Ocado investors include the company's directors. The average Ocado order tops about £100, a rich price, but the firm's ability to turn a profit is still erratic. The Internet grocer went public in 2010.Upscale Internet grocer Ocado serves more than 13.5 million tech-savvy, time-pressed households in Greater London, Hertfordshire, Kent, the Midlands, Surrey, North West, and now the South Coast. Launched by three former Goldman Sachs bankers in 2002, Ocado delivers groceries in Mercedes vans from its supermarket partner John Lewis Partnership-owned Waitrose Limited, which owns a stake in the company, to the customer's doorstep

Since its founding in 1889, the firm has developed the boysenberry along with varieties of peaches, oranges, roses, and the patented Hotbiscus Hibiscus and Wadda Tomato. In addition to its 100-acre nursery, the company has about 30 retail garden centers that operate under the Armstrong banner in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as about 15 Pike Nurseries locations in Atlanta and North Carolina. Its stores carry shrubs, flowering plants, fruit trees, and vegetables, as well as an assortment of dirt, planters, and garden tools. Company employees own 100% of Armstrong Garden Centers. It's strange to think that any company "invented" a fruit, but Armstrong Garden Centers does just that.

Aaron & Company was founded in the early 1900s by plumber Isadore Aaron. His grandson Jeffrey retired from in 2002, leaving the firm without an Aaron for the first time. Aaron & Company knows a thing or two about staying cool. Catering primarily to contractors in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, the wholesaler offers plumbing and HVAC supplies through half a dozen locations in the Garden State. Three of these locations house Aaron Kitchen & Bath Design Galleries, which feature complete kitchen and bathroom set-ups to help customers with building and remodeling plans. Aaron & Company is served by a single 120,000-sq.-ft. distribution center.

Millennium Technologies wants to keep its customers revving high. The company maintains a stock of some 2,000 types of remanufactured cylinders, primarily for snowmobiles and motorcycles. It coats its cylinders with a nickel silicon carbide (NSC) -- the only thing harder is diamonds. Unlike other coatings, NSC is electroplated, rather than sprayed on, allowing the firm to offer a lifetime warranty for its work. Millennium also repairs cylinders. The parts retailer keeps its brand in front of current and potential clients by sponsoring motorcycle racers, several of whom have taken top prize in their events. President Jim Hackl founded Millennium Technologies in 1997.

IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC) satisfies inquisitive minds who want to use the Web to explore local hot spots, meet the right partner, find a contractor, and maybe even host a party or two. The Internet conglomerate owns more than 50 brands, including search engine Ask.com, local guide Citysearch (part of advertising network CityGrid Media), dating site Match.com, and home service provider network ServiceMagic. Other IAC holdings include shoe site Shoebuy.com and a majority stake in Connected Ventures, the parent company of racy college entertainment site CollegeHumor.com. Its current affairs Web magazine Daily Beast is merging with Newsweek.

Marks and Spencer Group plc, through its subsidiaries, engages in retailing clothing, food, and home products in the United Kingdom and internationally. It offers clothing, including womenswear, lingerie, menswear, school wear, and kids wear; flowers, gifts, cards and stationery, books, compact discs, and digital versatile discs (DVDs). The companys home and furniture products include bedroom furniture, beds and mattresses, cabinet furniture, conservatory and outdoor products, dining tables and chairs, and sofas and armchairs for living and dining rooms, kitchen, home offices, bedrooms, and bathrooms; and cookware, dinnerware, home accessories, household electricals, lighting, luggage, soft furnishings, storage products, and towels and bathmats. In addition, it sells TVs, blu-rays, and DVD players; home cinema products; hi-fi and radios;

Art Van Furniture Michigan's #1 furniture seller offers medium-priced home furniture and bedding in some 35 Michigan stores. The chain has undergone a renovation, adding more upscale furniture (it sells Sealy, Simmons, and Broyhill brands) and perks such as children's play areas. The company is known for its aggressive sales and service. (Employees have been known to greet patrons carside with umbrellas on rainy days.) Chairman Art Van Elslander, who has 10 children (some active in the business), founded the firm with an East Detroit store in 1959. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.

River Island has nearly 300 stores across the UK, Ireland and internationally throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe. River Island is known for its stylish and affordable fashion and the unique touches we bring to our collections, which give us standout from the rest of the High Street. Our customers love us for our great going-out looks, amazing denim and fabulous shoes and bags, as well as being the perfect place to pick up everything you could need to get a complete head-to-toe look. At River Island we try really hard to bring new and original fashion to you, with design at the heart of absolutely everything we do. Almost everything is designed in-house and with one of the largest design teams on the High Street this means we can have fabulous new fashion arriving in-store and online every single week.

7-Eleven operates about 6,800 company-owned or franchised stores in the US and Canada under the 7-Eleven name. The retailer also has an interest in more than 1,000 stores in Mexico. Globally, 7-Eleven operates, franchises, or licenses more than 37,500 stores worldwide. The US's leading convenience store chain was taken private in late 2005 by its largest shareholder, the Japanese retail conglomerate Seven & i Holdings, the holding company for Seven-Eleven Japan, Ito-Yokado, Denny's restaurants, and other businesses.

Sam's Club runs about 600 "no frills" stores in 48 US states, plus another 135 or so stores in Brazil, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The chain's 47 million-plus members -- many of them small-business owners -- pay an annual fee to shop there. The stores average 133,000 square feet and offer more than 4,000 discounted items, including bulk office supplies and food, electronic goods, jewelry, clothes, insurance and travel services, and Member's Mark store-brand products. Samsclub.com is the company's online incarnation.

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