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.

Noevir Holding of America operates Noevir USA and Noevir Canada, which distribute personal care products, such as cosmetics and skin care, formulated from natural ingredients. It also sells products for hair care, body care, and nutrition such as herbal teas and spirulina. Brand names include Noevir 505 and Noevir 99, which are sold by the company's independent sales consultants as well as in stores and online. Noevir's products are developed at about a dozen research centers in Japan and the US. The firm is a subsidiary of Japan's Noevir Co. Ltd., which imported aircraft parts when it was first founded in 1964. Noevir began operating in the US in 1979.

MBS Textbook Exchange gives college kids around the country some spending cash at the end of every semester. In addition to distributing new and used textbooks to more than 4,000 colleges and universities nationwide, the company also develops and sells the systems that enable bookstores to sell books and buy them back. MBS is organized into MBS Wholesale, MBS Direct, and MBS Systems. The wholesale division supplies campus bookstores, while the direct division provides books to private K-12 schools, vocational schools, teaching hospitals, and community colleges. The company was founded in 1909 as The Missouri Store Company and became MBS Textbook Exchange in 1980.

Sport Chalet, Inc. operates specialty sporting goods stores in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Its stores offer traditional sporting goods merchandise, including footwear, apparel, and other general athletic products; and core specialty merchandise, such as snowboarding, skateboarding, mountaineering, and SCUBA. The company’s stores also offer various services for the sports enthusiast, including backpacking, canyoneering, kayaking instruction, custom golf club fitting and repair, snowboard and ski rental and repair, SCUBA training and certification, SCUBA boat charters, team sales, racquet stringing, and bicycle tune-up and repair. As of March 28, 2010, it operated 55 store locations comprising 34 in Southern California, 9 in Northern California, 3 in Nevada, 8 in Arizona and 1 in Utah; and a retail e-commerce store, sportchalet.com. The company was founded in 1959 and is based in La Canada, California.

The chain was acquired by Tiffany in 2002, but Tiffany sold Little Switzerland to NXP Corporation for $32.9 million in 2007. There's nothing neutral about Little Switzerland's definitively upscale stores. The company operates about 25 mostly duty-free stores that sell jewelry, watches, crystal, china, and other gift items priced from $20 to more than $10,000. Its stores, located on 11 Caribbean islands and in Key West, Florida, appeal to tourists (mostly from the US) looking to avoid the import taxes they would pay at home -- especially passengers on the cruise ship lines that ply the waters in those areas.

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.

JAM Industries wants to provide musically-inclined Canadians with the opportunity to jam at a hootenanny or a jamboree. The firm is a leading North American musical equipment distributor. It operates eight divisions: American Sound & Music; Coast Music (music accessories); Erickson Audio (pro audio equipment); Erikson Music (musical instruments, including Korg keyboards); Erikson Pro (sound and lighting equipment); Erikson Commercial (audio and video equipment), Erikson Consumer (consumer electronics retailer products); and Korg Canada. JAM was founded in 1972 when chairman Marty Golden introduced the JAM (named after the initials of his three children, Joel, Annie, and Michael) line of hand-wired tube combos.

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).

Before Old Navy, there was the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM). Active-duty military personnel, reservists, retirees, and their family members can shop and gas up at more than 100 NEXCOM retail stores (brand-name and private-label merchandise ranging from apparel to home electronics), more than 155 NEXCOM Ships Stores (basic necessities), and its 100-plus Uniform Support Centers (the sole source of authorized uniforms). NEXCOM also runs about 40 Navy Lodges (motels) in the US and about half a dozen foreign countries. NEXCOM receives tax dollars for its shipboard stores, but it is otherwise self-supporting. Most of the profits fund morale, welfare, and recreational programs (MWR) for sailors.

Altrec Inc. online retailer, which does business as Altrec.com, offers equipment, apparel, and accessories for camping, backpacking, hiking, running, winter sports, and other outdoor activities. Its website, which aims to inspire, offers live online shopping assistance and product suggestions to promote life in the wild. Altrec.com fulfills customer orders from warehouse supplies and through manufacturer-direct shipments. It is the retail arm of sister company Greatoutdoors.com, a provider of adventure articles and outdoor news.

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