Founded as Noah's Ark in 1760 by William Hamley, the store is known for its vast selection of high quality toys, which it also sells worldwide online and by catalog. In addition to its Regent Street flagship store, Hamleys operates about 15 other toy shops, including about a half dozen inside House of Fraser department stores, several at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and three shops in Denmark. The UK investment arm of Iceland's Baugur Group owns a 64% stake in Hamleys. What is seven stories tall and full of toys? That would be Hamleys toy store, one of London's most enduring and playful attractions. Hamleys has been located on Regent Street since 1881.

Founded in 1956 by Harry Ritchie, today the regional jewelry chain is run by the third generation of the Ritchie family, including CEO Donald Ritchie. Despite the sound of its name, you don't have to be Mr. or Ms. "Money Bags" to shop at Harry Ritchie's. Harry Ritchie Jewelers offers discounted diamond and gemstone jewelry and specializes in men's and women's wedding sets at about 30 stores in shopping malls throughout the northwestern US (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and northern California). Harry Ritchie also features its jewelry collections in a monthly catalog distributed to its customers and sells its rings and things online.

Darcars was founded in 1977 by chairman and CEO John Darvish, whose family still owns and runs the company. Buying a new vehicle in the Washington, DC, area can expose you to the Darcars side of human nature. Darcars Automotive Group, an automobile dealership holding company, has about 25 automobile dealerships in Maryland and Virginia. They sell new and used automobiles, including cars made by Ford, General Motors, Kia, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Darcars also offers a full range of automotive services, including collision repair through nearly 10 locations, parts and service departments, and rental cars.

Founded as Galpin Ford in 1946, Galpin Motors is owned and run by the Boeckmann family.Galpin Motors will do just about anything to get you to buy a car, even jolt you with joe at the full-service Starbucks shops attached to its luxury car dealerships. Claiming to have sold the first Saturn and ranking as the top Ford dealer in the world, it also sells Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury, and Volvo models, as well as used cars, from four dealerships and a Web site. It also rents and customizes -- or "Galpinizes" -- vehicles, such as the Tailgate Party Truck with a built-in stainless steel barbecue, blender, DVD/TV combo, and refrigerated beer kegs.

Goldsmiths doesn't necessarily turn raw materials into gleaming baubles, but it does deal with the goldsmith's end result: jewelry. The firm, which was founded in 1778 and is the UK's #2 jewelry chain (behind Signet Jewelers' H Samuel) operates about 160 stores. Keeping up with the times, Goldsmiths also sells jewelry online. The chain was the country's first authorized Rolex merchant, and remains a top dealer of Rolex, Omega, Tag Heuer, and other watch brands. Goldsmiths is 70% owned owned by Aurum Holdings, which also owns the Mappin & Webb chain of jewelry shops. Goldsmiths' previous owner, Iceland's Baugur Group, acquired Goldsmiths in 2004 and later bought Mappin & Webb to form Aurum Holdings.

Travel by foot doesn't have to be the only option available for people familiar with Caffyns. The family-run company sells automobiles at more than 30 locations scattered around the UK. Models sold at Caffyns' individually specialized dealerships include those made by Audi, Daewoo, Daimler AG, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Peugeot, SEAT, Skoda, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Caffyns sells both new and used autos; it also offers its own in-house maintenance and service and automotive parts distribution service. Caffyns was founded in 1865.

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.

The British Internet retailer was founded in 1998 by Michael Smith and Tom Boardman as a means to promote their Shot Glass Chess Set invention. A decade later it began doing business in the US. Firebox.com sells the very gadgets that women are forced to yell over to get their men's (and boys') attention. Firebox.com (formerly hotbox.co.uk) is an Internet retailer selling toys, games, and high-tech gadgets for boys (and girls, really) of all ages; products include remote-controlled cars and planes for the younger set, while for the older guys there are DVDs, cameras, tools, sea scooters, pool tables, and even the Internet Fridge (a refrigerator complete with a 56k modem, TV, radio, and digital camera).

West Coast Paper was founded in 1930. West Coast Paper coasts along on a paper trail out West. West Coast Paper distributes an array of paper, including varieties of bond, uncoated book, carbonless, and cardboard, to commercial printers primarily in the Pacific Northwest. It also markets packaging (boxes, shrink films), janitorial supplies (soaps, dispensers), and food service products (disposable cups, plates). In addition to the graphic arts market, West Coast Paper serves customers in the health care, hospitality, freight, and manufacturing industries. The firm operates more than 10 locations in Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Its international sales group serves Pacific Rim countries.

Golfsmith International caters to country club sports fans. Through its catalogs, website, and more than 70 stores in about 20 states, the company sells golf and tennis equipment, apparel, and accessories from major makers (such as TaylorMade-adidas, Callaway, Mizuno, and Nike) and its own brands (Golfsmith, Clubmaker, Killer Bee, J.G. Hickory, Lynx, and ZTech, among others). It also teaches golfers to assemble their own clubs, and offers custom fitting and repair services for clubs and racquets. In addition to its retail operations, Golfsmith runs the Harvey Penick Golf Academy, an instructional school for golfers in Texas. The company was founded in 1967 as a mail-order seller of custom-made golf clubs.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.