Office Depot is a supplier of office products and services. The company’s selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, mailing and shipping. An S&P 500 company, Office Depot generates revenues of over US $14 billion annually and has 42,000 employees worldwide. It is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.
Target Corporation, usually known simply as Target, is an American retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1902 as the Dayton Dry Goods Company. In 1962, the company opened its first Target store in nearby Roseville. The Target store concept grew and eventually became the largest division of Dayton Hudson, culminating in the company changing its name to Target Corporation in 2000. The company has opened stores in all but one state (the exception, as of October 2009[update], being Vermont), operating as Target, SuperTarget, and formerly Target Greatland.
Target is the second largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 28 on the Fortune 500 as of 2009[update], and is a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. The company licenses its bullseye trademark to Wesfarmers, owners of the separate Target Australia chain.
CVS/pharmacy (commonly called CVS) is the second largest pharmacy chain in the United States, with approximately 7,001 stores across 45 states and Puerto Rico. As the retail pharmacy division of CVS Caremark, it sells prescription drugs and a wide assortment of general merchandise, including over-the counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, film and photo finishing services, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards and convenience foods through their CVS/pharmacy and Longs Drugs retail stores and online through CVS.com. They also provide healthcare services through its MinuteClinic healthcare clinics as well as their Diabetes Care Centers. Most of these clinics are located within CVS stores.
CVS is incorporated in Delaware, and is based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1963.
Chase is the consumer and commercial banking division of JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000. Chase Manhattan Bank was formed by the merger of the Chase National Bank and the Bank of the Manhattan Company in 1955. The bank is headquartered in Chicago.
Cost Plus opened its first store at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, California in 1958. Founder William Amthor did not intend to create a discount import retail chain–or even to open a single store–but he di
scovered San Franciscans loved that sort of merchandise. His discovery occurred by chance in 1958 when he sold some extra rattan furniture. Amthor operated a small family-owned furniture store in San Francisco at the time, but instead of displaying the rattan furniture in his store, he rented 4,000 square feet (370 m2) of warehouse space in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco. The rattan furniture sold quickly, convincing Amthor to start importing merchandise as a new business. He opened his first store devoted exclusively to imported merchandise later in 1958 and began importing wicker by the shipload.
After the success of this store, they quickly spread across the Bay Area and later into other states. There are currently 270 stores spread across 30 states. [2]
In the 1980s, “Cost Plus” shifted the branding of its stores to either Cost Plus World Market or simply World Market in developing markets. In 1996, Cost Plus went public and began trading on the NASDAQ stock market.
In February 2006, Cost Plus reported quarterly earnings of $125 million with $367 million in revenue for the 4th fiscal quarter of 2006. Their annual earnings were $280 million with over $800 million in revenue.
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Chili’s first location, a converted postal station on Greenville Avenue in Dallas, Texas, opened on March 13, 1975.[1] Lavine’s concept was to create an informal full-service dining restaurant with a menu featuring different types of hamburgers offered at an affordable price. The brand proved successful, and by the early 1980s there were 22 more Chili’s locations in the region, all featuring similar Southwest decor.[2]
In 1983, Lavine sold the company to restaurant executive Norman E. Brinker, formerly of the Pillsbury restaurant group.[2] Chili’s now has locations in all 50 U.S. states and 24 international locations.
Mouser Electronics is a catalog distributor of electronic components based in Mansfield, Texas. In January 2000, Mouser became a wholly-owned subsidiary of TTI, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas.
Though originally founded in El Cajon, California by Jerry Mouser in 1964, the company later relocated to its branch location in Mansfield, Texas. As of 2007, Mouser ships over 30,000 lines per day out of its 432,000-square-foot (40,100 m2) facility[citation needed]. Mouser publishes a new, comprehensive parts catalog every 90 days for its electronic component distributor. Their current catalog is more than 2,100 pages and references over a million part numbers from over 366 suppliers. An online version of the parts catalog includes datasheets and cross-references.
On March 30, 2007, Mouser became part of the Berkshire Hathaway Group.
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise based in Addison, Texas[1] (a northern suburb of Dallas), offering different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread. Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., the world’s largest restaurant company,[2] with approximately 34,000 restaurants, delivery-carry out units, and kiosks in 100 countries.
The company is reportedly relocating their headquarters to Legacy Office Park in nearby Plano when the lease on their current building, which they have occupied since 1995, expires in 2010.
Albertsons LLC is a North American grocery company based in Boise, Idaho, with over 240[1] supermarkets located in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida under the Albertson’s, County Line Liquor and Super Saver Foods banners[2]. While Albertsons LLC is majority-owned by Cerberus Capital Management, the “Albertsons” name is used under license with Supervalu.
Supermarket News ranked Albertsons LLC No. 24 in the 2008 “Top 75 North American Food Retailers” based on 2007 fiscal year estimated sales of US$6.0 billion.[3]
Burger King (NYSE: BKC), often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The first restaurant was opened in Miami, Florida in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton, and has since used several variations of franchising to expand its operations. Burger King Holdings Corporation is the parent company of Burger King; in the United States it operates under the Burger King Brands title while internationally it operates under the Burger King Corporation banner. It is a publicly traded company with investment firms of TPG Capital, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners each owning about 25% of the company.
At the end of its fiscal year 2009, Burger King reported that there are more than 12,000 outlets in 73 countries; 66% are in the United States and 90% are privately owned and operated. The company has more than 37,000 employees serving approximately 11.4 million customers daily.[3] In North America, franchises are licensed on a per store basis, while in several international locations licenses are sold on a regional basis with franchises owning exclusive development rights for the region or country. These regional franchises are known as master franchises, and are responsible for opening new restaurants, licensing new third party operators, and performing standards oversight of all restaurant locations in these countries; The largest example of a master franchise is Hungry Jack’s, which exclusively owns, operates or sub-licenses over 300 restaurants in Australia.
The Burger King menu has evolved from a basic offering of burgers, fries, sodas and milkshakes in 1954 to a larger, more diverse set of offerings that includes several variations of chicken, fish, salads and breakfast. The Whopper, a sandwich that has since become Burger King’s signature product, was the first major addition to the menu by Mr. McLamore in 1957. Not all introductions have had the success of the Whopper; BK has introduced many products which failed to catch hold in the marketplace. Some products that have failed in the US have seen success in foreign markets, where BK has also tailored its menu for regional tastes.
The company’s “Golden Age” of advertising was during the 1970s when it introduced its mascot the Magical Burger King, a memorable jingle, and several well known and parodied slogans. Beginning in the early 1980s, its advertising began to lose focus; a series of less successful ad campaigns created by various agencies continued for the next two decades. In 2003, Burger King set about resuscitating its moribund advertising with the hiring of the Miami-based advertising agency of Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B). They completely reorganized Burger King’s advertising with a series of new advertisements centered on a resuscitated Magical Burger King character.
