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Introduction<br/>Jungle Jim's International Market<br/>This 300,000-square-foot food emporium sells more thati 130,000 different food<br/>and related products from across the globe. No less than 30,000 shoppers each<br/>week can choose from a wide range offresh fish, 1,600 cheeses, 12,000 vintage<br/>wines, 1,400 varieties of hot sauce, and so much more. Jtmgle Jim's carries gthnic<br/>foods representing more than seventy-five countries. If a particular food can't be<br/>found anywhere else in the United States, it can be found here.<br/>Gump's'<br/>Gump's, a San Francisco landmark for nearly 130 years, sells the fittest quality<br/>jewelry, home furnishitigs and accessories, art, collectibles, atid antiques. This ele<br/>gant store, with its stunnbigly displayed merchandise and exceptiotial service, has<br/>long been a popular shopping destination for tourists and locals alike. In addition<br/>to its legendary store, this extraordinary retail business produces a first-class mail<br/>order catalog and uses the Web to its best advantage.<br/>Archie McPhee<br/>Customers laugh their way through Archie McPhee as they browse a most bizarre<br/>mix of novelty merchandise. The discerning shopper can pick up Yodeling Pickles,<br/>Last Supper After Dinner Mints, and even Bacon Strip Bandages. This store ca<br/>ters to people who have a sense of humor, aren't easily offended, and find that a<br/>little irreverence is goodfor the soul.<br/>Powell's City of Books<br/>Two large chains dominate the twenty-first-centnry bookstore business. Borders<br/>and Barnes & Noble, with locations in cities across America. But in Portland,<br/>Oregon, book lovers prefer to shop Powell's City of Books over any other bookseller.<br/>In recent years, the number of locally owned bookstores has dwindled, while<br/>Powell's continues to thrive. It is today the world's largest i'ndependent seller of<br/>new and used books.<br/>Abt Electronics<br/>Abt, the most successful independent consumer electronics and appliance store in the<br/>nation, successfully competes in the brutal Chicagoland marketplace against all<br/>odds. This exquisitely designed and appointed suburban store sits on a thirty-sevenacre<br/>campus with parking for more than 1,000 cars. Abt sells consumer electronics<br/>and appliances from a vast array of well-known brands and is one of few manu<br/>facturer test sites for the newest appliances and electronics not yet on the market.<br/>Zabar's<br/>In a city fdled with good food stores and delicatessens, Zabar's remains the one<br/>loved most by New Yorkers. This unpretentious store offers a tremendous variety<br/>of fish, kosher foods, breads, freshly ground coffee beans, vegetables, sweets, canned<br/>goods, and housewares. If you are looking for a massive selection of incredible<br/>foods, employees who really know their stuff, and an only-in-New York shopping<br/>experience, Zabar's ivon't di.iappoint.<br/>Bronner's Christmas Wonderland<br/>Shoppers can find Christmas merchandise in an assortment of stores around the<br/>country. But there's only one Bronner's Christmas Wonderland and it's located in<br/>Frankenmuth, Michigan. Attracting more than three million shoppers a year, no<br/>other store comes close to Bronner's selection oj Christmas merchandise. With<br/>6.000 ornaments. 50,000 trims, and thousands of light sets, this is the world's<br/>largest Christmas store.<br/>Ron Jon Surf Shop<br/>Small surf shops abound up and down both coasts, but only one is known as<br/>America's surfing mecca. Sporting a giant surfer atop its entrance, Ron Jon fea<br/>tures a vast selection of suif equipment and apparel in a .shop that can hardly be<br/>considered small. Attracting thousands of customers from all over the world each<br/>year. Ron Jon serves the needs oj surfers and anyone who embraces the surfer<br/>lifestyle.<br/>A Southern Season<br/>As one of Americas most revered and honored food stores, A Southern Season pre<br/>sents gourmet foods in a striking shopping environment. The store's merchandise<br/>includes delectable chocolates from Europe, exotic coffees from South America, aro<br/>matic teas from Asia, excellent wines from all over the world, specialty packaged<br/>foods, imported housewares for anyone who loves to cook and entertain, atid much,<br/>much more.<br/>ABC Carpet & Home<br/>In the late 1800s, Sam Weinrib sold carpets and linoleum from a pushcart on<br/>Manhattan's Lower East Side. From this humble beginning, the Weinrib family<br/>built ABC Carpet & Home into one of the nation's premier home furnishings<br/>stores. It is the only home furnishings store in New York City that covers an entire<br/>block and offers merchandise made from environmentally friendly components from<br/>around the world.<br/>In Celebration of Golf<br/>Today, consumers can buy golf merchandise in lots of places—giant sporting goods<br/>stores, specialty golf stores, on-course pro shops, catalogs, and the Internet—all of<br/>which simply sell the goods. Roger Maxivell's In Celebration of Golf genuinely cel<br/>ebrates the game of golf in an elegantly designed store that delights and surprises<br/>golf-loving shoppers with the very best in golf apparel, shoes, clubs, art, accessories,<br/>and gifts.<br/>Gallery Furniture<br/>Even in the fiercely competitive Houston marketplace, this independent furniture<br/>store tops $130 million in annual revenues. The growth and success of Gallery<br/>Furniture can be attributed solely to Jim "Mattress Mack" Mclngvale's tireless<br/>dedication, energy, entrepreneurial spirit, and vision. He challenged the traditions<br/>so prevalent in furniture retailing with his "You Buy It Today. You Get It Today"<br/>policy, permanently altering Houston's competitive furniture environment.