5-5, Otemachi 1-chome Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100 Japan The Fuji Bank was once the core of the Yasuda zaibatsu, or industrial conglomerate. Unlike other conglomerates, which entered almost every industry, Yasuda confined its business to banking, insurance, and lending. It built a strong presence in these areas which, through economic disruption and war, persists to this day. While the Yasuda zaibatsu no…
787 Seventh Avenue New York New York 10019 United States Known for decades as one of the largest life insurance companies in the nation, The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States can describe itself today as a diversified financial services company. Besides its traditional insurance operations, Equitable also is involved heavily in real estate development and, thanks to its 1985 a…
59 Maiden Lane New York New York 10038 United States The Home Insurance Company is the 23rd-largest property and casualty company in the United States. Home provides virtually all lines of insurance, with the bulk of its business being industrial property insurance and liability for large accounts. The company has undergone numerous changes over the course of its history, and has contributed sign…
Liberty Lane Hampton New Hampshire 03842 United States The Henley Group is a holding company whose operating subsidiaries can--and in most cases will--each operate as an independent company. Many of its executives are managers of Henley's predecessor companies. Their goal is to acquire and develop low-risk, underperforming properties, and, after some time, to divest or trade these subsidiaries at…
100 Park Lane London W1Y 4AR United Kingdom The Hammerson Property Investment and Development Corporation plc, Britain's third-largest property company, has substantial property holdings both in the United Kingdom and overseas. Rapid growth from modest beginnings during World War II has taken the company into the North American, European, and Australasian property markets, which together account …
7620 Market St. Youngstown, Ohio 44513 U.S.A. The Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation has been a leader in American retail development for almost half a century. The company owned and/or operated over 78 million square feet of retail space by the early 1990s, and its commercial assets surpassed 95 million square feet. Headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio, the company holdings included over 100 retail ma…
900 Broadway P.O. Box 5887 Denver, Colorado 80217 U.S.A. The Gates Corporation is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States with sales of more than $1.4 billion from automotive and industrial rubber products, formed-fiber products, automotive accessory-drive systems, and petroleum property development. Its Gates Rubber Company, the largest of its subsidiaries, generates abo…
The Mound Edinburgh EH1 1YZ United Kingdom The Bank of Scotland's long history reaches back to 1695 when, uniquely among Scottish banks, it was founded by an Act of the Scottish Parliament; it is today one of the few remaining institutions to be created by that body. The main components of the Bank of Scotland consist of the NWS BANK plc, the group's financial house; the British Linen Bank (acqui…
One Elm Street Windsor Locks, Connecticut 06096-2234 U.S.A. With a history that stretches back over two centuries, The Dexter Corporation is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Founded in 1767, the firm was owned and operated by members of the same family until 1988. Dexter originally comprised a saw and grist mill, then expanded into the manufacture of specialty papers. Hav…
1201 E. Bell Street Bloomington, Illinois U.S.A. The Eureka Company is one of the oldest names in the vacuum cleaner industry and is widely acknowledged as one of its leaders, second to the Hoover Company since both companies were launched early in the twentieth century. Founded in 1909, Eureka was purchased in its 65th year by the Swedish company Electrolux and became a division of that company.…
101 East Maple Street Canton, Ohio 44720 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: Mission Statement: To be the leader in market share and profitability in the floorcare industry by offering exceptional value and quality to our dealers and our customers through product innovation and internal operational excellence. A division of Maytag Corporation since 1989, The Hoover Company is the leading producer of flo…
P.O. Box 1910 Akron, Ohio 44309 U.S.A. With its chain of 11 Acme supermarkets, nine Acme SuperCenters (which combine general merchandise and grocery items), and 14 Y-Mart convenience pharmacies, The Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Co. is a leading player in the 19-county northeast Ohio retail food market. Founded before the turn of the twentieth century, the family owned and operated firm has used a str…
2 Paragon Drive Montvale, New Jersey 07645-1718 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: Our mission at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company is to be the "Supermarket of Choice" ... the place where people choose to shop, choose to work, and choose to invest. The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (A&P) is one of the dozen largest grocery store operators in North America. At its peak in the 1930s,…
