Retail & Mega-Stores

Nike is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes, apparel and sports equipment with revenue in excess of $16 billion USD in 2007. Operating in more than 160 countries around the globe Nike and is subsidiaries can be found in most shoe retailing stores. In addition to manufacturing their products Nike also runs a chain of retail stores known as Niketown.

Office Depot is the second largest office supply and products retailer (behind Staples). The company has over 1,600 locations globally and opened its first Florida store in 1986. Multiple states have investigated or canceled contracts with Office Depot for various questionable pricing schemes.

The Kroger Co. operates retail food and drug stores, multi-department stores, jewelry stores and convenience stores throughout the United States. The Company also manufactures and processes some of the food for sale in its supermarkets. It reported over US$60 billion in sales during its most recent fiscal year and is the top grocery retailer in the country and third-place general retailer in the country, behind Wal-Mart and The Home Depot.

Sears Holdings Corporation is the fourth largest retailer in the United States, behind Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, and Kroger. It was formed in 2005 with the purchase of Sears, Roebuck and Company of Hoffman Estates, Illinois by Kmart Holdings Corporation of Troy, Michigan.

Home Depot operates a chain of more than 2,000 retail stores that sell lumber and other building materials as well as house furnishings, tools and garden supplies in the US, Canada and Latin America. Based in Atlanta, Home Depot employs over 345,000 people. In fiscal 2006 the company reported revenues of more than $81.511 billion.

American Apparel is a clothing company with the assurance of “sweatshop-free” clothing. It was started by a young entrepreneur Dov Charney with the hopes of attracting a market base of young, hip urbanites with a mind towards labor rights and ethical business practices. American Apparel now has stores in L.A., New York, and Chicago, among other locations, with 4,500 employees that receive living wages and benefits.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large, discount department stores. It was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31, 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. It is the largest private employer in the world and the fourth largest utility or commercial employer, trailing the People's Liberation Army of China, the National Health Service of the United Kingdom, and the Indian Railways.

Gelmart Industries , Inc. is one of the largest privately owned direct manufacturer of intimate apparel in the world. The company manufacturers and distributes lingerie that is sold in department stores, mass merchants and specialty stores nationwide. Gelmart also serves as a contract manufacturer for other brands, and has a showroom in Manhattan where it employs more than 20 workers. Its clients include Playtex, Wal-Mart and Liz Claiborne.

In 1976, Liz Claiborne, Art Ortenberg, Leonard Boxer and Jerome Chazen - created what is now a nearly $5 billion public company. Established at a time when women were entering the workforce in large numbers, Liz Claiborne and her partners saw the opportunity to provide versatile, fashionable wardrobes that were appropriate for work, but still conveyed a sense of individuality and femininity. In contrast to department store practice at the time, Liz Claiborne presented all of the brand's related sportswear pieces in one department.