In 1940 José Navarro, Sr. founded Navarro Discount Pharmacies in Havana, Cuba. The first store was located on Monte Street and had a large client base including the employees of the Power Company. Later a second store opened and together the two pharmacies were considered among the best on the Island, with great selection and low prices. Following radical political change in Cuba, in 1961 the new government confiscated the Navarro stores along with many other private companies, forcing the family to flee to the United States. Upon arriving in Miami, José Navarro, Sr. cashed an insurance policy and used the $4000 proceeds to open a pharmacy on S.W. 8th Street and 13th Avenue, in what would become the heart of Miami’s Little Havana sector.Navarro Discount Pharmacies continued to expand, eventually growing to 28 stores in Miami-Dade County. Navarro holds a 17% market share in South Florida with annual sales in excess of $320 million, making the company the most profitable performer on a sales-per-square foot basis than any other drug chain in recent years. Further expansion plans are firmly in place with new stores projected to open each year. In order to fuel expansion, in 2007 Navarro Discount Pharmacies partnered with MBF Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm headed by Mike Fernandez, who commands over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. This partnership has positioned Navarro to expand its presence in the market and achieve its vision of becoming the first choice pharmacy and discount drug chain store for families in each community we serve.

Based in Mississippi, Southern Pipe is family-owned and was founded in 1938. Southern Pipe and Supply Co., Inc. sells pipes and anything that connects to them. Serving everyone from contractors and homeowners to commercial real estate property owners, Southern Pipe sells plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning supplies through more than 90 stores located throughout seven southeastern states. The company operates a central distribution center and a handful of Southern Bath & Kitchen showrooms that feature various products for homeowners. Southern Pipe's vendors include dozens of supply companies and manufacturers such as MOEN, Kohler, and Amana Heating and Air Conditioning.

WinWholesale Inc. is a leading supplier of domestic and industrial supplies and materials headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. The privately-held company consists of more than 450 wholesaling corporations in which WinWholesale is an equity partner, and also Noland Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary. Noland is a wholesaler with more than 70 locations mainly in the Southeast. Collectively, WinWholesale is referred to as “The Win Group of Companies". In the group are companies conducting business-to-business wholesale distribution of plumbing and heating supplies; industrial pipes, valves and fittings; heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment; electrical equipment; industrial and commercial fastening hardware; waterworks and utility supplies; and domestic, commercial and industrial pumps.

Dean & DeLuca also offers its goods through consumer and corporate gift catalogs, as well as online. It has operated in Japan since 2003 through a distribution agreement with ITOCHU there. Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca opened their first market in SoHo in 1977.You could go to Manhattan's tony SoHo neighborhood for a taste of Dean & DeLuca, but increasingly, you don't have to. The purveyor of pricey gourmet foods, fine wines, cheeses, baked goods, coffees and teas, and high-end kitchenware operates about 15 specialty markets and cafes in select US cities and is growing rapidly in Japan. The company opened its first cafe in the Middle East, located in Dubai, in 2008 and now has a store in Kuwait.

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.

Founded as a single shop in 1966, Superdrug was sold to home improvement chain Kingfisher plc in 1987. Today, Superdrug and its sister chain, discounter Savers, are owned by A.S. Watson (ASW), the retail and manufacturing subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa. The fast-growing retail chain has been remodeling its existing stores, including converting more than 200 Savers stores to the Superdrug banner. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Superdrug Stores, the UK's #2 health and beauty retailer (behind Alliance Boots). Superdrug Stores Plc operates more than 910 stores -- each with fragrance offerings and about 215 with in-house pharmacies -- in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Gabberts Design Studio & Fine Furnishings offers high-end furnishings in a variety of styles -- ranging from traditional to contemporary and from casual to refined -- for your living room, dining room, family room, bedroom, and home office. Gabberts' 63,000-square-foot store in Edina, Minnesota employs in-house interior designers, which it considers a competitive advantage. Founded in 1946 by Don Gabbert as a tire and appliance store, the company was owned and run by the Gabbert family until it was acquired by HOM Furniture in 2008. Gabberts' new owner continues to operate the business under the Gabberts banner.

R.C. Willey Home Furnishings drives traffic by giving away some 600,000 hot dogs a year at about a dozen stores in California, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. Despite Sunday store closures and operations in only four states, R.C. Willey is one of the nation's largest furniture retailers. Its offerings include furniture (La-Z-Boy, Flexsteel), appliances (GE, Maytag), electronics (Sony, Panasonic), and flooring. The firm also sells mattresses (Serta, Spring Air, Simmons). In 1932 Rufus Call (R.C.) Willey sold appliances door-to-door; today the company he founded is run by his son-in-law, chairman Bill Child, and grandsons. Berkshire Hathaway purchased the company in 1995.

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.

Charlotte Russe Holding is sweet on women's clothing. The mall-based retailer operates about 500 Charlotte Russe clothing stores in some 45 US states and Puerto Rico. The stores (averaging 7,100 sq. ft.) offer value-priced established and trendy fashions for women in their twenties and teens. Most merchandise carries the company's proprietary labels (Charlotte Russe, Refuge, and blu Chic). Charlotte Russe Holding company shut down its struggling 64-store Rampage chain in 2006, converting several locations to Charlotte Russe stores. Charlotte Russe Holding went public in 1999. Charlotte Russe Holding was taken private in 2009, when investment firm Advent International acquired Charlotte Russe.

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