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MetLife is one of the largest life insurers in the us by assets and provides a variety of insurance and financial-services products. It is organized into five segments: us, Asia, Latin America, Europe/Middle East/Africa, and MetLife Holdings. The us business contributes around 50% of earnings and is broken into the group benefits segment and the retirement solutions segment. The Asia segment contributes around 22% of earnings and is mainly composed of the Japan business, with increasing contributions from India, China, and Bangladesh. The company also holds leading market positions in Mexico and Chile, with the Latin America segment contributing around 13% of earnings. The EMEA and MetLife Holdings segments contribute around 4% and 11% of earnings, respectively.
Fastenal began as an industrial retailer, expanding its product portfolio from nuts and bolts to cutting tools, safety equipment, and janitorial supplies. It transitioned into a distributor by building out a dense network of branches close to its business customers. Once a customer becomes large enough, Fastenal installs vending machines and its own personnel on-site. Today, these on-site locations exceed Fastenal's branch count and remain the firm's main focus for expansion. Fastenal acts as a one-stop outsourcing partner for its industrial customers, offering value-added services along with a wide breadth of maintenance, repair, and operations supplies.