2727 Paces Ferry Road Atlanta, Georgia 30339 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: As the population in North America continues to age, so does the housing stock. More people are reinvesting in their most precious material asset--their home--with renewed vigor. They are remodeling, updating and tackling more projects on their own. And they are coming to The Home Depot to do their shopping. What they find …
103 JFK Parkway Short Hills, New Jersey 07078 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: D&B has undergone a period of restructuring in recent years, designed to make D&B a smaller, more tightly focused company. A.C. Nielsen, Cognizant, R.H. Donnelley and Moody's Corporation were all spun off to allow each company to pursue focused strategies for its specific business. And in October 2000, D&B launched an ambi…
Universal House Devonshire Street Manchester M60 1XA United Kingdom The Great Universal Stores plc (GUS) is the leading mail-order company in the United Kingdom with the mail-order brand Kays and a 40 percent share of the market. It is one of the two largest operators in this field outside the United States, the other being Otto Versand of Germany. In addition to its mail-order core, the group de…
1 Centerpointe Drive Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: "Greenbrier's business strategy is to maintain its leadership position as a manufacturer and developer of intermodal equipment and to exploit its complementary strengths in surface transportation equipment leasing, railcar refurbishing and conventional railcar manufacturing." The Greenbrier Companies is the largest manufa…
959 Eighth Avenue New York, New York 10019 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: Each day, more than 18,000 people are at work at Hearst, helping to inform, educate, entertain, and inspire millions of readers, viewers, and listeners in virtually every area of communications. Although the company has expanded dramatically in recent years, the principal on which it was founded remains the same--a commitment…
345 Nowlin Lane, Suite B 1100 South Watkins Street Chattanooga Tennessee 37421-7805 U.S.A. Company Perspectives The Dixie Group is one of America's fastest growing floorcovering companies. We are focused on our core competencies, committed to our brands and the upper-end of the soft floorcovering market. Through a variety of channels, our products are marketed to domestic and international custom…
Prudential Tower Building, Suite 4800 Boston, Massachusetts 02199 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: The Gillette Company is a globally focused consumer products marketer that seeks competitive advantage in quality, value-added personal care and personal use products. We are committed to building shareholder value through sustained profitable growth. The Gillette Company is the world leader in the men'…
1265 Lombardi Avenue Green Bay, Wisconsin 54304 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: Since the team's inception in 1919, the Green Bay Packers have had a special bond with its fans and neighbors. Its unique ownership structure--the only community owned team in professional sports&mdash well as the team's small market origins only reinforce the Packers' link to their fans and their community. The Green Ba…
225 Brae Boulevard Park Ridge, New Jersey 07656 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: Hertz has built a global brand on five basic beliefs: Treat the customer honestly and ethically; treat employees with the dignity and respect with which we expect them to treat the customer; provide the highest level of customer service and quality of vehicles; differentiate ourselves through innovation; use profits and …
320 East 43rd Street New York, New York 10017 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: The Ford Foundation is a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide. Our goals are to: strengthen democratic values; reduce poverty and injustice; promote international cooperation; advance human achievement. This has been our purpose for almost half a century. Created in 1936 with gifts from Henry and Edsel…
3500 Boulevard de Maisonneuve, Suite 800 Montreal, Quebec H3Z 3C1 Canada Company Perspectives: Through its subsidiaries, The Hockey Company, headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is the world's largest marketer and manufacturer of hockey equipment and apparel. As its name suggests, Montreal-based The Hockey Company is devoted to the sport of ice hockey. The company manufactures and markets equipment…
15501 North Dial Boulevard Scottsdale, Arizona 85260-1619 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: Value Leader. These words tell who we are and how we manage our Company. Providing good value is our goal in every area of operation. This goal has guided us in restructuring the work force, in deciding the cost structure of our products and in focusing on building our four core brands. By offering good value t…
