's and men's apparel and accessories; and about 380 Bonmarche shops that offer women's apparel in sizes 12 to 24. Peacock Group supplies its own stores, as well as several other chains, with branded women's, men's, and children's apparel and footwear. The company was taken private in 2006 in a deal backed by Goldman Sachs, Perry Capital, and Och Ziff.

Family-owned-and-operated Davila Pharmacy operates a single drugstore in San Antonio, Texas. Prescription medications account for about 40% of sales. Davila Pharmacy also offers durable medical equipment, ostomy, diabetic, nutritional and incontinent supplies. In addition to standard pharmacy services, Davila Pharmacy boasts that all of its pharmacists are bilingual and certified to administer immunizations. It also offers home delivery in the San Antonio area and online prescription refills. Founded by Rudy Davila Sr., today the company is run by his son Rudy Jr. Davila Pharmacy made the Hispanic Business 500 list, most recently in 2008.

Kelly's Pipe & Supply Co. was founded in 1960 by James "Kelly" Callahan and G.H. "Herb" Turnbull. It is owned by Pennsylvania-based Hajoca. Why stop at fixing simple bathrooms when you can also make a sea battle come to life? Kelly's Pipe and Supply does both and counts casinos Caesar's Palace, the Mirage, and Treasure Island amongst its clients. The company sells and distributes plumbing products from its million-dollar European Bath, Kitchen, Tile, & Stone showrooms in Las Vegas and Solana Beach, California. Stores also offer fixtures and pipes from such brands as Aqua Glass, Delta Faucet, Kohler, and Price Pfister. Besides plumbing products, Kelly's offers quotation services and procurement project management.

Blish-Mize Co. has distribution centers in Colorado and Kansas. Aside from its wholesaling business, Blish-Mize operates toolmaker Hardware House with House-Hasson. Brothers-in-law David Blish, Edward Mize, and Jack Silliman founded the firm in 1871 to outfit wagon trains. President and CEO John Mize, Jr., represents the fourth generation of the family-owned company. Hardware supplier Blish-Mize distributes more than 52,000 products to hardware stores, home centers, lumberyards, and paint stores in a dozen states in the heartland of the US. Its catalog includes hand and power tools, lawn equipment, hardware, paint, heating and cooling products, housewares, plumbing and electrical supplies, and sporting goods.

Savers depends on thrifty people to make its business a financial success. The resale giant is the largest for-profit thrift store chain in North America. It operates about 225 Savers, Value Village, and Village des Valeurs (in Quebec) stores in more than 20 US states, 10 Canadian provinces, and Australia. The company's retail outlets sell everything from designer and vintage clothing to unique home decor, electronics, hardcover and paperback books, and toys. Savers also partners with 120 charity offices. Founded in 1954 as Salvage Management Corp., Savers is owned by the private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co.

Adams Fairacre Farms was founded in 1919 by Ralph Adams Sr. as a roadside produce stand where the Adams family sold the excess from its 50-acre farm. The company added other items as customers requested them. Descendants of Adams, including some third generation members, own and run the family business. From seeds to seafood and fertilizer to fencing, Adams Fairacre Farms has a few things covered. The company's three locations in New York's Hudson River Valley offer groceries, including fresh produce, power equipment (John Deere tractors and mowers, chippers, chain saws), fencing supplies, landscaping materials, and gifts and gardening supplies (plants, seeds, soil, pest control).

T J Morris offers its customers top brands-- of nearly everything-- at bottom-basement prices to value-seeking shoppers in England and Wales. The company operates more than 140 Home Bargains and "halfpriceorless.com" outlets that sell discounted personal care and household products, such as health and beauty items, toys, and designer products. The chain has announced aggressive expansion plans to grow to and manage some 500 stores within the next five years. Managing Director Tom Morris founded the company more than three decades ago.

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