Coop Danmark is owned by the 1.6 million members of the Danish Consumers' Cooperative Society.Something may be rotten in Denmark, but not at Coop Danmark's stores. Coop Danmark is the country's leading retailer with about 1,200 supermarkets, hypermarkets, and discount stores throughout the tiny nation. The coop's shops operate under the Kvickly, Dagli'Brugsen, Irma, and SuperBrugsen banners, among others. Coop Danmark also operates the fast-growing 340-store Fakta discount chain. The Danish retailer boasts a 38% market share and continues to grow. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coop Norden, which was formed in 2002 by the merger of Coop Danmark, Coop Norge, and Coop Sverige

Plaid Pantries operates more than 100 convenience stores under the Plaid Pantry banner in Oregon and Washington. Many of the shops offer in-store Subway and Taco Bell outlets, as well as gas and automatic check-cashing machines. After years of selling its own brand of gas (Plaid-Plus), the regional convenience store chain has switched to offering branded gas (ConocoPhillips and Shell) at its stores that sell fuel. Plaid Pantries got its start in 1960 and got its name, courtesy of founder John Piacentini, from the red-and-white checkered design then featured in all of its locations.

Rosauers Supermarkets newest store, a 60,000-square-foot combination Rosauers Food & Drug and Huckleberry's Natural Market, opened in Boseman, Montana in late 2007. Founder J. Merton Rosauer opened his first supermarket in Spokane, Washington in 1949. Today the company is owned by its primary supplier, grocery wholesaler URM Stores.Rosauers Supermarkets operates about 20 stores in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington under the Rosauers Food & Drug, Super 1 Foods, and Huckleberry's Natural Market banners. In addition to traditional supermarket fare, many of the stores house bakery, deli, floral, pharmacy, and photo departments as well as restaurants, post offices and UPS outlets.

ACO Hardware, Inc. Founded in 1946 by Ted Traskos and his four brothers, ACO Hardware is still owned by the Traskos family. ACO Hardware can provide both the food and the supplies if you want to get your floor clean enough to eat off. The company's outlets sell automotive supplies, electrical goods, food and beverages, hardware, housewares, paint, lawn and garden necessities, patio furniture, and tools. It also rents equipment for carpet cleaning, plumbing, and home maintenance. ACO Hardware operates about 70 stores in southeastern Michigan, primarily in the Detroit area. Customers can view weekly specials and find hardware tips on the company's Web site.

Where can Kiwis buy their groceries and their consumer retail goods under one roof? The Warehouse. One of New Zealand's leading retailers, The Warehouse Group operates about 85 department stores and 45 office supply stores under the Warehouse Stationery banner throughout the country. Its offerings include apparel, entertainment, technology, music, sporting goods, grocery items, and gardening accessories, among many others. Founded in 1982, the company decided to exit the Australian market in 2005 and sold that subsidiary (comprising 122 Warehouse Australia stores) to focus on its home market. A bid by Australian retail giant Woolworths to acquire Warehouse Group was blocked by regulators in mid-2008.

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.

Lund Food Holdings has been adding pharmacies to many of its stores. The grocer also operates an online shopping and home delivery service.Lund Food Holdings operates about 20 Lunds and Byerly's upscale grocery markets in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The company took its present form in 1997 with the merger of Lunds and Byerly's. Both chains specialize in gourmet, high-quality foods, with locations offering artisan breads, bakeries, a line of organic foods and natural products, wine stores, florists, catering services, housewares, cooking demos, and community meeting rooms. Byerly's also runs a culinary school out of one of its stores. Through a partnership with Minnetonka-based PrairieStone Pharmacy.

PC Connection is just a click away. A leading direct marketer of computer products in the US, the company sells hardware, software, networking devices, and peripherals. It offers more than 180,000 items from Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and Microsoft, among others. Through its catalogs, websites, and direct sales force, PC Connection targets small and midsized businesses, large corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions, as well as individual consumers. PC Connection was founded in 1982 by Patricia Gallup (chairman and CEO) and David Hall (director).

JLP has several manufacturing subsidiaries that make wooden furniture, and bedding; its 4,000-acre Leckford Estate in Hampshire grows apples, pears, mushrooms, and produces milk, poultry, and eggs for sale in Waitrose supermarkets. JLP has an online shopping service, John Lewis Direct, and its employee pension plan owns about 24% of Internet grocer Ocado, which delivers Waitrose products.What began as a London drapery shop is today one of the UK's largest retailers -- and arguably its most oddly organized. John Lewis Partnership (JLP) runs about 30 John Lewis department stores and some 235 Waitrose supermarkets, primarily in London and southern England, but also in Scotland and Wales.

Roots is owned by Michael Budman and Don Green, who co-founded Roots Canada Ltd. company as a footwear store in 1973. From its original shoot, Roots Canada has branched out into many areas. The apparel chain, known among some as the Canadian Gap, sells clothing and accessories for men, women, and children. Firmly planted in the land of maple leaves and beavers, the company has more than 120 stores in Canada and the US, and over 40 locations in Asia (China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan). Besides apparel, Roots Canada Ltd. company offers leather goods, eyewear, watches, and fragrances, even lending its name to a line of furniture. It was the official outfitter of the 2002 Winter Olympics and also outfitted Canada and three other nations in 2004.

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