MPS Builders and Merchants Ltd. company was founded in 1995 by officers Iain Melvin, Dale Potts, and Martyn and Erica Smith. MPS is really into hitting the bricks-- and other heavy building construction supplies. Through three depots in England, MPS is a merchant distributor of bricks, concrete products, ducting, grates and manhole covers, pipes and plumbing supplies, septic tanks, walls, and other building materials. Customers include civil-engineering firms, groundwork contractors, and residential and commercial builders. Deals include nationwide (UK) delivery of goods.

Spinx Company has turned itself into a small convenience retailing powerhouse. It operates more than 75 convenience stores under the SPINX banner in North and South Carolina. SPINX locations offer gasoline and alternative fuels (including biodiesel and E85), packaged snacks, foodservice outlets, car washes, and DVD rental kiosks. The company also supplies gasoline to more than 60 area convenience stores. CEO Stewart Spinks founded The Spinx Company, which is still family owned and operated.

H&M opened its first women's clothing store in 1947 as Hennes (Swedish for "hers"); it later bought the hunting and men's clothing store Mauritz Widforss. H&M is controlled by the family of chairman Stefan Persson (the billionaire son of founder Erling Persson). H&M Hennes & Mauritz targets the Hip & Modish. The firm designs cheap yet chic clothing, mainly for men and women ages 18 to 45, children's apparel, and its own brands of cosmetics. Fast-growing H&M operates about 2,000 stores in some 35 countries and has direct sales operations in selected areas. Germany is H&M's #1 market, accounting for about 25% of sales. About 60% of its clothing is made in Asia, the rest is manufactured primarily in Europe.

Burton Lumber & Hardware Co. was founded in 1911 by Willard C. Burton. cFamily-owned-and-run Burton Lumber & Hardware designs, makes, and installs truss and floor packages, wall panels, and doors (interior and exterior) from its facility in Salt Lake City. It also sells and installs Heatilator-brand fireplaces and building materials made by Trex, James Hardie, and other companies. Burton Lumber & Hardware operates half a dozen locations in Utah and offers delivery services throughout the state. Its customers have included contractors, home builders, and government agencies.

The leading online retailer CSN Stores, operates more than 200 online stores in a variety of niche market segments. Between its numerous websites, the company hawks more than 1 million products, including home and office furnishings, housewares, tools and hardware, luggage, shoes, and fitness items. In addition to CSNStores.com, the company operates sites such as AllModern.com, Cookware.com, Luggage.com, SimplyDesks.com, and Strollers.com. CEO Niraj Shah and chairman Steve Conine started the company in 2002 with one shopping destination, RacksandStands.com, and have continued their online expansion.

Founded by Banks Kerr in 1951, the chain was sold in 1995 to retailer J. C. Penney. A management group led by Kerr CEO Anthony Civello and CFO Richard Johnson later took Kerr Drug private. Oh, you can buy knick-knacks and doo-dads at a Kerr Drug store, but the company that bills itself as "North Carolina's Drugstore" puts its primary focus on pharmacy operations, which account for about two-thirds of sales. Kerr Drug operates about 90 stores in North Carolina in several formats, ranging from large health care centers to smaller clinical hubs and traditional drugstores. In addition to dispensing prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, its pharmacists dispense health care advice and patient information.

Liberty Plc aims to deliver a liberal dose of luxury to London's shoppers. The firm operates a high-end department store on London's Regent Street under the Liberty banner. The landmark Tudor revival style emporium offers fashion-forward men's and women's apparel, shoes and accessories, beauty products, home goods, and other sundries and services. About a third of its revenue is generated by Liberty Art Fabrics, which designs, makes, and distributes high-quality, avant-garde textiles. Founded in 1875 by Arthur Lasenby Liberty, the firm has had a historic relationship with Japan and objects from that area.

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.

KF - The Swedish Cooperative Union, is a federation of 47 consumer cooperative societies in Sweden, with over 3 million individual members. KF is the parent company of KF Group where Coop's grocery retail trade constitutes its core business. Coop operates grocery retail shops in chains like Coop Forum, Coop Extra, Coop Konsum and Coop Nära. Together with the retail consumer cooperative societies, Coop accounts for 21.5 percent of the entire Swedish grocery retail sector. The KF Group is also home to a number of companies within different business sectors as well as companies offering internal services. The subsidiaries include, amongst others, KF Fastigheter (real estate business), Akademibokhandeln with its online bookstore Bokus, Norstedts publishing group, PAN Vision Group (distribution of films and digital games), Vi Magazine, KF Invest and Vår Gård Saltsjöbaden (conference facility).

Borrowing its moniker from the Latin for "you," Vobis lays claim to one of Europe's largest chains of computer retail stores. The company makes computers under its own brand and distributes technology products from such companies as Apple, Intel, and Sony. Under pressure from other retailers, the company's former parent, European retailing giant METRO AG, tried unsuccessfully to sell Vobis several times before CEO Jurgen Rakow and board member Jurgen Bochmann agreed to take a 25% stake in the company. METRO transferred the remaining 75% of its interest in Vobis to Divaco, an investment firm controlled by METRO.

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