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.

Adventure 16, Inc. operates a chain of retail outdoor outfitters in Southern California. It has about half a dozen locations, plus a wholesale division that distributes accessories for backpacking, camping, climbing, and adventure travel. The company offers lifetime guarantees on all its private-label products. Its Web site offers resources, guides, and classes for outdoor journeys, a backpacker's checklist, an interactive map and reviews of recommended hikes, a gallery of adventure photos, and an outdoor blog written by staff. Adventure 16 was incorporated by Mic Mead in 1970.

Bookazine Company, Inc. is an independent wholesale distributor of books and magazines, working with more than 25,000 publishers across the globe. In addition to its range of best sellers and new releases, Bookazine specializes in children's books, small press titles, regional publications, graphic novels and manga, gay and lesbian books, and periodicals. Clients have included major retailers (F.Y.E., Sam Goody), airport newsstands, and independent bookstores in the US and abroad. Bookazine was founded in 1929 by Ruwin and Jacob Kallman and has been family run for three generations. Today Robert and Richard Kallman lead the company as CEO and EVP, respectively.

FlorStar was part of Carson Pirie Scott & Co. until 1988, when management purchased the flooring division and created a separate company. At FlorStar Sales, the floor is the star. Florstar Sales, Inc. distributes floor coverings to retailers throughout the Midwest from four locations in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota. Florstar's product offerings include hardwoods, laminates, ceramic, porcelain, vinyl, rugs, and carpets from Armstrong, Interceramic, Milliken, Wilsonart, and Weyerhaeuser. From its four locations, Florstar Sales, Inc. serves nearly 5,000 customers in six additional Midwest states. In addition, it offers floor installation training and certification.

This company has a singular mission to distribute paper to North America. Unisource Worldwide is a leading distributor of paper products and other supplies, providing commercial printing and business imaging paper and specialty paper products through about 85 distribution centers. Its offerings include ink jet and laser paper, Xerox paper, and toner cartridges, in addition to coated and uncoated commercial printing paper. Unisource also distributes packaging supplies (corrugated papers, foam and bubble sheeting), packaging systems (pallet systems, shrink packaging systems), and cleaning supplies and equipment. Unisource Worldwide, Inc. is 60% owned by Bain Capital; paper manufacturer Georgia-Pacific owns about 40%.

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.

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.

Copart, Inc. provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It offers a range of services for processing and selling vehicles over the Internet, through its virtual bidding second generation Internet auction-style sales technology, to vehicle sellers, primarily insurance companies, banks and financial institutions, charities, car dealerships, fleet operators, vehicle rental companies, and the general public. The company’s services include online seller access, salvage estimation services, estimating services, end-of-life vehicle processing, virtual insured exchange, transportation services, vehicle inspection stations, on-demand reporting, DMV processing, flexible vehicle processing programs, buyer network, sales process, dealer services, direct services, and u-pull-it services, as well as CoPartfinder, an Internet-based used vehicle parts locator that provides vehicle dismantlers with resale opportunities for their salvage purchases. It primarily serves licensed vehicle dismantlers, rebuilders, repair licensees, used vehicle dealers, and exporters, as well as the general public. As of July 31, 2009, the company operated 147 facilities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Copart, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Fairfield, California.

Founded in 1937 with a $35 investment, Stuckey's operated more than 350 stores at its zenith in the 1970s. The Stuckey family, including Bill Stuckey (chairman and son of the founder), is the company's majority owner. Once as integral to a road trip as the destination, Stuckey's owns or franchises about 175 stores located along interstates in some 20 US states, mostly in the Southeast. Its store concepts include the traditional blue-roofed stand-alone locations and Stuckey's Express, in which a Stuckey's outlet is located inside other convenience stores and travel centers. Stuckey's sells primarily candy (taffy, peanut brittle, and its famous pecan logs) and souvenirs (T-shirts, postcards, and trinkets).

EZCORP, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, lends or provides credit services to individuals to meet their short-term cash needs. It offers pawn loans, which are non recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property, including jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments. The company also provides signature loans consisting of payday loans, installment loans, auto title loans, or fee-based credit services to customers seeking loans. In addition, EZCORP provides credit services, including advice and assistance to customers in obtaining loans from unaffiliated lenders. As of September 30, 2009, it operated a total of 910 locations consisting of 369 the U.S. pawnshops, 62 pawnshops in Mexico, 477 the U.S. short-term loan stores, and 2 short-term loan stores in Canada. EZCORP, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

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