BI-LO's stores house pharmacies and some boast in-store WI- FI cafs.Brands include national names, as well as BI-LO's own: Southern Hearth Bakery items,Full Circle natural and organic foods,Top Care health and beauty aids,and Paws Premium pet foods.Founded in 1964 by Frank Outlaw,the chain is majority-owned by allas-based investment firm Lone Star Funds, which acquired BI-LO and its former sister chain Bruno's Supermarkets in 2005.Falling sales, increased competition, and reluctant lenders led BI-LO to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2009; it emerged the next year after a reorganization.

Antiques on East State operates one of the largest antiques malls in the Midwest, offering finds from the Civil War era, 19th century Europe, and other places and times past. Spanning about 20,000 sq. ft., the mall houses more than 90 antiques dealer booths and consignment showcases that feature fine china, art and photographs, books, jewelry and watches, furniture, and coins, among other collectibles. Antiques on East State hosts events throughout the year, including end-of-season markets and appraisal fairs. The company was founded in 2007.

Mailing more than 180 million catalogs a year, Hanover Direct sells home fashions (The Company Store, Domestications), as well as men's and women's apparel (International Male, Silhouettes, and Undergear). Each catalog has a corresponding e-commerce site. In addition to its own websites, Hanover Direct also sells its products through affiliated third-party websites, such as Amazon.com. The company makes Scandia Down brand comforters and pillows for sale in its catalogs, on its websites, and several retail outlet stores. Hanover Direct is owned by the New York-based hedge fund Chelsey Capital.

Groupe Naf Naf, comic book slang for "woof woof," is always sniffing around for what's new and hot in the world of fashion. Its namesake chain offers young urban women's apparel in about 370 boutiques in Europe, including about 140 stores in France. It also sells urban men's and children's clothes under the Chevignon brand at some 190 location in Europe and another 120 shops worldwide. French clothing and shoe retailer Vivarte bought the company in January 2007 from the founding Pariente brothers, who opened their first store in Paris in 1973 and continue to run Groupe Naf Naf.

Great Harvest Franchising acquired Montana Mills from doughnut-maker Krispy Kreme in 2005. The six-store bakery chain in upstate New York was converted to Great Harvest locations in early 2006. Founded by Pete and Laura Wakeman in 1978, Great Harvest was sold in 2001 to a group of North Carolina investors, including Mike Ferretti, who became CEO.Great Harvest Franchising (dba Great Harvest Bread Company) helps entrepreneurs not only bake bread but earn it. The company franchises its name and baking techniques to more than 210 bakeries in some 40 US states. In exchange for sending 7% of their sales to Great Harvest, owners receive bread recipes, baking techniques, and advice about accounting and store design.

Etna Supply was founded in 1965. Unlike the volcano in Sicily that shares its name, Etna Supply spews out water, not fire. The company distributes equipment and supplies for residential and commercial plumbing, hydronic heating, waterworks and sewage facilities, and fire protection. It operates through about 15 locations in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Etna Supply company also offers related services, such as custom pipe flaring and threading, welding, valve and hydrant maintenance, and meter reading. Customers include architects, engineers, contractors, and homeowners.

Groupe Lapeyre is one of France's largest manufacturers and distributors of joinery (doors, windows, and cabinetry). Its business-to-consumer unit includes Lapeyre, which distributes kitchen and bathroom products, as well as exterior and interior doors, windows, staircases, and flooring, through about 130 sales outlets. The division also includes some 180 K par K stores that sell and install windows and verandas, and Gimm, which produces PVC and wooden windows and doors. Its business-to-business unit includes Oxxo and Les Zelles, which produce and sell PVC windows and shutters. Groupe Lapeyre is a part of Saint-Gobain's building distribution division. In France, the doors and windows are always open for Lapeyre.

Chairman Gerry Harvey and Ian Norman founded the company in 1982; the Harvey family owns about 30% of the company. Bargain shoppers sniff out deals at stores owned or franchised by Harvey Norman Holdings. The fast-growing discounter sells consumer electronics, furniture, bedding, computers, flooring, and more through some 265 stores, mostly in Australia and New Zealand, but also in Asia, Ireland, and Slovenia. The retail outlets operate under the Domayne, Harvey Norman, and Joyce Mayne banners. Harvey Norman owns the ground under about a third of its stores and leases it to franchisees and provides them with administrative and advertising services in return for a percentage of sales.

Big Lots, Inc. is the nation's #1 broadline closeout retailer, with some 1,360 Big Lots stores (down from a high of 1,500 at the start of 2005) in 47 states. (More than one-third of its stores are located in California, Florida, Ohio, and Texas.) It sells a variety of brand-name products that have been overproduced, returned, discontinued, or result from liquidations, typically at 20%-40% below discounters' prices, as well as private-label items and furniture. Its wholesale division, Big Lots Wholesale, sells its discounted merchandise to a variety of retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and other wholesalers.

Old homes in the New World and new homes in the Old can find home-improvement supplies from this "mister." Mr. Bricolage is a retail chain (whose name means do-it-yourself in French) that sells home-improvement and related items at about 600 stores in France, Belgium, Argentina, Bulgaria, Madagascar, Spain, and Uruguay. Mr. Bricolage SA operates its business under the Bricolage and Catena brand names; the Tabur family owns more than 25% of Mr. Bricolage SA company.

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