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.

Aristocrat Motors operates a Kansas City showroom complete with parts and service departments. Online, customers can search inventory, look up Blue Book values, request price quotes and test drives, and apply for credit. Aristocrat Motors is owned by Detroit-based holding company Soave Enterprises.To find out what an aristocrat would drive, just visit the dealership! The company sells and services new and used vehicles from such refined brands as Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Saab. It also carries vehicles from mini-car maker smart

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.

Advanced Book Exchange Inc. provides more than 110 million new and used books, including textbooks, as well as rare and out-of-print books, on its Web site. The books are supplied to the site by more than 13,500 booksellers worldwide. Abebooks also offers booksellers a variety of services such as inventory management software, and dedicated support. In 2008 the company was acquired by former strategic partner Amazon.com.

ODI is the UK operating arm of US-based office supplies retailer Office Depot. This office products supplier deals directly with its customers. Office Depot International (UK), or ODI, operates Viking Direct, one of the leading office supply retailers in the UK. It distributes about 15,000 brands through catalogs, telephone sales, and the Internet, offering an array of paper and writing products, ink and toner, small office machines, furniture and seating, and warehouse and janitorial supplies. In addition to office products, ODI sells video game consoles, kitchen appliances, and satellite navigation systems. The company's customer base largely consists of retail businesses and public agencies.

MyOfficeProducts company provides more than 35,000 office products, including supplies (paper, desk organizers), furniture (chairs, lighting), and technology (printers, computer accessories). MyOfficeProducts also offers an eco-friendly product line with recycled paper, garbage containers, folders, and other items. MyOfficeProducts operates more than 80 sales offices and distribution centers across the US and Canada. The company, which has more than 100 local sales associates, provides a variety of rebates and gift certificates with some of its purchases.

Established in 1973, PartyLite has been owned by Blyth since 1990. It's tough to make money by selling ambience, but PartyLite Worldwide pulls it off. The company sells candles, incense, diffusers, sachets, bath products, and decorative accessories for the home through more than 65,000 independent consultants in about a dozen markets worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Mexico, the US, and the UK. It also markets breads, cheeses, desserts, sauces, and other snack foods under the Two Sisters Gourmet brand. Consultants sell PartyLite's products through home parties held by hostesses and via personalized e-commerce sites.

Archibald's knows hot wheels when it sees 'em. The auto dealer specializes in the sale of used luxury vehicles from a single location in Kennewick, Washington. Archibald's swanky rides include BMW, Acura, Cadillac, Jaguar, and Mercedes Benz. Visitors to the company's Web site can check inventory, view photos of each vehicle, check trade-in values, and apply for financing. Archibald's claims its success is due to applying the golden rule, treat other people the way you would like to be treated, to its business model. The company is owned by president John Archibald and vice president Daniel Archibald.

Hong Kong-based Chow Sang Sang has its eye on China and the growing luxury market there. The company operates about 155 Chow Sang Sang jewelery stores in some 60 cities across mainland China, with another 50-plus stores in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The fast-growing jeweler aims to open another 50 shops in the near future. The company makes and sells necklaces, bracelets, watches, diamonds, and other shiny luxuries and trendy baubles. Chow Sang Sang has production facilities in China and in Hong Kong. It also wholesales precious metals (gold, platinum, and palladium) and brokers stocks and commodities. Chairman Kwen Lim Chow and general manager Wing Shing Chow together own about a third of the company.

Central States Bus Sales sells new and used school and commercial buses to education, transit, and corporate entities. The largest distributor of Blue Bird buses in the nation, it has four sales and service facilities serving Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. In addition to Blue Bird, the company also offers new and used Girardin and Trans Tech school buses and six brands of new and used commercial buses. Central States sells bus parts, including seat belt and monitoring systems, and conducts training classes on specific bus models. The company was formed in 1975 by bus salesman Steve Rustman.The wheels on the bus go round and round and Central States Bus Sales plans to keep it that way.

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