WH Smith PLC, trading as WHSmith, is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, entertainment products and confectionery.
A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many parts of the world. A franchise retail establishment is one form of a chain store. In 2005, the world's largest retail chain, Walmart, became the world's largest corporation based on gross sales.
Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for use at home or for business. Many hardware stores have specialty departments unique to its region or its owner's interests. These departments include hunting and fishing supplies, plants and nursery products, marine and boating supplies, pet food and supplies, farm and ranch supplies including animal feed, swimming pool chemicals, homebrewing supplies and canning supplies. The five largest hardware retailers in the world are The Home Depot, Lowe's, Kingfisher of the United Kingdom, Obi of Germany, and Leroy Merlin of France.
Focus was a British do-it-yourself and home improvement retailer, founded in 1987.
HHGL Limited, trading as Homebase, is a British home improvement retailer and garden centre with stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founded by Sainsbury's and GB-Inno-BM in 1979, the company was owned by Home Retail Group from October 2006, until it was sold to the Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers in January 2016.
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Alliance Boots was a multinational pharmacy-led health and beauty group with corporate headquarters in Bern, Switzerland and operational headquarters in Nottingham and Weybridge, United Kingdom.
CSK Auto, Inc. was a specialty retailer of automotive parts and accessories in the western United States. CSK Auto became a publicly traded company in March 1998, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth. It was acquired in 2008 by O'Reilly Automotive.
Travis Perkins plc is a British builders' merchant and home improvement retailer with head offices based in Northampton. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Through its Toolstation subsidiary, the group also has operations in mainland Europe.
Dollond & Aitchison was one of the oldest chains of retail opticians in the United Kingdom, having been established in 1750. The business was absorbed into Boots Opticians in 2009 and stores were rebranded under the Boots Opticians name, completed in 2015.
Wickes is a home improvement retailer and garden centre, based in the United Kingdom with more than 230 stores throughout the country. Its main business is the sale of supplies and materials, for homeowners and the building trade. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Texas Homecare was a chain of do it yourself (DIY) stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The firm operated from 1972 until 1996, with some stores lasting until 1999.
Fine Fare was a chain of supermarkets which operated in the United Kingdom from 1951 until 1988. Their Yellow Pack budget own-label range, introduced in 1980, was the first own brand basic ranges to be introduced in the UK and in 1983 it was the first supermarket to sell organic food. Fine Fare and its subsidiaries were rebranded to Gateway Foodmarkets in the late 1980s.
Skaggs Companies was the predecessor to many famous United States retailing chains, including Safeway, Albertsons, Osco Drug, and Longs Drugs. The company owned several drugstore chains, but all of them were sold. Skaggs Cos. became American Stores in 1979.
Pay Less, PayLess, Pay-Less, or Payless may refer to:
Praktiker AG was a German hardware store chain which operated in Europe. It was based in Hamburg and opened its first store in 1978 in Luxembourg under the name bâtiself. Initially owned by ASKO, the chain became a division of Metro AG after the merger of ASKO with Metro Cash & Carry in 1995. It was spun off under the name Praktiker Holding in November 2005 and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Since 2006 until 2011 was listed on MDAX and since 2011 until 2013 on SDAX.
William Ernest Archer is a British businessman.
Great Mills was a large DIY chain, consisting of around 98 stores across the United Kingdom. The business was bought by Focus DIY in December 2000 for £285m, which in turn entered administration in May 2011, with all stores closing by the end of July 2011. Most of the former stores of Focus DIY were sold off by the administrators Ernst & Young in batches to B&Q, Wickes and B&M Bargains.
William Grimsey is an English businessman who has specialised in the food and DIY sectors, most notably at Wickes, Iceland, and Focus (DIY).
Payless DIY was a chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom during the 1980s.
