Sam Ash Music has been instrumental in many a musician's livelihood. The #2 musical instrument retailer in the US (behind Guitar Center), Sam Ash Music (SAM) operates about 45 stores in more than 15 states including California, New York, and Texas. Besides instruments, SAM sells sheet music, recording equipment, lighting, computers, and music software. It also sells online. SAM also sells vintage guitars, offers custom-built instruments and music clinics, and buys used musical instruments. It also runs a pro services and parts division, Sam Ash Professional, and an Educational Division serving schools. The company was founded in 1924 by Sam and Rose Ashkynase, whose descendants still own and run the company.

American Farms certainly hopes that its corporate strategies lead to perennial success. Established in 1991 with 10 acres, the company, a wholesale grower of flowering pot crops, now comprises more than 100 acres in Florida. It produces more than 100 varieties of annuals and herbaceous perennials, as well as flowering tropicals, landscape ferns and grasses, seasonal crops, and more. The majority of American Farms' sales are in the state of Florida, where it's one of the top growers of flowering plants, and more than half are to mass merchandisers (Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart) in the southeastern US. In addition, the company sells to independent garden centers and landscapers.

Group 1 Automotive, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and sale of automotive products and services. It offers new and used vehicles and related financing, vehicle maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, warranty, insurance, and extended service contracts. The company has operations located in major metropolitan areas in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas in the United States; and in the towns of Brighton, Hailsham, and Worthing in the United Kingdom. As of June 23, 2010, Group 1 Automotive owned and operated 101 automotive dealerships, 136 franchises, and 25 collision service centers in the United States and the United Kingdom that offer 32 brands of automobiles. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Founded in 1898 as a rubber stamp company, W.B. Mason is one of the largest private office products dealers in the US. It operates about 20 showrooms, including five Whatta Bargain locations that carry furniture and business equipment, in some 10 northeastern states. The company also sells via its online catalog to its base of small and midsized businesses. A well-known entity on the East Coast, the firm stokes its "company next-door" image with old-fashioned ads on TV and in prominent places, such as Fenway Park's manual scoreboard. W.B. Mason is owned by members of senior management, including chairman Steve Greene and CEO Leo Meehan.

KMC Music helps to keep amateur and professional musicians plugged in to the latest and greatest. Formerly Kaman Music Corporation, it's the largest independent distributor of musical instruments and accessories in the US. KMC's products portfolio includes Ovation and Hamer guitars, Gibraltar hardware, Latin Percussion, and Toca drums. It also sells Takamine guitars, Gretsch drums, Sabian cymbals, and Genz Benz amps. KMC peddles its products in the US, Asia/Pacific, Australia, Europe, and South America and through wholesale catalogs with more than 36,000 products. KMC was founded in 1966 as Ovation Instruments and in 2007 it was acquired by industry behemoth Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

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.

For Douglas Holding, there is no scent sweeter than perfume. The retail conglomerate operates about 2,000 stores in some two dozen European countries and the US. It is a leading perfume retailer in Europe with more than 1,100 perfumeries (445 in its home market Germany). In addition to perfume, Douglas Holding sells skin care and cosmetic products. The company's other retail divisions include jewelry and watches (Christ, Rene Kern), fashion (AppelrathCupper and Pohland), books (Thalia and Internet book seller buch.de), and confectionery (Hussel). While about two-thirds of the group's sales originate in Germany, its non-German operations are driving growth.

Hollywood Media Corp. provides online ticketing services and entertainment-related services. The company’s Ad Sales segment sells advertising on plasma TV displays, and cinema and theater Web sites in the United Kingdom and Ireland; and on lobby display posters, movie brochure booklets, and ticket wallets distributed in cinemas, live theater, and other entertainment venues in the United Kingdom. It also holds a 26.2% ownership interest in MovieTickets.com, a seller of online movie tickets. Hollywood Media Corp.’s Intellectual Properties segment owns or controls the rights to certain intellectual properties created by various authors and media celebrities, which it licenses for book and other media. It also owns a 51% interest in Tekno Books, a book development business. Hollywood Media Corp. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

Sweetwater Sound helps musicians and recording engineers make sweet music. The music technology retailer sells professional recording and live sound equipment, musical instruments (guitars, basses, keyboards, and drums), computers and software, and accessories through its website and catalogs. Manufacturers include Roland, Yamaha, and Kurzweil. The company was founded in 1979 by Chuck Surack as a four-track recording studio. The retail division grew out of Surack's need for a source for affordable, high-quality gear. Sweetwater Sound moved into its new corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2006. The following year, it acquired music retailer Lentine's Music from GE Capital for $4.5 million.

Corporate Concepts is headquartered in Lombard, Illinois, and has an additional sales office in downtown Chicago. We also maintain several warehouse facilities and have extensive strategic partnerships in place, which makes it easy to provide the same high level of service on a nationwide basis. Our top priority is to provide our clients with the very best in design services, space planning, and specifications, along with timely order entry, tracking, delivery, and expert installation of product. Many other value-added services are available as well, including chair re-upholstery, furniture standards programs and financing consultation. Dedication to discovering and fully understanding our clients' needs is the foundation on which Corporate Concepts was built. By focusing on these fundamental principles, we have consistently grown our business, and we're proud to be considered an industry leader. It is through our commitment to these goals that we have consistently been recognized as a Knoll Top 10 Dealer worldwide, as well as being named as the 12th Largest Woman Owned Firm in Chicago, Crain's 2003.

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