Air & Water Inc., a family-owned and operated online retailer based in Santa Ana, California, today announced their debut in the prestigious Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, ranking number 19 in the Hardware/Home Improvement category and number 464 overall in web sales. Internet Retailer's Top 500 Guide is an annual ranking of America's 500 largest and most profitable online retailers, based on sales and performance.

Founded in 2002 by Luke Peters, Air and Water began as a simple retailer of heating and cooling products. Prior to founding the company, Mr. Peters was a hazardous waste scientist with the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Noticing that there was a lack of air conditioning retailers online, he decided to fill that void by starting Air-N-Water.com. The initial product line included a few cooling products and a handful of thermostats.

Today the company has expanded to include a wide variety of home appliances, including coffee makers and wine coolers. There are also plans to expand their offerings even further in the coming months. From the beginning, the company focused on customer service as a means of gaining their clients' trust as well as their business. This trust, combined with the added product diversity, has contributed to rapid growth for the company during a time of economic decline for most of the country. Air-N-Water.com is now one of the internet's largest independent appliance retailers.

"Our marketing and sales departments have definitely gone above and beyond the call of duty to help us grow while many other companies are in decline," said Luke Peters, president and owner of Air & Water. "Cracking the Internet Retailer 500 and landing in the top 20 for Home Improvement is quite an honor and is truly a testament to the hard work that goes on here every day."

Internet Retailer's definitive ranking and analysis of America's 500 largest e-retailers is based on annual 2009 Internet sales, researched by Internet Retailer and confirmed by retailers. This report includes company financial, operational and performance data, as well as vendors in key categories.

"Heating, cooling, and purification products weren't on every consumer's shopping list last year, but Air & Water managed to grow their web sales and land at No. 464 because their detailed product guides and consistent pricing registered with shoppers," says Internet Retailer editor-in-chief Kurt Peters.

About Internet Retailer

Published by Chicago-based Vertical Web Media LLC, Internet Retailer is a monthly national business magazine that is at the core of the leading retail information web site, an e-commerce conference and four directories that serve the retailing community. Internet Retailer's 42,500 subscribers and 250,000 monthly web readers represent senior executives primarily from retail chains, independent stores, catalogs, virtual merchants and brand name manufacturers. Internet Retailer's circulation represents the largest multichannel readership base of any retailing magazine.

About Air & Water, Inc.

Established in 2002, Air & Water Inc. has devoted itself to helping consumers meet their heating and cooling needs. It is one of the Internet's largest independent appliance retailers and has helped thousands of customers across the country. Air & Water, Inc. is also recognized as a trusted online retailer by some of the web's biggest online shopping compare sites such as Bizrate, Shopping, and NexTag.