VOW Europe pledges to be the UK and Ireland's one-stop shop for workplace essentials. VOW Europe Ltd. is a wholesale distributor of office supplies to dealers and resellers. Its offerings total more than 20,000 products, including stationery, toner, planners, business machines (calculators, printers), office furniture, and break room supplies. Besides brand-name office necessities, VOW Europe Ltd. markets supplies from Q Connect, a brand of the InterACTION distributors alliance in Europe; VOW is a member of the alliance. Chairman Richard Martin led a buyout of the firm, formerly known as Kingfield Heath, in 2007. It was merged with ISA Wholesale to form VOW. VOW Europe Ltd. is a unit of the Vasanta Group.

XMA Limited company was formed after Orion Media Marketing acquired XMA in 2007 and migrated its business operations. XMA distributes computer and office supplies to businesses and the public sector in the UK. Products include Flash memory cards, data storage tapes, digital cameras, printers and spare parts, laser toners and inkjet cartridges, specialty papers, transparency film, and interactive whiteboards. Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Toshiba are among its top brands. XMA Limited also provides consultation and support services. Public sector clients include local government agencies, schools and universities, and health-care organizations.

Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of fabrics and crafts in the United States. It operates retail stores under the names of Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts, and Jo-Ann, which offer a range of merchandise used in sewing, crafting, and home decorating projects, including fabrics, notions, crafts, frames, paper crafting material, artificial floral, home accents, finished seasonal, and home decor merchandise. Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. also sells its products through its Web site, Joann.com. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 746 retail stores in 48 states. Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. was founded in 1943 and is based in Hudson, Ohio.

The Stanley Gibbons Group was founded in 1865 with the publication of its first stamp catalog. If you're seeking a stamp of approval (or any other kind of stamp), best to consult with the Stanley Gibbons Group. The Stanley Gibbons Group Limited sells stamps, autographs, and other collectibles from its London retail store and its retail website. It also makes stamp-collecting accessories and publishes Gibbons Stamp Monthly magazine, which has been in continuous circulation since 1890. Stamps and autographs are considered by The Stanley Gibbons Group Limited to be solid financial investments; therefore, it hopes to spin off a separate investment arm. In late 2010, The Stanley Gibbons Group Limited acquired Benham Collectibles from Flying Brands to diversify its business.

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.

WH Smith PLC (known simply as "WHSmith") is one of the UK's largest book and magazine sellers. Its more than 570 high street stores sell reading materials, stationery, and movies. WHSmith also runs more than 515 travel shops in London and regional airports, railway stations, hospitals, and motorway service areas that offer selected newspapers, magazines, tobacco, and confectionery. Additionally, it operates the Internet site WHSmith Direct (the UK's second-largest online bookseller behind Amazon), and its Smiths News wholesale business is the largest magazine and newspaper distributor in the UK, supplying about 23,000 retailers daily.

The firm was founded in 1991 by Graham and Ursula Hodson and is jointly owned by the Hodsons and managing director Colin Hills, who has run the business since 1997. Fresh Bouquets knows how to grow its business. The floral firm grows, sources, and distributes 100,000 bunches of flowers a week to service stations and convenience stores across the UK under the Flowerfete label. Fresh Bouquets grows its own flowers in company-owned nurseries and supplements those with selected imported flowers from Israel, South Africa, Spain, and Turkey. Through its FDL e-commerce division, Fresh Bouquets has diversified beyond flowers to offer higher-margin items such as sunglasses, umbrellas, corkscrews, and other gadgets.

Founded in 1914 by Jacob Perelman, the firm was run by three generations of his family until 2007 when Dale Perelman, his grandson, stepped down. Brian Eckstein, the company's former CFO, was named president at that time. King's of New Castle (better known as King's Jewelry) doesn't sell the Crown Jewels but instead provides less renowned diamond, gemstone, and gold jewelry, as well as watches and giftware, from about 35 stores (down from about 50 in 2007) in Pennsylvania, Ohio,West Virginia, and Maryland. Like those of its larger rivals Zale and Kay Jewelers, the regional jewelry chain's stores are mostly mall-based. King's also sells jewelry online and by catalog and offers repair and appraisal services.

Dive N' Surf outfits its patrons to catch the waves. Specializing in diving equipment and training, as well as surf boards, surfing gear and apparel, the company sells products through its own retail store in Redondo Beach, California, and its website. Brands include Billabong, Lost, UGG, and Volcom, among others. In addition to these, Dive N' Surf markets its Body Glove brand of high-tech surf gear. The family of the founding twin brothers Bob and Bill Meistrell own Dive N' Surf, which opened for business in 1953.

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.

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