The Wal-Mart economy's big winners

• Company: World Kitchen, Rosemont, Ill.
• What it sells: Kitchen goods like cutlery, glassware, serving dishes

World Kitchen has been around for about 100 years and makes well-known household brands like Pyrex and CorningWare.

Wal-Mart offers not only a big platform for its kitchen goods, but shares the shopping habits and choices made by millions of customers, which helps World Kitchen design its own products better.

For example, Wal-Mart told World Kitchen that its customers were very interested in cookware that could be used for baking as well as storing. World Kitchen made a line that fit those needs, and it flew off Wal-Mart shelves.

"They were very strong sellers because Wal-Mart understands its shopper," said Kris Malkoski, president of World Kitchen North America.

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