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.

Hutchison Whampoa Limited operates in the ports and related services; property and hotels; retail; energy, infrastructure, finance, investments, and others; and telecommunications businesses. The company’s Ports and Related Services segment engages in the investment, development, and operation of ports in Europe, the Mainland China, north and south Asia, Australia, the Americas, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Africa. This segment has interests in 50 ports comprising 306 berths. The company’s Property and Hotels segment invests in and develops office, commercial, industrial, and residential premises in the Mainland China, Hong Kong, and internationally. It also operates and manages hotels. The company’s Retail segment operates retail stores that sell personal care, health, beauty, luxury perfumery, cosmetic, and food and wine products, as well as consumer electronics and electrical appliances. This segment also manufactures and distributes bottled water and beverages. The company’s Energy, Infrastructure, Finance, Investments, and Others segment owns interests in energy and infrastructure projects principally in Hong Kong, the Mainland China, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This segment also engages in other ventures and activities, including the manufacture, distribution, and retail of healthcare, traditional Chinese medicine, and pharmaceutical products; property investment; manufacture of consumer electronic products; retail product sourcing and licensing; and Internet, publishing, outdoor media, and television and entertainment businesses. The company’s Telecommunications segment provides telecommunications and data services, including 3G video mobile services, fixed-line services, fiber optic broadband networks, and radio broadcasting services in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Macau, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Hutchison Whampoa Limited is based in Central, Hong Kong.

Emerging Vision, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of retail optical stores and franchises optical chains in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer eye care products and services, such as prescription and non-prescription eyeglasses, eyeglass frames, ophthalmic lenses, contact lenses, sunglasses, and a range of ancillary items, as well as provide professional eye examinations to the public. The company and its franchisees operate retail optical stores under the trade names of Sterling Optical, Site for Sore Eyes, Kindy Optical, and Singer Specs. As of December 31, 2009, it owned and operated 135 Sterling stores, including 6 company-owned stores and 129 franchised stores located in 14 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition, the company engages in the optical purchasing group business that offers its members with vendor discounts on optical products for resale. Further, it provides eye care benefits to covered participants under the Insight Managed Vision Care name; and operates a specialized health care maintenance organization, which employs licensed optometrists to provide services in offices located in Sterling stores situated in California. Emerging Vision, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

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

Like Ellis Island in the past, Cruise America welcomes thousands of Europeans each year. Cruise America is the US's largest recreational vehicle renter with about 20 company-owned stores, some 120 dealer locations, and a 3,000-vehicle rental fleet of RVs (cab-over motor homes). For those who choose to cruise north of the US-Canada border, Cruise America boasts locations in Canada. Up to a million dollars in liability insurance is included with each rental. The company allows its customers (nearly half of whom are foreign) to have the freedom of the open road while saving money on travel and lodging costs. It also sells its used trucks, along with new and used RVs, through RV Depot dealerships.

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.

Gold Crest Distributing was founded in 1995 by its president Mel Toellner. Gold Crest Distributing boasts a good-as-gold guarantee. Gold Crest Distributing, LLC sells some 5,000 backyard nature and bird items, including bird seed, feeders, baths, Purple Martin houses, and accessories to wholesale and retail businesses nationwide. The company has been expanding its product line to include gifts, pet products, and seasonal items. Gold Crest distributes bird supplies to some 1,900 retail stores throughout the US and Canada. Gold Crest Distributing, LLC also operates two Songbird Station stores in Missouri and an online store.

Florida Transportation Systems makes sure the wheels on the bus go round and round. The company sells and services Blue Bird school buses and other commercial buses, such as transit and shuttle buses made by Thor Industries, ADA-accessible paratransit vans made by The Braun Corporation, and minibuses made by Girardin. Customers include Florida school districts, transit agencies, and local governments in the Sunshine State. Florida Transportation Systems was founded in 1982.

Internet Brands was founded in 1998 as CarsDirect.com. CarsDirect quickly gained popularity with consumers and advertisers, winning numerous industry awards, such as one of the "50 Best" websites in the world by Time Magazine, a "Top 100 Classic Website" by PC Magazine, and a "Top Site for Buying or Selling Anything" by PC World. But that success was only a seedling. In 2005, the company began an enormous transition - from a single vertical to a diversified, platform company that would scale much larger. In 2006, the company changed its name to Internet Brands and started to accelerate its diversification and growth. On November 16, 2007, Internet Brands became a public company, listing on the NASDAQ exchange with ticker symbol INET.In 2008 and 2009, the company continued to grow its EBITDA profitability and its "same store" revenue at double digits, despite the recession.

Edwin Watts Golf is a leading golf specialty retail chain in the US. The company operates about 70 golf specialty stores in 10 mostly southeastern states and Texas. Its stores sell clubs, golf balls, bags, training aids, and more. The company also sells golf equipment by catalog and online, and it operates a club leasing program for novices and golfers who like to try out state-of-the-art gear. Edwin Watts Golf was founded in 1968 as a small pro shop at the municipal golf course in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, by brothers Edwin and Ronnie Watts. It is owned by an affiliate of investment firm Sun Capital Partners.

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