IGA grocers are independent, but not alone. The world's largest voluntary supermarket network, IGA has 6,200 stores in more than 40 countries worldwide, including about 1,350 in the US. Collectively, its members are among North America's leaders in terms of supermarket sales. IGA (which stands for either International or Independent Grocers Alliance, the company says) is owned by about 35 worldwide distribution companies, including SUPERVALU. Members can sell IGA-brand private-label products (over 2,300 items) and take advantage of joint operations and services, such as advertising and volume buying. Some stores in the IGA alliance, which primarily caters to smaller towns, also sell gas.

Food Emporium offers free delivery with $50 purchases (with some restrictions). The Food Emporium's store count has slipped as its stores in New York State and Connecticut have been converted to other A&P banners.The Food Emporium operates about 15 upscale supermarkets in densely-populated Manhattan and a store in Connecticut. A division of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2010, Food Emporium stores are small (8,000 to 17,000 square feet). The grocery chain also operates an online shopping service (www.thefoodemporium.com), offering pick up and home delivery service to shoppers in 33 ZIP codes in Manhattan, where it competes with Internet grocer FreshDirect

Independent Pipe and Supply Corp. (IP&S) has risen over the last four generations to become one of the largest family owned industrial pvf houses in New England. As the premier distributor of industrial pipe, we represent the top suppliers in providing a comprehensive product range: pipe, strainers, backflow preventers, steam traps, commercial equipment, valves, instrumentation, fittings & flanges, fire protection and specialties such as gaskets, pipe tools and machines, expansion joints and more. For your convenience, we offer state-of-the-art computerized inventory and search technology directly from the home page of our web site. Our continued growth and success stems from long-term relationships with customers, vendors and employees alike. During nearly six decades in the piping industry, IP&S, which is headquartered in Canton, MA, has expanded into five states. Today, we serve the contractor and distributor markets in the New England area and beyond.IP&S may be an acronym for Independent Pipe & Supply, but it also stands for the three pillars of our business success: Inventory, Price and Service. Our financial leverage allows us to negotiate, purchase and warehouse extensive merchandise - a strategy that has enabled us to supply our customers' needs on time, anytime and at highly competitive prices since the early seventies. In the name of superior service we've nurtured relationships for decades with both vendors and customers, without whom we would not be what we are today: an evolving and expanding family business with a major distribution facility in Canton and branches in five states serviced by over 100 employees. Although IP&S has grown and changed with the times, we believe wholeheartedly in the human method of doing business - in personal attention that provides the best customer service in the industry. No account is too small or too large - we have the trucking capacity, inventory, staff and knowledge to service any account for a lifetime.

Euphoria was founded by president and CEO Bob Bury in 1980.Euphoria Chocolate Company makes those little sweets that bring you joy. It prepares its chocolate candy on location at several retail stores and a factory outlet store in Eugene, Oregon. Well known for its wide variety of truffles (available in Grand Marnier, hazelnut, raspberry, and toasted almond flavors, to name a few), the company also offers its chocolates to non-locals through its Web site.

Stew Leonard's produces its own milk and is thought to sell more orange juice than any other store in the world. Charles Leonard began bottling milk in 1924; his son Stew built the first retail store in 1969. Stew Leonard and his family, including CEO Stew Jr., own Stew Leonard's.Customers don't stew at Stew Leonard's, where the customer is always right just ask the customer who got a refund for the turkey she burned. While singing milk cartons and farm animals amuse the kids, four locations in Connecticut and New York sell a selection of dairy products, juice, wine, and meats to some 300,000 people weekly. Stew Leonard's also offers catering services and online sales.

Max Mara Fashion Group is taking leading-edge apparel design to the max. Max Mara Fashion Group S.r.l. clothes some of the finest women in the world (including ESPN Monday Night Football's female reporters). It touts more than 20 labels, including the flagship Max Mara (high-end contemporary career, bridal, and sportswear); Marina Rinaldi (plus-sized fashions); and iBlues, Marella, and Penny Black (lower-priced lines). One of Italy's largest fashion firms, Max Mara Fashion Group S.r.l. company operates more than 2,300 boutiques in 90 countries worldwide, and it sells through such retailers as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Barneys. Started in the 1950s, Max Mara is owned and run by the family of founder Achille Maramotti, who died in 2005.

Hartco was founded by chairman and CEO Harry Hart in 1960 and, though now public, is still operated largely by the Hart family. If you really heart computers, Hartco is for you. Through its operating divisions, which together include more than 60 locations across Canada, Hartco delivers IT products, services, and solutions to private and public sector organizations. Its distribution and franchise segment operates under the Metafore, MicroAge, and Northwest Digital brands. Its commercial segment includes the business activities operated by the company's limited partnerships under the names of Metafore LP, Solutions Technologiques Dorval LP, and MicroAge.

Kesko also operates about 870 other retail outlets from department stores and home and specialty shops (shoes and sporting goods), to stores selling hardware, builders' supplies, agriculture goods, and machinery. Kesko also is a wholesaler and imports vehicles made by Volkswagen and Audi through its VV-Auto division. You name it, Kesko sells it. The Finnish firm is big in importing, distributing, and wholesaling in its homeland and in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and now Russia and Belarus. Its largest division, Kesko Food (about 45% of sales) includes more than 1,000 of its own "K" food stores (operating in a variety of formats mostly in Finland and in the Baltic countries).

Rooms To Go, with 120 stores in about 10 southern states and Puerto Rico -- has transformed itself into one of the top-selling furniture retailers in the US by taking the package approach to retailing. Rooms To Go (RTG) markets its limited selection of furniture to brand-conscious, time-pressed customers. It packages low- to moderately priced furniture and accessories and offers discounts for those willing to buy a roomful. The chain also operates the Rooms to Go Kids chain that sells furniture for kids and teens from more than 45 stores. CEO and owner Jeffrey Seaman and his father, Morty, founded RTG in 1990 after selling Seaman Furniture Company.

RepairClinic.com® provides the do-it-yourself consumer market with the resources needed to fix their household appliances, vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, and outdoor power equipment. We have an extensive inventory of more than one million parts that we photograph, define, and categorize to make them easier for customers to find and purchase. To assist more than 75,000 individuals each month with free repair help information, we have assembled a vast library of text documents, diagrams, and high-definition videos. We are continuously updating the library and training our employees with current parts and repair information to offer the best customer service possible. Our extraordinary return policy allows any part, including electrical parts, to be returned within 30 days for your money back. And with our same day shipping guarantee on all in stock parts, there is no wonder why more than two million customers nationwide have purchased parts from RepairClinic. RepairClinic began in 1999 in a small, rented office with a team of seven people. By 2004, to accommodate our rapidly growing inventory and staff of over 50 employees, we built a 60,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Canton, MI. We have since added 26,000 sq. ft. and 80 more employees including a team of bi-lingual customer care representatives.

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