E-commerce is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. E-commerce is in turn driven by the technological advances of the semiconductor industry, and is the largest sector of the electronics industry.
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantities to consumers for a profit. Retailers are the final link in the supply chain from producers to consumers. Shopping generally refers to the act of buying products. Sometimes this is done to obtain final goods, including necessities such as food and clothing; sometimes it takes place as a recreational activity. Recreational shopping often involves window shopping and browsing: it does not always result in a purchase.
Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores. As of 2020, Costco was the fifth largest retailer in the world, and the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016. In 2021, Costco was ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
GUS plc was an FTSE 100 retailing, manufacturing and financial conglomerate based in the United Kingdom. GUS was an abbreviation of Great Universal Stores, the company's name before 2001, while it was also known as the Glorious Gussies amongst stockbrokers. The company started out as Universal Stores, a mail order business created by the Rose family. In 1931, Isaac Wolfson joined the mail order company and would, through a series of takeovers, turn it into a retail, manufacturing and financial conglomerate, becoming Europe's biggest mail order firm and with over 2,700 physical stores. His son, Leonard Wolfson, followed him as chairman, to be succeeded by his nephews David Wolfson (1996–2000) and Victor Barnett (2000–2002). During the 1980s, the business divested much of its physical retail and manufacturing subsidiaries under Leonard Wolfson to concentrate on mail order, property and finance. In October 2006, the company was split into two separate companies: Experian which continues to exist, and Home Retail Group which was bought by Sainsbury's in 2016.
Waring & Gillow was a noted firm of English furniture manufacturers and antique dealers formed in 1897 by the merger of Gillows of Lancaster and London and Waring of Liverpool.
A big-box store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store.
Titan Company Limited is an Indian luxury products company that mainly manufactures fashion accessories such as jewellery, watches and eyewear. Part of the Tata Group and started as a joint venture with TIDCO, the company has its corporate headquarters in Electronic City, Bangalore, and registered office in Hosur, Tamil Nadu.
Target Australia is a mid-price department store chain owned by the Kmart Group, part of Australian retail conglomerate Wesfarmers. Target stocks clothing, cosmetics, homewares, electronics, books, and toys selling both in-store and online. The company's head office is located in Williams Landing, Melbourne and opened in 2018. Despite the identical logo, name and similar type of outlets, Target Australia carries no direct relation or affiliation to the American big box retailer Target Corporation.
Humphrey Michael Cobbold is the current Chief Executive Officer of Pure Gym - the UK’s largest Gym operator. He joined the business in 2015 when there were 84 gyms, growing the business to over 200 facilities in 2018. He oversaw the sale of the business for the founder and investors from CCMP to Leonard Green & Partners in November 2017 for over £600m.
Heal's is a British furniture and furniture retail company comprising seven stores, selling a range of furniture, lighting and home accessories. For over two centuries, it has been known for promoting modern design and employing talented young designers.
Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. is an American home furnishings manufacturer and retailer, headquartered in Arcadia, Wisconsin. The company is owned by father and son team Ron and Todd Wanek. Ashley Furniture manufactures and distributes home furniture products throughout the world.
Furniture Brands International, Inc., was a Clayton, Missouri-based home furnishings company. Some of the brands it owned in the furniture industry included Broyhill, Lane, Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Hickory Chair, Pearson, Laneventure, and Maitland-Smith.
Wren Kitchens is a privately owned British designer, manufacturer, and retailer of kitchens. It has 106 stores.
Furniture Village is a British furniture retailer. It has over fifty stores throughout the United Kingdom, the first of which was opened in Abingdon, and also sells online. The company is headquartered in Slough. It is the largest privately owned furniture chain in the United Kingdom. Their target market is the upper end of the price range for the moderately rich. Their advertising has attempted to establish quality, rather than price, as the distinguishing point from competitors DFS.
Wayfair Inc. is an American e-commerce company that sells furniture and home-goods. Formerly known as CSN Stores, the company was founded in 2002. Their digital platform offers 14 million items from more than 11,000 global suppliers. The online company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Wayfair has offices and warehouses throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Pets Corner UK Ltd is a United Kingdom-based ethical pet care retail store chain. Its main area of business is selling specialist natural pet foods, accessories and treatments predominantly for dogs and cats, but also for small animals, reptiles, birds, wildlife, and tropical and cold water fish.
The James Pascoe Ltd Group of Companies is a privately owned New Zealand retail group with holdings across New Zealand and Australia. JPG owns and operates chains Pascoes the Jewellers, Stewart Dawsons and Goldmark ; department store Farmers ; homeware retailer Stevens; and bookshop Whitcoulls in New Zealand. The group's three Australian businesses are jewellers Prouds the Jewellers, Angus & Coote and Goldmark, with over 460 stores across Australia as of 2012. Goldmark is the only brand operating in both countries.
Poundworld was a chain of British value variety stores that sold most of its items for £1. It was founded in 1974 by Yorkshire-based father-and-son team Chris Edwards Sr. and Chris Edwards Jr. In contrast to many high street retailers, it maintained strong sales and growth during the global recession that started in 2007.
Hannahs is a New Zealand footwear retail company.
