Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in Columbus, Ohio, by the F. W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At its peak, Woolco had hundreds of stores in the US, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom. While the American stores were closed in 1983, the chain remained active in Canada until it was sold in 1994 to rival Walmart, which was looking to enter the Canadian market. All of the former UK Woolco stores were sold by Kingfisher, which had bought the UK Woolworth business, to Gateway which subsequently sold them to Asda.
Eckerd Corporation was an American pharmacy retail chain that was headquartered in Largo, Florida, and toward the end of its life, in Warwick, Rhode Island. At its peak, Eckerd was the second-largest pharmacy chain in the United States, with approximately 2,802 stores in 23 states as far west as Arizona.
Piggly Wiggly is an American supermarket chain operating in the American Southern and Midwestern regions run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. Its first outlet opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, and is notable as the first true self-service grocery store, and the originator of various familiar supermarket features such as checkout stands, individual item price marking and shopping carts. The company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire. As of 2024, 503 independently owned Piggly Wiggly stores currently operate across 18 states, primarily in smaller cities and towns.
Big Lots Stores, Inc. is an American discount retail chain headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, United States.
Ben Franklin is a chain of five and dime and arts and crafts stores found primarily in small towns throughout the United States, currently owned by Promotions Unlimited of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. They are organized using a franchise system, with individual stores owned by independent proprietors. It was perhaps the first retail franchise, starting in 1927. They are named after Benjamin Franklin, taking a cue in their merchandise offerings from Franklin's saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned."
Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. It is the third-largest drugstore chain in the United States, with over 2,000 stores, and ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 in 2022.
The Penn Traffic Company was a food service company founded in 1854 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Pay 'n Save was a retail company founded by Monte Lafayette Bean in Seattle, Washington, in 1940. Over the years, Pay 'n Save was the leading drugstore chain in Washington and was the owner of several Washington-based retailers, including Lamonts and Ernst. A 1984 sale of the company to The Trump Group and a 1986 attempt to transform the retailer into a bargain-basement merchandiser resulted in a loss of nearly $50 million. By 1988, Pay 'n Save was sold to Thrifty Corporation, who later sold the stores to PayLess Drug, who retired the Pay 'n Save name. As a result, most of the retailer's divisions were spun off as separate companies or shuttered. As of 2023, Pay 'n Save's membership discount chain, Bi-Mart, is the sole surviving division of the company.
Thrifty PayLess Holdings, Inc. was a pharmacy holding company that owned the Thrifty Drugs and PayLess Drug Stores chains in the western United States. The combined company was formed in April 1994 when Los Angeles–based TCH Corporation, the parent company of Thrifty Corporation and Thrifty Drug Stores, Inc., acquired the Kmart subsidiary PayLess Drug Stores Northwest, Inc. At the time of the merger, TCH Corporation was renamed Thrifty PayLess Holdings, Inc. and Thrifty operated 495 stores, PayLess operated 543 stores.
The Katz Group of Companies is a Canadian privately-owned enterprise, with operations in sports and entertainment and real estate development. Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG), a subsidiary of the Katz Group, owns the National Hockey League five-time Stanley Cup Champion Edmonton Oilers, as well as professional hockey franchises in the American Hockey League, Western Hockey League, and ECHL, and Aquila Productions, an entertainment and event company. OEG operates Rogers Place in downtown Edmonton. Katz Group is also involved in land assembly, site, and building development in Canada and the United States, including the design and development of Ice District, an area that encompasses more than 25 acres anchored by Rogers Place. Katz Group is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Its founder and chairman is Daryl Katz.
Fay's Drug was a chain of drug stores that was founded in 1958 in Fairmount, New York. At its height, Fay's Drugs operated its core business, along with Wheels Discount Auto and The Paper Cutter Books and Office and Party Supply.
Gamble-Skogmo Inc. was a conglomerate of retail chains and other businesses that was headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Business operated or franchised by Gamble-Skogmo included Gambles hardware and auto supply stores, Woman's World and Mode O'Day clothing stores, J.M. McDonald department stores, Leath Furniture stores, Tempo and Buckeye Mart Discount Stores, Howard's Brandiscount Department Stores, Rasco Variety Stores, Sarco Outlet Stores, Toy World, Rasco-Tempo, Red Owl Grocery, Snyder Drug and the Aldens mail-order company. In Canada, retail operations consisted of Macleods Hardware, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Stedmans Department Stores, based in Toronto, Ontario. Gamble-Skogmo carried a line of home appliances, including radios, televisions, refrigerators, and freezers, under the Coronado brand name.
Souper Salad is an American restaurant chain based in Dallas, Texas. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant serving fresh salads, made-from-scratch soups, homemade breads, and more. All locations are in the Southwestern United States, with the majority located in Texas. The chain is privately owned and has been in operation since 1978. As of October 2022, the chain had 3 locations.
Drug Fair was a chain of drugstores based in New Jersey.
The Lane Drug Company of Ohio, was a discount drugstore chain in the United States that was originally based in Toledo, Ohio. On 10 April 1989, the chain was acquired by Rite Aid Corporation of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and currently operates as a division of Rite Aid.
Cunningham Drug was a drugstore chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in October 1889 by Andrew Cunningham, the chain operated primarily within the state of Michigan, and was once the largest drugstore chain in the state. Its Michigan locations were closed and reopened in 1982 as Apex Drug, and were later sold to Perry Drug Stores. The last stores remained open in Florida until 1991, when they were sold to Walgreens.
Builders Emporium was a chain of home improvement stores based in Irvine, California, United States. At the time of its closing in 1993, it had 82 stores in Southern California and an additional 15 in Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas; 4,300 employees in total.
