VOW Europe pledges to be the UK and Ireland's one-stop shop for workplace essentials. VOW Europe Ltd. is a wholesale distributor of office supplies to dealers and resellers. Its offerings total more than 20,000 products, including stationery, toner, planners, business machines (calculators, printers), office furniture, and break room supplies. Besides brand-name office necessities, VOW Europe Ltd. markets supplies from Q Connect, a brand of the InterACTION distributors alliance in Europe; VOW is a member of the alliance. Chairman Richard Martin led a buyout of the firm, formerly known as Kingfield Heath, in 2007. It was merged with ISA Wholesale to form VOW. VOW Europe Ltd. is a unit of the Vasanta Group.

Sotheby’s, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an auctioneer of fine and decorative art, jewelry, and collectibles primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and France. The company operates in three segments: Auction, Finance, and Dealer. The Auction segment functions as an agent offering authenticated works of art for sale at auction. It also involves in brokering private sales of artwork. The Finance segment provides collectors and dealers with financing, which is secured by works of art that the company has in its possession or permits the borrower to possess. The Dealer segment invests in and resells artworks. It also operates as an art dealer for Dutch and Flemish Old Master paintings, as well as French impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. In addition, this segment sells works of art directly to private collectors and museums, as well as acts as a broker in private purchases and sales of art. Additionally, it operates a retail wine shop in New York City, as well as offers a range of wines online. Sotheby's was founded in 1744 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Founded in 1986, Party City was acquired by principal owners of Amscan -- the private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Weston Presidio -- for $364 million in 2005. Party City believes you should party hearty and has everything you need to do so. Party City Corporation, the US's #1 discount party goods chain, has more than 600 company-owned and franchised stores in the US and Puerto Rico. It sells party supplies for birthdays, weddings and bridal showers, baby showers, and a slew of holiday events -- including Halloween, its biggest selling season, accounting for about 20% of annual revenues. Party City is a division of party decor wholesaler and retailer Amscan Holdings, which supplies much of its merchandise.

KaBloom was founded in 1997 by David Hartstein and former Staples CEO Thomas Sternberg. KaBloom.com can be found daisy chaining across the country and cyberspace. The floral chain owns or franchises about 30 retail shops that sell bouquets, cut flowers, and plants primarily in Massachusetts, and is test-marketing selling flowers through kiosks. It also offers national floral delivery through its toll-free number and Web site. Its business flower program arranges flower deliveries to office buildings with weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly schedules available. From about a dozen stores in the Boston area, KaBloom has spread its roots to about a dozen other states and the District of Columbia.

Founded as Galpin Ford in 1946, Galpin Motors is owned and run by the Boeckmann family.Galpin Motors will do just about anything to get you to buy a car, even jolt you with joe at the full-service Starbucks shops attached to its luxury car dealerships. Claiming to have sold the first Saturn and ranking as the top Ford dealer in the world, it also sells Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury, and Volvo models, as well as used cars, from four dealerships and a Web site. It also rents and customizes -- or "Galpinizes" -- vehicles, such as the Tailgate Party Truck with a built-in stainless steel barbecue, blender, DVD/TV combo, and refrigerated beer kegs.

The Forzani Group in 1974. Forzani has since become Canada's largest sporting goods retailer. The company operates more than 330 company-owned stores under such banners as Athletes World, Coast Mountain Sports, Sport Chek, S3, Sport Mart, and National Sports. The company also franchises about 230 stores under names that include Atmosphere, Econosports, Hockey Experts, Intersport, and Sports Experts. It has about a 20% share of the sporting goods retail market in Canada.

CD Warehouse franchises (mostly) and owns music stores that sell, trade, and buy new and used CDs. The company sells through about 150 CD Warehouse, CD Exchange, Music Trader, and Disc Go Round stores located in more than 35 states. The company also has stores in Canada, Guatemala, France, Thailand, the UK, and Venezuela. Most stores are in strip shopping centers and offer between 10,000 and 16,000 CDs. The majority of sales are from used CDs; the company also sells DVDs, posters, and T-shirts. CD Warehouse is owned by Magnolia Entertainment.

Recreation is serious business for Affinity Group. The direct marketing firm sells goods and services through its membership and discount buyers clubs, such as Good Sam, Coast to Coast Resorts, Camp Club USA, and President's Club. It offers RV products (including air conditioners, sanitation systems, furnishings) not usually found in general merchandise stores at about 80 Camping World specialty shops across the US, as well as via catalog and online. Affinity also publishes magazines and travel guides, from which it derives subscription fees and ad sales revenue. Chairman Steve Adams is the majority owner of both Affinity and, through another entity, RV retailer FreedomRoads.

FMG was founded in 1981. Furniture Marketing Group (FMG) does what it says it does. Furniture Marketing Group, Inc. supplies businesses with desks, tables, seating, file cabinets, shelves, and other office interior products. In addition, FMG installs furniture and office systems, offers space planning and reconfiguration services, and project management. Furniture Marketing Group, Inc. serves clients in the biotechnology, health care, hospitality, education, and commercial markets, as well as government agencies. It operates three showrooms in Texas and has offices in the US, the UK, Australia, and India.

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.

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