Level 16 Cale Cross House Pilgrim Street Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6SU United Kingdom Company Perspectives: Go-Ahead's corporate goal is to become: One of Europe's leading urban passenger transport providers. This will be measured in terms of: meeting customer needs; recognition of high quality standards; sensitivity to environmental issues; efficiency of operation and the generation of profits to …
201 Willowbrook Boulevard Wayne, New Jersey 07470-0966 U.S.A. The Grand Union Company is a food retailer operating 222 Grand Union supermarkets in six states, including 123 in New York, 40 in Vermont, 41 in New Jersey, 13 in Connecticut, three in New Hampshire, and two in Pennsylvania. The stores, each of which is designed to meet local needs, range in size from 7,000 to 64,000 square feet and fe…
767 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10153 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: Tastes and styles are evolving on a world scale, greatly influenced by what is happening in America. Improving global economies are making available and affordable products once reserved for a privileged few. The baby boom has come roaring into middle age with money to spend and a determination to fight the effects of growing …
700 Marina Boulevard Brisbane, California 94005-1840 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: The Company's strategy is to compete by being a value-added retailer, offering a broad selection of top national brand name merchandise sold at competitive prices by a friendly, knowledgeable and motivated team of associates. The Good Guys, Inc. is a leading specialty electronics retailer, with more than 60 stores i…
One Liberty Lane Hampton, New Hampshire 03842 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: The General Chemical Group is a leading producer of soda ash and calcium chloride. Following the spinoff of its manufacturing and performance products businesses in 1999, General Chemical has become a smaller, more focused company committed to creating value as a low-cost, high-quality producer of its core industrial chemi…
14800 San Pedro Avenue San Antonio, Texas 78232-3733 U.S.A. Based in San Antonio, Texas, The Gambrinus Company imports, brews, and distributes beers on a regional and national basis. The company is owned by its chief executive officer, Carlos Alvarez, who was instrumental in introducing the Mexican beer Corona Extra to the United States. It is now America's top imported beer, after surpassing Hei…
2 Championship Drive The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326 U.S.A. The Detroit Pistons Basketball Company is a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA), operating under an umbrella corporation, Palace Sports & Entertainment, Inc., which was created to build the team's arena, The Palace of Auburn Hills. Founded in 1941 as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, the team has had…
One Kiddie Drive Avon, Massachusetts 02322 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: At The First Years, we strive to make the first three years of life happier, healthier, and easier for children and the parents who love them. The First Years Inc. is a developer and marketer of products for infants and toddlers. The company groups its products into three broad categories: Feeding & Soothing, Play & Discover,…
112 Bridge Street P.O. Box 460 Naugatuck, Connecticut 06770-0460 U.S.A. Founded in 1858, the Eastern Company of Naugatuck, Connecticut, manufactures and sells industrial hardware, custom locks and other security products, and metal products from nine locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, and China. The company's customers are mainly original equipment manufacturers, distributors…
2030 Willard H. Dow Center Midland, Michigan 48674 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: To constantly improve what is essential to human progress by mastering science and technology. To say that The Dow Chemical Company is a very large chemical company is an understatement. At the end of 2001, Dow took over du Pont as the largest chemicals company in the United States. At last count the company offered m…
85 Broad Street New York, New York 10004 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: At Goldman Sachs our culture is very much in evidence, helping us attract and retain the best employees and clients. Goldman Sachs's commitment to its clients, teamwork, integrity, professional excellence, and entrepreneurial spirit has its beginnings in 1869 with Marcus Goldman. At the core of our business remains our commitme…
1 First American Way Santa Ana, California 92707-5913 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: The information needed to make economic-transaction decisions must be timelier and more accurate than ever before. The need for this information is the engine that powers The First American Corporation. Originally devoted solely to the title insurance business, The First American Corporation, as a result of diversi…