<br/>WiLKES BaSHFORD<br/>Every big city in America supports stores serving the needs of affluent consumers<br/>u hose tastes and interests demand high-quality designer apparel. In San Francisco,<br/>Wilkes Bash ford defines the category. Located just off the city's world-famous<br/>Union Square, this store offers six floors offashionable men's and women's apparel<br/>from the world's best-known designers, along with a comprehensive assortment of<br/>decorator items, antiques, accessories, and imported bed linens.<br/>Nell Hill's<br/>When one thinks of the best-known home furnishings destinations, the small town<br/>of Atchison, Kansas, isn't likely to show t/p on anyone's list. Yet, every year Nell<br/>Hill's attracts thousands of customers from Kansas City (more than an hour's<br/>drive away) and from cities and towns all across the Midwest. The constantly<br/>changing selection of truly unique home furnishings that cannot be fotmd elsewhere<br/>delights shoppers.<br/>LouisBoston<br/>LouisBoston opened in the 1920s as a pawnshop. The store and its ktiowledgeable<br/>staff now sell the fijjest-quality men's and women's apparel plus tasteful household<br/>items and gifts, all offered in an architecturally magnificent building. If you fear<br/>that elegance and style no longer exist in America, you will find it alive and well<br/>at LouisBoston.<br/>Estes Ark<br/>Travelers driving toward the scenic Rocky Mountain community of Estes Park,<br/>Colorado, will discover an ark sitting alongside Highway 34- Unlike Noah's fa<br/>mous vessel, this ark won't float, but it is home to a very special toy store specializ<br/>ing in stuffed atiimals. In addition to selling a jaw-dropping assortment of teddy<br/>bears, it carries every kind of stuffed animal imaginable, from armadillos, jelly<br/>fish, and lizards to rhinoceroses, scorpions, and wolverines.<br/>Junkman's Daughter<br/>Junkman's Daughter's Brother<br/>Many years ago Edwin Gavrons Big G Surplus was the place in Atlanta to go<br/>for closeout. overstock, and discontinued merchandise. Upon his retirement, his<br/>daughter opened a store of her own. selling everything from wigs and vintage ap<br/>parel to costumes and memorabilia. She named her store Junkman's Daughter.<br/>Some time later her brother saw ivhat fun she was having and opened Junkman's<br/>Daughter's Brother in the college town of Athens. Georgia. While both stores share<br/>the same heritage and have complementary names, they serve a different customer<br/>base and offer distinct selections of merchandise.<br/>Smoky Mountain Knife Works<br/>The town of Sevierville, Tennessee, best known as the gateivay to the great Smoky<br/>Mountains, is home to the world's largest knife showplace. Knives of all kinds,<br/>along with collector and antique swords, outdoor equipment, watches, lijoters,<br/>and books, fill this store top to bottom. With more than 1.2 million visitors a year.<br/>Smoky Mountain Knife Works draws shoppers nationwide and from around the<br/>world.<br/>Bering's<br/>Thousands of hardware stores exist in the United States, but none like Bering's.<br/>Founded in 1940 by August Bering, what started out as a lumberyard is today a<br/>unique 30.000-square-foot retail store with a selection of gourmet coffee beans,<br/>Baccarat crystal, fine writing instruments, and engraved and embossed stationery,<br/>along with the merchandise you woiild expect to find in a good traditional hard<br/>ware store.<br/>Wanna Buy a Watch?<br/>This amazing store, just a few blocks from Beverly Hills, sells vintage and con<br/>temporary watches representing the world's finest brands. Although best known for<br/>its broad selection of vintage watches. Wanna Buy a Watch? stocks hundreds of<br/>one-of-a-kind antique platinum diamond wedding rings as well. With a highly<br/>knowledgeable staff and enviable location, this store has earned the reputation as<br/>the place to buy vintage and collectible watches.<br/>Rowena's<br/>If you love delectable sweets and would enjoy a leisurely lunch in an old-fashioned<br/>English tea room. Rowena's is the place for you. Long before Rowena Fullinwider<br/>started her business, she had been sharing her tasty concoctions with friends and<br/>neighbors. Today, the staff at her factory, gift shop, and tea room busy themselves<br/>baking, selling, and shipping the tasty treats created by this cooking wizard.<br/>The Silver Queen<br/>This store, with its massive selection oj new and estate sterling silver and silver<br/>plate flatware, along with countless other silver items, has become an invaluable<br/>resource to hundreds of thousands of silver-seeking consumers. The showroom dis<br/>plays a wide assortment of the world's best-known tableware brands. As a true<br/>multichannel retailer. The Silver Queen serves the needs of customers around the<br/>world.<br/>Toy House & Baby Too<br/>With 32.{){)i) toys from more than 330 manujacturers. this store carries the larg<br/>est selection oj any toy store in the country. It sells baby furniture, car seats, educational<br/>toys, dolls, musical toys, stuffed animals, crafts, and more. While the large<br/>chain stores focus on toys connected to movies and TV shows, Toy House carefully<br/>selects toys based on value, educational merit, and inherent ability to engage and<br/>delight children.<br/>Hartville Hardware<br/>In the small rural community of Hartville, Ohio, with a population of less than<br/>2,500, the world-class Hartville Hardware has thrived since the early 1970s. Its<br/>extensive in-store selection, catalog, and Web site provide carpenters, plmnbers,<br/>woodworkers, craftsmen, and do-it-yourselfers every tool they could possibly need<br/>for work and home projects. The store's legendary semiannual tool sales draw<br/>thousands of customers from across the Midwest. |