STAEDTLER-Mars is the Canadian distribution arm of Germany-based STAEDTLER Group. The company's inventory includes pencils, pens, markers, sharpeners, and other writing and drawing implements, as well as inkjet cartridges, drawing boards, and rulers. It also distributes Eberhard Faber products. STAEDTLER-Mars, which was incorporated in 1960, has additional sales offices in Quebec and British Columbia. STAEDTLER-Mars Ltd. plans to merge its Canadian and US offices into one unit in 2010. The new team will be headquartered in Canada.

Connolly Music Company, Inc. imports and distributes strings for basses, cellos, guitars, mandolins, violas, and violins. It is the only US importer of Austria-made Thomastik-Infeld strings and rosin. Products include specialty strings for electric, acoustic, classical, and jazz guitars; acoustic and jazz basses; and custom sets as well as various cored strings for orchestral instruments. The company supports the American String Teachers Association, the Suzuki Association of America, and the Perlman Music Program. Connolly Music was founded in 1970 by John Connolly. His son Jake is president and owner.

Tiffany & Co., through its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and retail of fine jewelry. Its jewelry products include gemstone jewelry, gemstone band rings, diamond rings, wedding bands for brides and grooms, non-gemstone, gold or platinum jewelry, and sterling silver jewelry. The company also offers TIFFANY & CO. brand merchandise, including timepieces and clocks; sterling silver merchandise, including flatware, hollowware, trophies, key holders, picture frames, and desk accessories; crystal, glassware, china, and other tableware; custom engraved stationery; writing instruments; eyewear; leather goods; and fashion accessories. In addition, it provides fragrance products sold under the trademarks, including TIFFANY, PURE TIFFANY, and TIFFANY FOR MEN. The company serves its customers through retail sales, Internet and catalog sales, business to business sales, and wholesale distribution primarily in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe. It also sells its products through TIFFANY & CO. stores, as well as through department store boutiques in Japan. As of January 31, 2010, Tiffany & Co. operated approximately 220 retail stores worldwide. Tiffany & Co. was founded in 1837 and is based in New York, New York.

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.

Empire Music distributes musical instruments, books, and related accessories to music educators in Canada and the US. Products include various books and instruments related to the Suzuki method of music education and theory, bells, drums, guitars, recorders, ukuleles, and xylophones (they even carry stepping stone-style xylophones and giant floor piano keyboards). It carries brands Suzuki Orff, Aulos Recorders, Challenger, and Emus. The company has been trading for more than a half-century.

Michaels Stores is pretty crafty. The nation's #1 arts and crafts retailer owns and operates about 1,040 Michaels Stores canvassing the US and Canada. Michaels sells more than 40,000 products including art and hobby supplies, decor, frames, needlecraft kits, party supplies, seasonal products, and silk and dried flowers. Michaels also operates about 140 Aaron Brothers stores in California, Texas, and about half a dozen other states, which provide framing and art supplies. The retailer's Artistree subsidiary manufactures frames and molding for Michaels and Aaron Brothers stores. Michaels Stores was taken private in 2006 by the investment firms Bain Capital Partners and The Blackstone Group.

Teleflora was founded in 1934. Teleflora's business is blooming, with the help of some of its best buds. Teleflora, a subsidiary of Roll International, supplies fresh flowers, plants, and gift items to consumers worldwide through its websites and toll-free number. The floral firm taps into a network of about 18,000 florists across the US and Canada, as well as another 20,000 affiliated florists outside North America. It offers fresh flowers for any occasion, as well as plants, corporate gifts, and fruit and goody baskets, some available same day, at prices ranging from $29.99 to about $200. Its partner marketing program provides commissions and discounts for affiliates, corporate giving, and rewards programs.

Brandywine International Hardwood LLC (BIH) is the corporate entity that is responsible for utilizing the Wood Flooring International, Tesoro Woods and Wood Floor Resource Group brands (among others) to bring unique and exciting wood flooring products and programs to the U.S. market. With decades of experience in supplying the North American market with wood flooring, our focus is on wood flooring and wood flooring only - with species exotic to North America a specialty. Working globally, we start at the mill level in developing innovative products that make sense for and perform correctly in the North American market. We then assist our suppliers in implementing the correct in-line process quality control systems which ultimately provide the ongoing quality our flooring is well known for. Only then do we package these offerings up with exciting marketing collateral and provide the logistic and field support required to support these products successfully in the North American market.

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.

Henry Modell & Company sells sporting goods, fitness equipment, apparel (including local team apparel), and brand-name athletic footwear at more than 140 Modell's Sporting Goods stores in 10 East Coast states, the District of Columbia, and online. Best known for offering branded products at reasonable prices, Modell's stores are in malls, regional shopping centers, and busy urban areas, including Manhattan. Founded in 1889 by Hungarian immigrant Morris Modell (who first sold menswear from a Lower East Side pushcart in New York City), the chain is the oldest family-owned sporting goods retailer in the country; it is in its fourth generation of Modell management.

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