601 Biscayne Boulevard Miami, Florida 33132-1801 U.S.A. Originally formed to bring a National Basketball Association franchise to Miami, Florida, The Heat Group has evolved into a multifaceted sports and entertainment company and is owned by Carnival cruise ship mogul Micky Arison. The cornerstone of the Heat Group remains its NBA team, the Miami Heat, but after building 20,000-seat American Airl…
301 South LaSalle Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46201 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: While the George F. Cram Company is over 130 years old, we are still committed to develop a new and innovative product line while maintaining and surpassing quality standards. Indianapolis-based The George F. Cram Company, Inc. is one of the nation's leading publishers and manufacturers of maps, atlases, globes, and…
20 Livingstone Avenue Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: Feel like a true gourmet ... every day! Based in Dobbs Ferry, New York, The Food Emporium is a subsidiary of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), operating approximately 36 upscale supermarkets located in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, with almost half found in Manhattan and all within the greater Ne…
25 St. James's Street London SW1A 1HG United Kingdom Company Perspectives: The Economist Group is the leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs. We deliver our information through a range of formats, from newspapers and magazines to conferences and electronic services. What ties us together is the objectivity of our opinion, the originality of our insight--and our adv…
10 E. 40th Street New York, New York 10016-0200 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: At ECHO, we believe in four defining principles that set our products apart from the rest: design, quality, value, and integrity. Long known as a print scarf maker, New York City-based The Echo Design Group, Inc., is an emerging lifestyle brand, involved in a range of fashion accessories as well as paper goods and homewa…
U.S. Route 1 Franklin Center, Pennsylvania 19091 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: Sharing your passion for collecting. The Franklin Mint is a subsidiary of Roll International Corporation, owned by Stewart and Lynda Resnick, and based in Franklin Center, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb. Although it portrays itself as a company devoted to producing quality one-of-a-kind art objects, to many The Fra…
200 Park Avenue New York, New York 10166 U.S.A. Company Perspectives: In today's investment climate, markets are globalizing, investment options are multiplying and investors, faced with an array of choices, are demanding expert knowledge and performance. Dreyfus has the leadership investment professionals need to provide clients with valuable financial solutions. A subsidiary of Mellon Financial…
602 Joplin Street Joplin Missouri 64801 U.S.A. Company Perspectives From the early mining camps to the diverse array of industry found across the four-state region today, the "Empire District" is alive and thriving, in no small part, due to the leadership, courage, and spirit of The Empire District Electric Company. The Empire District Electric Company is a small Joplin, Missouri-based utility co…
824 41st Avenue N.E. Calgary Alberta T2E 3R3 Canada Company Perspectives Our mission is to provide the best customer shopping experience; to have the largest market share and buying power; to always remain the lowest cost competitor in any retail business that we participate in; and to offer branded and private-branded products in a manner that is unique, maintaining our Company's continued posit…
Unity House, Telford Road Basingstoke United Kingdom Company Perspectives As a specialist it is our continual aim to develop our business, providing our customers with the best shopping experience possible. We aim to constantly review and improve the unique offerings and services that customers see as our unique selling proposition, and therefore maintain our position as the leading specialist re…
58 Castle Peak Road Kowloon Hong Kong Company Perspectives Our goal is to make Garden a leading brand in the Greater China market, and to become famous all over the world. To achieve this goal, QBE provides management focus and is the foundation of the business philosophy of our company over the years. QBE stands for "Quality, Brand, Efficiency" and refers to our pursuit of high quality, establis…
555 West Monroe Street Chicago Illinois 60661-3605 U.S.A. Company Perspectives Gatorade was born on the playing field in the 1960s by researchers at the University of Florida to help the Gators football team prevent dehydration when they played in the swamp-like heat. Since the Gators' 1967 Orange Bowl victory, Gatorade has grown to become an essential part of the equipment of sports, and can be …
467 Ottawa Avenue Holland Michigan 49423 U.S.A. Company Perspectives The mission of the Holland Group is to strengthen its leadership position in the development and delivery of innovative, quality engineered components, systems and services, assisting worldwide customers in the safe and cost-effective transportation of goods and materials. The Holland Group, Inc., is the world's leading manufact…