Åhléns is one of Sweden's best-known brands and leading retailers. Its nationwide retail chain consists of 79 department stores

in 60 towns throughout Sweden as well as 86 beauty outlets, named KICKS, and 14 homeware stores, named Lagerhaus.

Åhléns also operates 17 home products stores in Norway. Åhléns' operations are focused on four business areas: Åhléns

Fashion, Home, Media and Beauty. Åhléns has a turnover of around 5 billion Swedish kronor (ex VAT) and employs 5,000 staff.

Bhs is a leading UK retailer of fashion, home wares, lighting and gifts. It also has a restaurant and take away food department.

Since the acquisition of Bhs by entrepreneur Philip Green, the high street retailer’s estimated worth is around £1bn. It has over

160 stores with over 50 overseas franchises. Bhs’ target customer is female, family oriented, 30-50 years of age with

contemporary fashion sense, and is quality and value conscious

The John Lewis Partnership is one of the UK's largest retail businesses. With 26 department stores across the UK, and stocking

more than half a million lines seeks to be an 'all under-one-roof' destination for an entire region of shoppers. Fashions, furnishings

and household goods are offered with excellent service and free delivery to a wide local area.

Manhattan has Macy's; London has Selfridges. With 540,000 sq. ft. of selling space, the flagship Selfridges & Co. department store is

still one of the biggest stores in the world and one of the top shops on London's posh Oxford Street. Selfridges also runs two smaller

department stores in Manchester and a fourth location in Birmingham. The upmarket retailer sells a wide selection of brand-name fashion

apparel, electronics, and housewares, but it aims to entertain as well with 15 in-store bars, cafés, and restaurants and a nearby 250-room,

four-star hotel. Founded in 1909 by Gordon Selfridge -- an American -- Selfridges was acquired in 2003 by the Canadian billionaire

Galen Weston (chairman of George Weston).

Established in Taunton in 1969, New Look has grown to become a UK leading fashion clothing retailer, with 545 stores in the UK.

Today USC is proud to be the leading UK retailer of branded clothing, footwear and accessories. With an enviable portfolio of 60

stores and the best fashion brands in the market USC is home to some 1,200+ employees and has over the years notched up

many awards for it's success. Core brands currently include Diesel, G-Star, Replay, Henri Lloyd, Lacoste, Miss Sixty, Firetrap,

Stark, Soviet, Ted Baker, French Connection and Vila.

Argos, one of the UK's leading multi-channel retailers, has over 660 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland and sales of over

£3.8 billion (financial year 2005/2006). Argos, the pioneer of catalogue retailing in the UK, has established a strong brand focused

on choice, value and convenience. It is also winner of the Online Retailer of the Year and the Customer Service Initiative Award

2006(awards by Retail Week). Argos' award winning internet site, is the second most visited internet retail site in the UK.

The Carphone Warehouse prides itself on offering impartial advice, unbeatable customer service and the widest choice of mobile

phones and accessories. With more than 8,000 employees across the UK, career support and development is of paramount

importance to The Carphone Warehouse. The company, which has reported increased sales and customer numbers despite the

gloom on the UK high street has won Innovative Employer for the second year running at the Retail Week Awards – where it also

scooped the industry’s top prize, Best Large Retailer. This, together with its recent Sunday Times listing, reflects the importance

of its team members in delivering its success.

Jessops is the UK’s number one specialist photographic retailer with over 280 stores nationally. It also operates via the internet

and through mail order, telesales, and its business to business and wholesale operations.

Jessops sells a comprehensive range of digital and analogue cameras, digital and analogue camcorders, binoculars, digital home

print solutions, memory cards, film and photographic materials, as well as an extensive range of accessories for the photographic

market including “Jessops” own brand products. Jessops provides developing and printing and digital imaging services in-store, via

the internet and by mail order

Phones 4U is the UK's fastest growing independent mobile phone retailer. Since opening their doors to customers in 1996 they

have expanded across the UK and Northern Ireland resulting in a network of more than 350 stores. Phones 4u is one of several

companies that make up the Caudwell Group, a leading international mobile communications company

Lloydspharmacy has 1,522 pharmacies nationwide. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celesio AG, the leading pharmaceutical

distribution company in Europe.

Superdrug Stores plc is a leading health and beauty retailer and combines quality with exceptional value for money in both

branded and own-brand products.

Its mission is to be the customer's favourite, up-to-the-minute health and beauty shop, loved for its value, choice, friendliness and

fun.

Liverpool Victoria is one of the UK's leading financial services companies, renowned for top performing products and an enviable record

in customer services.

B&Q is the home improvement market leader in the UK and one of Europe's leading home improvement and garden multiple

retailers. Through its B&Q Supercentre and B&Q Warehouse stores it has 14.4% share of the repair, maintenance and

improvement market and services the needs of every type of customer from the first time homemaker to the experienced

tradesman.

"Detection and prevention of loss through fraud and non-compliance to procedures translates into a significant contribution to

reducing shrinkage and increasing B&Q's profits, to the extent that return on investment in IntelliQ's solution has been achieved

within months."

Laurence King,

Director of Profit Protection

Homebase became part of ARG in November 2002. It is the UK’s second largest DIY retailer, with a staggering 40,000 products

available in over 280 stores throughout the UK. Homebase serves over 1.5 million customers each week and is recognised for its

imaginative, stylish and modern ranges.

Modelo Continente operates more than 300 hypermarkets and supermarkets throughout Portugal under the familiar banners

Continente, Modelo, and Modelo Bonjour, as well as specialty stores, including Sport Zone, WORTEN electronics shops, and Zippy

kids stores. Modelo Continente is Portugal's largest supermarket chain and is the retail arm of the Portuguese conglomerate Sonae.

Thresher Group (formerly First Quench Retailing) retails beer, wine, and spirits through more than 2,000 shops throughout the UK. The company

operates stores under various names including Thresher's, Wine Rack, Victoria Wine, Bottoms Up, The Local, and (in Scotland) Haddows.

Through its subsidiaries, Thresher Group also offers its own proprietary wines.

A.S. Watson (ASW) is the retail and manufacturing arm of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa. Like its powerful parent

company, ASW is a giant in its industries, with operations in more than 30 countries throughout Asia and Europe. Its businesses include

supermarkets (Park'N Shop), health and beauty stores (Watson's, Drogas, Trekpleister, and Kruidvat), Fortress consumer electronics and

appliance stores in Hong Kong, soft drink and water bottling operations, and wine retailing (Watson's Wine Cellar). In all, ASW operates

about 20 retail chains with more than 7,800 stores including the UK's Superdrug and Savers chains. ASW also owns a 40% stake in

German discount health and beauty chain Dirk Rossmann.

The Dental Practice Board (DPB) is the statutory body responsible for paying dentists for NHS treatment in England and Wales.