Northern Tool rings up revenues through its catalogs (biggest sales channel), websites, and more than 60 retail stores in a dozen states. CEO Donald Kotula founded Northern Tool as a mail-order shop in 1981. Serious do-it-yourselfers put their kids to sleep with bedtime stories from the catalogs of Northern Tool & Equipment. Stocked with more than 27,000 products, the company offers an assortment of heavy-duty tools as well as construction and industrial equipment (such as air compressors, power generators, and pressure washers). Its primary customers include building contractors, automotive shops, and the do-it-yourself crowd. The firm also markets gadgets and gifts through its Kotula's division.

Liberty Media takes the liberty of arranging its varied businesses as it wishes. The holding company comprises publicly traded Liberty Capital Group, Liberty Starz, and Liberty Interactive Group. The arrangement separates the company's fast-growing video and online commerce operations from its less robust telecommunications and entertainment businesses. Liberty Media's largest holding, the QVC home-shopping network, is part of Liberty Interactive, as is e-tailer Provide Commerce. Movie producer and distributor Starz Media belongs to Liberty Starz and the Atlanta Braves baseball team both to Liberty Capital. In 2010 the company announced plans to merge and spin off Liberty Capital and Liberty Starz.

Joe and Mike Zeiden founded Z Gallerie in 1979, using their parents' garage for a warehouse and production facility. Initially Z Gallerie (later joined by sister Carole Malfatti) sold poster art, but in the 1980s the trio added home furnishings and accessories to the merchandising mix. Today Z Gallerie stores, which span some 10,000 sq. ft. on average, feature bedding and pillows, dinnerware, glassware, rugs, lamps, candleholders, clocks, frames and albums, games, and gifts. The firm's eclectic pieces are sold through its website and some 55 US retail locations in nearly 20 states. Z Gallerie exited Chapter 11 in fall 2009 after a six-month stint in bankruptcy.

Cumberland General Store markets items that would be appropriate for a rural home or farm in the 19th century. The company sells appliances, hardware, toys, kitchen supplies, and other products (that typically require little or no electricity) from a single store in Alpharetta, Georgia, as well as through its well-known catalog and online. Customers include back-to-nature enthusiasts, residents of areas without electricity, and producers of period movies and television shows. In 2005 the store and company moved from Crossville, Tennessee, to its current location in Georgia.

Kenny Pipe & Supply was formed in 1992 when owner Bill Kenny bought five Westburne Supply locations in Alabama. Hey, y'all, plumbing problems in the Southeast might call for Kenny. Through about 10 locations in Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee, Kenny Pipe & Supply distributes faucets, fittings, pipes, valves, water heaters, and other plumbing equipment and supplies from such manufacturers as A.O. Smith, Bemis, Elkay, and NIBCO. Customers include residential, commercial, and industrial plumbing contractors, as well as institutions and municipalities.

Boston Green Goods, Inc. was founded in 1998 by president and CEO Mercia Tapping. Hey, you -- want to buy some allergies? OK, so Boston Green Goods (dba AllergyBuyersClub.com) doesn't sell allergies, but it does sell relief to allergy sufferers. The company operates a website marketing eco-friendly products that help to rid the home of airborne and surface allergens. Offerings include air and water purifiers, dehumidifiers, furnace filters, and vacuum and steam cleaners, as well as mold- and dust mite-resistant mattresses, hypoallergenic bedding, home decor, and household cleaners. The site also provides news and information on a range of health topics, from allergies to water quality.

L.L. Bean was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean and is controlled by his descendants. With L.L. Bean, you can tame the great outdoors -- or just look as if you could. The outdoor apparel and gear maker mails more than 200 million catalogs per year. L.L. Bean's library includes about 10 specialty catalogs offering products in categories such as children's clothing, fly-fishing, outerwear, sportswear, housewares, footwear, camping and hiking gear, and the Maine hunting shoe upon which L.L. Bean, Inc. was built. L.L. Bean also operates about 15 retail stores and an equal number of outlets throughout the Northeast, Illinois, and China. In addition, it sells online through English- and Japanese-language websites.

Founded in 1977, Uniprix is a growing alliance of independent pharmacy operators who together own Uniprix company. Uniprix has vaulted into the #1 spot in the Quebec drugstore market (ahead of rival Jean Coutu). The chain operates about 390 drugstores under the Uniprix, Unipharm, Uniclinique, and Clinique Sante banners. (With about 360 pharmacies, Jean Coutu is still Quebec's largest chain by revenue.) Drugstores flying the Uniprix banner account for more than half of the company's locations. Many Uniprix locations are superstores averaging 7,500 sq. ft. Unipharm outlets are mid-size neighborhood shops, while Unipharm and Uniclinique are smaller pharmacies adjacent to medical centers and seniors' residences.

ARI Network Services helps the manliest of industries attract smart shoppers. The company markets software for creating electronic parts catalogs and e-commerce websites in industries such as outdoor power equipment, power sports, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, appliances, and agricultural equipment. More than 18,000 dealers, manufacturers, and distributors use its applications. Its PartSmart program allows companies to collect, organize, and maintain product information for their suppliers and dealers, who can access and search the database. In addition, the company's e-commerce and communication applications process orders, product registrations, and warranty claims and perform search engine optimization.

MacBeath Hardwood Company was founded in the early 1950s by K.E. MacBeath. This MacBeath doesn't want to get the spot out. MacBeath Hardwood Company specializes in spotted and striped specialty hardwoods from the US, Mexico, Panama, India, Brazil, and several African nations. With wood from its 300,000 board feet-capacity drying kiln, the company makes furniture squares, lumber, veneer, plywood, maple countertops, and specialty products like hand rails, marine plywood, and wood "blanks" to be used for baseball bats. MacBeath has five distribution centers in California, Indiana, and Utah; it also ships large loads worldwide. It also operates an online store.

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