Paper is as good as gold for Gould Paper, one of the largest distributors of business and printing papers in North America. The paper merchant distributes and sells paper to multiple markets, including fine paper, commercial printing, lithography, newsprint, direct-mail, catalog, envelope, and specialty paper companies. Gould also supplies paperboard, which is used in packaging material for consumer and industrial products, and operates paper-converting operations. Touting sales of 2 million tons of paper products annually, Gould Paper Corporation company represents most major domestic and offshore mills. Founded in 1924, Gould Paper sold a majority stake in Gould Paper Corporation company to the US arm of Japan Pulp & Paper (JPP) in 2010.

Shelton-Keller Group, Inc. company has furnished airport waiting areas, call centers, outdoor dining space, and large college libraries and has contracts with the state of Texas and several US municipalities. The people at Shelton-Keller Group are cube city architects. The company plans, designs, installs, maintains, and repairs office furniture systems including tables, desk, shelving, cases, and executive office accoutrements. Most of the company's salesmen have backgrounds in interior design or architecture; Shelton-Keller makes a good deal of its revenue from designing, planning, and reconfiguring office plans. Its hip, high-end designer brands include Knoll, Bretford, Thonet, and Vitra.

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.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) runs more than 3,100 facilities -- including PXs and BXs (Base Exchanges) -- at US Army and Air Force bases in more than 30 countries (including Iraq), all 50 US states, and five US territories. Its presence ranges from tents to shopping centers, including 180 retail stores, 1,000 fast-food outlets (brands like Burger King and Taco Bell), movie theaters, beauty shops, and gas stations. AAFES serves active-duty military personnel, reservists, retirees, and their family members. Although it's a government agency under the DOD, it receives less than 5% of its funding from the department.

3M Nederland finds that Post-it Notes work well in any language. The Dutch arm of US-based conglomerate 3M sells the parent's vast portfolio of consumer, commercial, and industrial products, serving markets such as electro/communications, office, industrial/transportation, and safety. Brands include such household names as Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite household cleaning products, Scotchgard protective products, Nexcare bandages, and Filtrete filters and air purifiers. 3M Nederland operates three manufacturing plants: one in Amersfoort, 3M ECC, which produces heat shrink tubes; another in Breda, 3M Filtrete, which makes filter materials; and a plant in Kerkrade that produces fluorpolymers, elastomers, and resins.

Goldsmiths doesn't necessarily turn raw materials into gleaming baubles, but it does deal with the goldsmith's end result: jewelry. The firm, which was founded in 1778 and is the UK's #2 jewelry chain (behind Signet Jewelers' H Samuel) operates about 160 stores. Keeping up with the times, Goldsmiths also sells jewelry online. The chain was the country's first authorized Rolex merchant, and remains a top dealer of Rolex, Omega, Tag Heuer, and other watch brands. Goldsmiths is 70% owned owned by Aurum Holdings, which also owns the Mappin & Webb chain of jewelry shops. Goldsmiths' previous owner, Iceland's Baugur Group, acquired Goldsmiths in 2004 and later bought Mappin & Webb to form Aurum Holdings.

B&T primarily serves two types of markets. Its core business distributes books, videos, and music, and provides value-added services to thousands of school, public, and specialty libraries worldwide. The firm's retail unit supplies storefront and Internet book and music retailers, as well as independent booksellers, with a million book titles and about 385,000 DVD and CD titles. On the Internet (where it formerly operated as Informata.com), B&T offers B2B e-commerce fulfillment services. B&T is owned by investment firm Castle Harlan.

Half Price Books, Records, Magazines, Incorporated,the bookstore chain sells used and new books, magazines, videos, DVDs, and music. Only about half of the merchandise it sells is new. Its roughly 110 stores are located in more than 15 states, primarily Texas. Its wholesale catalog division, Texas Bookman, reprints classics and other public domain works. Half Price Books has grown slowly but steadily; its stores keep a small-company look with secondhand and employee-made furnishings. The company was started by Ken Gjemre and Pat Anderson (late mom of president and CEO Sharon Anderson Wright) in 1972 to save trees by recycling unwanted books. The Anderson family owns most of the company.

Cole's was founded in 1986. Cole Office Products challenges the idea that big-box stores have the lowest prices. The independent retailer distributes about 3,000 workplace essentials, including business cards, forms, filler paper, writing implements, computer peripherals, office furniture, and maintenance and break room supplies. It features products from such makers as Avery, Safco, and Xerox. Orders can be placed by phone, fax, or through Cole's e-commerce site. As a veteran-owned small business, Cole Office Products, Inc. is an authorized supplier for the government.

Lookers sells the kind of cars that get noticed. The company operates through about 100 franchised auto dealerships in the UK. It also does business as the Charles Hurst Group in England and Northern Ireland and as Taggarts in Scotland. The company sells new and used vehicles from such brands as Aston Martin, Bentley, Citroën, Honda, Jeep, Toyota, and Volkswagen. Lookers also sells motorcycles from two dealerships. In addition to its franchise operations, the company's business lines include aftermarket auto parts (FPS Distribution) and used car supermarkets (Bristol Trade Centre and Ian Shipton Cars). Lookers was founded in 1908. Millionaire car trader Tony Bramall holds about a 20% stake in the company.

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