Snow & Rock are two key words constantly rolling in the back of the minds of adrenaline junkies, as well as the name of one of the suppliers of the equipment to satisfy the urge to plunge, climb, or swoop. The company, founded in 1982 by former managing director Mike Browne, operates more than 15 retail stores in the Central and Southern areas of the UK. Snow & Rock's stores specialize in apparel and equipment for skiing, snowboarding, climbing, and alpine hiking. The company peddles several top brands, including Salomon and The North Face. Snow & Rock also sells its products through a pair of catalogs and the Internet. Andrew Browsword, an entrepreneur, bought the company from Mike Browne in 2004.

Emerging Vision, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of retail optical stores and franchises optical chains in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer eye care products and services, such as prescription and non-prescription eyeglasses, eyeglass frames, ophthalmic lenses, contact lenses, sunglasses, and a range of ancillary items, as well as provide professional eye examinations to the public. The company and its franchisees operate retail optical stores under the trade names of Sterling Optical, Site for Sore Eyes, Kindy Optical, and Singer Specs. As of December 31, 2009, it owned and operated 135 Sterling stores, including 6 company-owned stores and 129 franchised stores located in 14 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition, the company engages in the optical purchasing group business that offers its members with vendor discounts on optical products for resale. Further, it provides eye care benefits to covered participants under the Insight Managed Vision Care name; and operates a specialized health care maintenance organization, which employs licensed optometrists to provide services in offices located in Sterling stores situated in California. Emerging Vision, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Tattered Cover Book Store, an independent seller of new books in Denver. Tattered Cover stocks some half a million titles in three locations: inside the Lowenstein Theater on Colfax Avenue, historic lower downtown (LoDo) Denver, and suburb Highlands Ranch. Each store encourages customers to linger by offering overstuffed chairs and reading lamps. Tattered Cover attracts customers with activities such as book groups for adults and children and author readings and signings. The company was founded by owner and CEO Joyce Meskis, a former librarian, in 1974.

Target Commercial Interiors (TCI) is a leading provider of contemporary furnishings for large, small, and medium-sized businesses, with more than a dozen retail showrooms in Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin. Its product selection includes chairs, desks, and tables, as well as floor coverings, lighting, and window treatments. The company is a leading Steelcase dealer. TCI also provides such services as interior planning and design, installation, and project management. In addition to its showrooms, the company sells office products online. TCI is a subsidiary of the nation's #2 discount retailer Target. This business has office decor in its cross hairs.

Bare Escentuals sells its products in the US through about 120 company-owned shops, 870 beauty product retailers, and 1,470 spas and salons. It also boasts distributors in Canada, Japan, and the UK and other European countries. Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido acquired Bare Escentuals for $1.7 billion in 2010. When it comes to keeping its customers looking naturally pretty, Bare Escentuals has a mineral interest. The company, which rolled out its bareMinerals makeup brand in 1976 along with its first retail shop, develops, markets, and sells natural cosmetics, skin care, and body care items. Brand names include bareMinerals, Buxom, md formulations, RareMinerals, and its namesake line.

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution and retail of professional beauty supplies. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. operates in two segments, Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group. The Sally Beauty Supply segment operates as an open-line distributor of professional beauty supplies, including hair color and hair care products, skin and nail care products, electrical appliances, ethnic products, and other beauty items to retail consumers and salon professionals. This segment offers approximately 6,000 products through professional lines, such as Clairol, L’Oreal, Wella, and Conair, as well as provides proprietary merchandise. As of September 30, 2009, it operated 2,898 company-operated retail stores and supplied 25 franchised stores. The Beauty Systems Group segment distributes beauty supplies directly to salons and salon professionals through its sales force and professional-only stores. It stores, branded as CosmoProf or Armstrong McCall stores, and its outside sales consultants sell approximately 9,800 professionally branded products, including Paul Mitchell, Wella, Sebastian, Goldwell, and TIGI that are targeted exclusively for professional and salon use, and resale to their customers. This segment operated 829 company-operated stores and supplied 162 franchised stores. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. serves customers primarily in the United States, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Denton, Texas.

Hunter's Truck Sales & Service provides collision repair and other body work for commercial trucks at a facility that includes a DeVilbiss downdraft paint-baking booth able to accommodate 60-foot trucks. As its name implies, Hunter's Truck Sales & Service has some 150 service bays and offers 24-hour towing and emergency service.

Adventure 16, Inc. operates a chain of retail outdoor outfitters in Southern California. It has about half a dozen locations, plus a wholesale division that distributes accessories for backpacking, camping, climbing, and adventure travel. The company offers lifetime guarantees on all its private-label products. Its Web site offers resources, guides, and classes for outdoor journeys, a backpacker's checklist, an interactive map and reviews of recommended hikes, a gallery of adventure photos, and an outdoor blog written by staff. Adventure 16 was incorporated by Mic Mead in 1970.

Every season is Halloween season for Internet-only retailer Buyseasons. The company operates BuyCostumes.com, a leading seller of costumes, accessories, and seasonal decor and party supplies on the Web. In addition to costumes for kids and adults, Buycostumes.com offers a large selection of masks, makeup, props, mascot costumes, and costumes for pets. Buyseasons also operates the Celebrate Express portfolio of Web sites, which includes BirthdayExpress.com, 1stWishes.com, and CostumesExpress.com. Founded in 1999, Buyseasons was acquired by holding company Liberty Media in 2006 and joined the Liberty Interactive Group of Internet companies.

Hobbico, which began in 1971 as Tower Hobbies, has grown to become one of the world's largest model hobby companies. For pilots who would rather fly their planes from the ground, Hobbico (dba Great Planes) makes and sells radio-controlled model aircraft -- as well as boats, cars, gliders, and related accessories. The company is the world's largest retail and wholesale distributor of radio-controlled hobby products. Hobbico makes some of its products and buys the rest from other manufacturers. It sells its fully-assembled models and kits in hobby stores throughout North America and some 45 countries worldwide. It also sells directly to hobbyists through its Web site and catalog.

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