Seaman and sail maker Thomas Black founded Blacks in 1861, when he offered his sails for sale. From there, the company moved on to tents, eventually offering camping gear and sporting goods. Now Blacks Leisure Group (BLG) sells outdoor gear and apparel through more than 300 stores throughout the UK and Ireland under the Blacks, Freespirit, and Millets banners. With 200-plus stores, Millets is the UK's largest outdoor retailer. The smaller Blacks chain sells North Face, Merrell, and Coleman brand merchandise and its owns brands from about 90 shops. BLG has been closing stores in its boardwear chain Freespirit, which now operates only about a dozen locations. Rival Sports Direct owns about 28% of BLG.

FTD.COM is an Internet and telephone marketer of flowers and specialty gifts. Founded by FTD, the world's oldest floral services organization, FTD.COM sells directly to consumers through its Web site, www.ftd.com, and its 1-800-SEND-FTD telephone number. Utilizing independent FTD florists who adhere to the highest quality and service standards, FTD.COM provides same-day delivery of floral orders to nearly 100 percent of the U.S. population. FTD.COM offers a wide variety of unique floral arrangements and specialty gifts for holidays and other occasions. On June 27, 2002, FTD.COM became a wholly owned subsidiary of Florists' Transworld Delivery, Inc. Additional information about FTD.COM; its parent company, Florists' Transworld Delivery, Inc.; and its respective parent companies, FTD, Inc. and FTD Group Inc., is available under the "investor relations" category on this site.

Maurice Sporting Goods, Inc. company is a wholesale supplier of athletics, boating, camping, fishing, and hunting gear to both domestic and international retailers and mass merchandisers. It operates about five warehouses in the US and Canada that supply The Sports Authority, Kmart, Modell's, and Wal-Mart, among others. Maurice Sporting Goods also provides inventory management and promotional planning services. The company was founded as a sporting goods store by Maurice and Mae Olshansky in 1923. It is still family owned.

Sensational Beginnings (SB) helps kids start having fun early. The catalog and online merchant sells educational toys, furniture, and safety and child care items for infants and toddlers. (SB also operates a single store in Michigan.) Toy categories include science and nature, ride-ons, musical instruments, indoor active play, travel kits, and seasonal items. SB also offers gift-giving and parenting advice, a gift registry, and an online photo gallery of children using company products. Customers can shop by brand, category, or age group or get advice on age-appropriate toys and games. President Debra Shah, a former nurse specializing in mother and child medical care, founded the company in the early 1990s.

Cargiant was founded in 1977, helping to pioneer the car supermarket concept in the UK. The London-based dealer stocks as many as 5,000 cars, including models from Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Fiat, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes, MG, and Vauxhall. The dealer offers financing through Blackhorse Plc, a unit of Llyods Banking Group(formerly Lloyds TSB), and other financial institutions. A PCP Program is provided for those who prefer 24- to 36-month leases.People looking for really big deals on wheels sometimes turn to Cargiant. The company, formerly The Great Trade Centre Ltd., is a supermarket for used automobiles.

The Millcraft Group was founded in 1920 by Harold Keil, whose family still owns the company. The Mlakar family (including chairman Katherin and president and CEO Chuck) is related to Keil by marriage. The Millcraft Group pushes more than just envelopes. The company distributes fine commercial paper and envelopes through its operations in Ohio, Michigan, and about five other states. It also sells paper and graphic supplies through about five Millcraft Paper stores in Ohio and Michigan. The company's Deltacraft Converting business cuts paper to customer specifications while its Millcraft Express Envelope unit produces custom envelopes in a range of shapes and sizes.

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of plush animals and related products. The company’s merchandise includes various styles of animals to be stuffed; and clothing, shoes, and accessories for the stuffed animals. It also licenses its Build-A-Bear Workshop brand to third parties to manufacture and sell merchandise to other retailers. As of January 2, 2010, the company operated 345 company-owned Build-A-Bear Workshop retail stores, including 291 stores in the United States and Canada, 51 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and 3 stores in France. In addition, its franchisees operated 65 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores in other international locations. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. also sells its products through a Web store. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Lia Auto Group sells cars and philanthropy. Each year Lia Auto Group sells new Hondas, Hyundais, Infinitis, Nissans, Scions, Toyotas, and Volkswagens from about seven franchises and 17 dealerships in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. The group also peddles used cars and fleet units. Its shoppers may browse for cars, schedule service, or order parts on the group's Web site. Lia Auto Group additionally provides service, sells parts, and performs collision repair. The auto company was founded by Bill Lia, Sr., in 1979 and is owned by the Lia family, whose many philanthropic activities in the region include raffling luxury cars to raise money for charity.

STAEDTLER-Mars is the Canadian distribution arm of Germany-based STAEDTLER Group. The company's inventory includes pencils, pens, markers, sharpeners, and other writing and drawing implements, as well as inkjet cartridges, drawing boards, and rulers. It also distributes Eberhard Faber products. STAEDTLER-Mars, which was incorporated in 1960, has additional sales offices in Quebec and British Columbia. STAEDTLER-Mars Ltd. plans to merge its Canadian and US offices into one unit in 2010. The new team will be headquartered in Canada.

Chesswood Group owns cars4U.com (launched in 2000), which operates an online auto dealership (the first of its kind in Canada), where hassles like haggling for price are removed from the equation. The car dealer also provides leasing services through its Lease-Win subsidiary. Chesswood's other holdings include an Acura dealership in Toronto (Acura Sherway) and Pawnee Leasing Corp., a Colorado-based lending and finance company serving US clients. Founded as cars4U, the firm changed its name to Chesswood Group in 2011 upon its conversion from a trust to an corporation.

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