Founded in 1993 with about 60 stores, Calendar Club now operates more than 800 locations in the US and 250-plus outlets in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK. The company also sells merchandise year round on its Web sites, including Calendars.com and DogBreedStore.com. Bookseller Barnes & Noble sold its majority stake in Calendar Club to CEO Marc Winkelman and the firm's management in 2009 for $7 million. During the holiday season, Calendar Club transforms empty retail space in Canada and the US into shops under the banners Calendar Club, San Francisco Music Box Company, and Go! Games, and Go! Toys. The company's temporary stores range in size from kiosks to some 6,000 square feet.

Dijon Limited was started in 1973 in a bedroom and garage by company director Diane Kirkness; she runs it with her two daughters. Dijon Limited, also known as The Original Dolls House Company, offers everything, including kitchen sinks, for the hobbyist to outfit dollhouses and miniature shops - even pubs - to the teeth. Its 1/12th-, 1/24th-, and 1/48th scaled items include handmade books that can be read with a magnifying glass, melted snowmen, kits for constructing dollhouses and miniature conservatories, electric wiring kits, and garden tools, along with play families and pets. Dijon Limited distributes to retailers throughout the UK, as well as by mail order and through the company's Web site.

Adleta Corporation is a leading wholesale distributor of hard surface flooring, including ceramic, hardwood, and laminate products, to retailers and professional builders in the southwestern US. Adleta company supplies commercial and residential flooring (brands include Armstrong, Endura, and Kahrs, among others) and installation services to customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Adleta company operates a flooring installation training facility in Carrollton, Texas, and warehouses in Texas and Little Rock, Arkansas. Family-owned-and-operated Adleta was founded in 1920 as a cabinet and fixture manufacturer and entered the floor covering business in 1974.

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.

Kelly Paper was founded in 1936 by Art Kelly. Kelly Paper has a range of products for writers of the purple sage. The company sells a variety of papers (including fine printing, inkjet, laser, and carbonless), plus labels, envelopes and packaging supplies, through about 50 locations mostly in California, but also in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Its products are also sold online. Brands include 3M, A.B. Dick, Avery Dennison, Boise Cascade, Domtar, Georgia-Pacific, and Xerox. Kelly Paper also sells preprinted and specialty items, such as brochures, business cards, and postcards. It is a subsidiary of Australia's largest paper maker and merchant, PaperlinX.

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.

Like Ellis Island in the past, Cruise America welcomes thousands of Europeans each year. Cruise America is the US's largest recreational vehicle renter with about 20 company-owned stores, some 120 dealer locations, and a 3,000-vehicle rental fleet of RVs (cab-over motor homes). For those who choose to cruise north of the US-Canada border, Cruise America boasts locations in Canada. Up to a million dollars in liability insurance is included with each rental. The company allows its customers (nearly half of whom are foreign) to have the freedom of the open road while saving money on travel and lodging costs. It also sells its used trucks, along with new and used RVs, through RV Depot dealerships.

Chairman Bernard Arenson founded the company in 1975. The Arenson family, including president Perry and VP Susan, own Bernard Arenson. Bernard Arenson, which does business as Arenson Office Furniture, sells office furniture to its customers in the San Diego area. Its products include desks, executive seating, tables, filing cabinets, shelving, modular systems, and related products. Bernard Arenson also offers space planning, installation, and product delivery services. Arenson Office Furniture distributes products manufactured under such brand names as Holga, HON, Maxon, and OFS. It also sells executive and guest seating made by La-Z-Boy.

Hicks may be in the sticks, but it has the supplies sporting goods retailers need. The company distributes marine, fishing, hunting, archery, and other outdoor products to retailers nationwide. Its bi-annual trade shows draw more than 1,500 retailers nationwide to look at boats, guns, fishing tackle, bows, arrows, and other recreational goodies. The company carries more than 30,000 items from 700 vendors and sells through a B2B site, as well. Hicks was founded in the early 1900s and has been family owned and run since. Third- and fourth-generation family members hold the chairman and CFO (John M. Wise) and president and CEO (John M. Wise, Jr.) positions.

Helzberg Diamonds is into hard rocks. Helzberg Diamonds sells a wide selection of diamonds and precious gems -- mostly set into rings, but also set into other jewelry; Helzberg Diamond Shops also sells men's and women's watches. One of the largest national jewelry chains, Helzberg Diamonds operates about 235 stores nationwide. The mall-based chain also sells jewelry online. Helzberg Diamonds was founded in 1915 by Morris Helzberg and remained in his family until 1995, when it was acquired by investment guru Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (owner of jewelry chains Ben Bridge Jeweler and Borsheim's). Helzberg Diamonds offers a 60-day return or exchange option and free jewelry repairs for 12 months after purchase.

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