West Marine, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of boating supplies primarily in the United States. It operates in three segments: Stores, Port Supply, and Direct Sales. The Stores segment operates stores that principally offer hardware and other supplies needed for day-to-day boat maintenance and repairs. The Port Supply segment distributes marine supplies to domestic and international wholesale customers, including businesses involved in boat sales, boat building, boat commissioning and repair, yacht chartering, marina operations, and other boating-related activities. This segment also sells its products to government and industrial customers who use the company’s products for boating and non-boating purposes. The Direct Sales segment operates as an e-commerce website and virtual call center, which provides customers with access to a range of products, product advisor tips and technical information, and product videos and customer-submitted product reviews. As of January 2, 2010, West Marine offered its products through 335 company-operated stores in 38 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada, as well as through 2 franchised stores in Turkey. West Marine company also sells its products through its call center channel and on the Internet. West Marine was founded in 1976 and is based in Watsonville, California.

Monsoon Commerce Solutions (MCS) helps online retailers and booksellers through its Marketplace Services and Selling Solutions divisions, providing retail management software, distribution assistance, and hosted store services. Its roster of more than 15,000 customers includes libraries, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers in about 50 countries. The Alibris Retail unit operates Alibris.com, an online marketplace for independent sellers of books, music, and movies. Founded in 1998, the firm acquired Monsoon in early 2010 and then reorganized and changed its name. MCS is owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners.

American Farms certainly hopes that its corporate strategies lead to perennial success. Established in 1991 with 10 acres, the company, a wholesale grower of flowering pot crops, now comprises more than 100 acres in Florida. It produces more than 100 varieties of annuals and herbaceous perennials, as well as flowering tropicals, landscape ferns and grasses, seasonal crops, and more. The majority of American Farms' sales are in the state of Florida, where it's one of the top growers of flowering plants, and more than half are to mass merchandisers (Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart) in the southeastern US. In addition, the company sells to independent garden centers and landscapers.

Timberlane, Inc. was founded in 1996. Customers shudder at the beauty of their shutters. Timberlane Woodcrafters manufactures custom-made exterior and interior wooden shutters. Its shutters are all crafted from western red cedar and come in authentic Cape Cod, Colonial, Federal, Greek, Mediterranean, and Victorian designs, to name a few. In an effort to ensure historical accuracy, the company employs blacksmiths to craft hand-forged, wrought iron hardware for use on their shutters. Timberlane sells directly to the individual consumers through catalogs and the company Web site, which also offers customers a shutter design tool and an online quote request form.

Inergy, L.P. engages in retail marketing, sale, and distribution of propane to residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers. Inergy, L.P. serves approximately 800,000 retail customers from approximately 300 customer service centers in the United States. It also operates a natural gas storage business; a supply logistics, transportation, and wholesale marketing business, which serves independent dealers and multi-state marketers in the United States and Canada; and a solution-mining and salt production company. Inergy, L.P. company was formerly known as Inergy Holdings, L.P. and changed its name to Inergy, L.P. on November 06, 2010. Inergy, L.P. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

The chain was acquired by Tiffany in 2002, but Tiffany sold Little Switzerland to NXP Corporation for $32.9 million in 2007. There's nothing neutral about Little Switzerland's definitively upscale stores. The company operates about 25 mostly duty-free stores that sell jewelry, watches, crystal, china, and other gift items priced from $20 to more than $10,000. Its stores, located on 11 Caribbean islands and in Key West, Florida, appeal to tourists (mostly from the US) looking to avoid the import taxes they would pay at home -- especially passengers on the cruise ship lines that ply the waters in those areas.

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.

Travel by foot doesn't have to be the only option available for people familiar with Caffyns. The family-run company sells automobiles at more than 30 locations scattered around the UK. Models sold at Caffyns' individually specialized dealerships include those made by Audi, Daewoo, Daimler AG, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Peugeot, SEAT, Skoda, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Caffyns sells both new and used autos; it also offers its own in-house maintenance and service and automotive parts distribution service. Caffyns was founded in 1865.

Before Old Navy, there was the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM). Active-duty military personnel, reservists, retirees, and their family members can shop and gas up at more than 100 NEXCOM retail stores (brand-name and private-label merchandise ranging from apparel to home electronics), more than 155 NEXCOM Ships Stores (basic necessities), and its 100-plus Uniform Support Centers (the sole source of authorized uniforms). NEXCOM also runs about 40 Navy Lodges (motels) in the US and about half a dozen foreign countries. NEXCOM receives tax dollars for its shipboard stores, but it is otherwise self-supporting. Most of the profits fund morale, welfare, and recreational programs (MWR) for sailors.

Supplies Network was founded in 1991 by CEO Tom Fleming. Supplies and networking is what Supplies Network is all about. Supplies Network is a leading wholesaler in the US, with some 5,000 media storage and computer, copier, fax, and printer supply products and accessories. The company peddles products from about 70 manufacturers, including Canon, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Xerox. All of Supplies Network's SKUs are stocked for same-day shipping. Supplies Network, which specializes in serving the independent dealer, helps its customers with marketing and sales materials and manufacturer connections.

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