Spicers is nothing to sneeze at -- the company is a leading office products and equipment wholesaler in the UK and France, where most of its 20-plus distribution centers are located; it also holds strong market positions in Ireland, France, and the Benelux countries, and is developing its business in Germany, Italy, and Spain. The company's 18,000 products, which are sold to office products dealers via its numerous catalogs and Web site, include office equipment, furniture, and janitorial supplies sold under major manufacturers' brands as well as its own brand, 5 Star. Spicers accounts for about one-third of the revenues of its packaging and paper parent company, DS Smith.

Leif Johnson Ford sells, you guessed it, Ford vehicles. The company's inventory includes new Ford cars, trucks, and SUVs, as well as used vehicles of all makes. Leif Johnson Ford lets customers shop for, customize, and order vehicles as well as apply for financing online. Customers can schedule service appointments or order parts on its site, too. Leif Johnson Ford's AJ Rent-A-Car allow temporary use of a variety of vehicles from a Ford Focus to a 15-passenger van. The company, with a pair of locations in Austin, Texas, was founded in 1957 by Texas Land Commissioner Bob Armstrong. Leif Johnson, father of CEO Robert Johnson, purchased it in 1967 after being the manager for many years.

Founded in 1978, Sierra Office Solutions is an authorized Xerox sales agent and an approved vender for the federal government. While the Sierra Club wants you to save a tree, Sierra Office Solutions (formerly Sierra Office Supply) wants you to buy one. The office products and furniture firm supplies businesses and home offices in Eastern Kern, Inyo, and Mono counties in California, and Nye and Esmeralda counties in Nevada, with the necessities of running a business. Products include office supplies, computer and printer supplies, furniture, janitorial and break room items, Xerox copiers and other business machines, business cards, custom stamps, and signs. It offers an online product catalog and free delivery.

In 1959, William Jacobs started Columbus Fair Auto Auction based on excellent customer service and fairness. He recognized that auctions offered a solution to automobile dealers' needs for a source and marketplace for used motor vehicles.Obviously, the financial risk of leasing space at the Ohio State Fairgrounds to run a one-lane auction in 1959 was small, but significant for this startup entrepreneurial endeavor. It, however, pales in comparison to the present multi-million dollar investment in today's 85-acre facility in Obetz. However, the original strategy of offering a marketplace for used vehicles where buyers and sellers would congregate for the benefit of both continues today.

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.

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.

Aaron Brothers has its hand in custom-framing and crafting. Aaron Brothers, Inc. opened its first shop in Los Angeles in 1946; today it operates some 150 stores in about 10 states. Its stores are located mostly in Texas and in the western US, but also reach to Georgia and Virginia. Aaron Brothers stores offer ready-made frames and mattes, art supplies, and custom framing services. A subsidiary of big brother hobby-retailer Michaels Stores, Aaron Brothers stores average about 5,600 sq. ft. and offer its customers some 7,100 products. Parent company Michaels Stores was taken private in 2006 by a pair of private equity firms (Bain Capital Partners and The Blackstone Group).

Edible Arrangements has about 940 franchised locations in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, the UK, the Middle East, Italy, Turkey, and Hong Kong. CEO Tariq Farid started Edible Arrangements in 1999 after doing software consulting for a similar business. "Please don't eat the daisies" simply doesn't apply here. Edible Arrangements creates bouquets of hand-sculpted fresh fruit that are blooming with flower-shaped pineapples, shoots of melon slices, sprigs of skewered grapes, and an assortment of apple wedges, bananas, oranges, and strawberries. Customers can also add chocolate-dipped fruit to their arrangements. In addition to bouquets, the company offers smoothies and fruit salads at some shops.

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).

Signature Brands International (SBI) is a fashion jewelry and watch wholesaler that sells to retail and duty-free stores, domestically and internationally. SBI's vast products portfolio includes Carlo Orsini (sterling silver and cubic zirconium), Colibri of London (men's accessories), Daring Diamonds (affordable diamond jewelry), Krementz (14k gold religious and inspirational jewelry), and Skagen Watches, among other items. Owner and President Carolyn Morgan founded SBI in 2001 after spending 18 years in the duty-free buying business.

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