Chuck Grafft spends much of his life surrounded by the stronger sex. Not that he is complaining. As president and CEO of the Foreign Buyers Club (FBC) in Kobe, most of his staff are women -- women representing nine cultures, including Japanese. Also, wife Kelly, now back to work, with four daughters, aged 12 to 4, at home.

Chuck began FBC because "not everyone lives next to an international supermarket." The initial idea was to establish a cooperative supplying foodstuffs to foreigners in Japan that they could not find easily or at reasonable prices. But the general consensus was that it was too difficult.