Aldeasa S.A. company is owned by Italy's Autogrill, which bought out its joint venture partner Altadis in April 2008. Aldeasa, Spain's #1 operator of duty-free shops, runs about 270 travel shops, gift boutiques, and outlets in museums, historic and cultural centers, and other tourist locations. Most of its stores are in Spain, but it also has operations in about a dozen other countries, including Portugal, Chile, Peru, and the US. Besides the usual tobacco and liquor products, Aldeasa sells cosmetics, watches, food, and more -- much of it brand names; it also sells online. Many of Aldeasa's stores were duty-free until the EU prohibited such trade for intra-European travel.

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.

The Booksource Inc. company sells new hardcover and paperback books to school libraries and classrooms across the US. It's part of a growing trend to place small libraries in classrooms to encourage kids to pick up a book and read. Booksource also owns San Val, which operates two binderies that turn paperback books into hardcovers for use in schools and public libraries. Its Peaceable Kingdom Press makes cards, calendars, posters, and other paper products for kids that are sold in book and toy stores worldwide. The firm is owned by founder Sandy Jaffe and his children Neil (president), Gary (COO), and Donna (head of Peaceable Kingdom).

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 Sensational Beginnings, Inc. in the early 1990s.

The Birthdays concept was later launched in 1986. Clinton Cards purchased its rival Birthdays in 2004 and runs the unit as a separate business. Amid economic turmoil and slowed consumer spending, however, Birthdays collapsed into administration (the equivalent of bankruptcy in the US) in 2009. You say it's your birthday? Well, your friends better run to a Birthdays store for those cards! The company operates about 200 (down from more than 400) Birthdays stores in the UK and Ireland offering discount greeting cards and party supplies for every occasion. Founded in 1966 as Ron Wood Greeting Cards, the company was originally a distributor of cards and gift wrap until the mid-1970s when it opened three card shops.

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.

The chain was co-founded in 1988 by Joe Barreiro and CEO Leonard Flax (and named after Flax's wife). Kate's Paperie believes the medium is the message. The luxury paper products retailer stocks some 4,000 papers from more than 40 countries, plus other items, including desk accessories, gift wrap, journals, organizers, photo albums and frames, stationery, and more than 1,500 ribbons from around the world. With five locations (one in Connecticut and four in New York City) and an e-commerce site, the upscale stationer carries designer brands such as Anna Griffin, Molly West, and Cavallini. Kate's also offers custom printing services, corporate purchase programs, and, of course, gift wrapping.

AFFLINK Inc. was founded in 1977. AFFLINK knows that packing products, cleaning items, and office supplies aren't sexy, but just about everyone uses them. The company distributes products for industrial and food packaging (tape, stand-up pouches), janitorial services (tissue paper, cleaners), and offices (business cards, lighting). It also supplies the food service (bowls, cutlery), safety (protective apparel, head gear), and medical (exam supplies, disinfectants) industries. Customers include building maintenance providers, hospitals, and restaurants. AFFLINK is a subsidiary of Performance Food Group.

Follett Higher Education Group, in existence for well over a century, is the leading operator of campus bookstores in the US, supplying students and faculty with textbooks and other course materials through more than 800 stores. FHEG also provides about 1,600 individually managed stores with wholesale books and related services such as point of sale management systems, buyback services, and store design and consulting services. It offers apparel, software, textbooks, and more through its websites, including efollett.com, follettbooks.com, and cafescribe.com. The company is a subsidiary of educational materials wholesaler Follett Corporation.

Sabin Robbins founded Sabin Robbins LLC, originally a pharmacy supplier called Ross & Robbins Company, in 1884. It was purchased by Blackbird Capital Partners in 2008. Sabin Robbins isn't necessarily glossy-eyed, but it does keep its eye on plenty of glossy paper. Sabin Robbins LLC distributes sheets and rolls of paper, including glossy- and matte-coated, envelope stock, form bond, and uncoated paper for books, covers, and reply cards. It also buys paper from individuals and companies. Sabin Robbins, which takes excess stock from mills and converts it for sale to commercial printers, boasts converting operations in Mansfield, Ohio, and sales and distribution offices in Cleveland, Atlanta, and Chicago.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.