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.

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.

Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Company was established in 1904 as Mitchell & Ness Sporting Goods, then specializing in stringing tennis rackets and making custom golf clubs. It was acquired by the Adidas Sports Licensed Division, part of adidas AG, in late 2007. Mitchell & Ness would like to take you by the hand and guide you down that path fondly known as Memory Lane. The company is a manufacturer of authentic vintage sports apparel and accessories including vintage jerseys from MLB, the NBA, NFL, and NHL. It licenses the CLC College Vault label for apparel that spotlights school such as Notre Dame, Michigan, and Colorado. Mitchell & Ness creates detailed reproductions of jerseys from certain years and those worn by particular athletes.

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.

Stark Carpet Corp. company is owned and operated by brothers John and Steven Stark. Their parents, the late Arthur and Nadia Stark, founded Stark Carpet company. Stark Carpet offers carpets, rugs, furniture, and textiles to design professionals for both commercial and residential use. The company sells its products under the Stark Carpet, Stark Fabric, Stark Fine Furniture, Stark Wallcovering, and Darius Antique & Decorative Rugs brand names from its own showrooms in the US and the UK as well as in design centers operated by others. Through its partnership with manufacturer GG Bailey, it also produces a line of Oriental and animal print car mats.

West Marine, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of boating supplies primarily in the United States. It operates in three segments: Stores, Port Supply, and Direct Sales. The Stores segment operates stores that principally offer hardware and other supplies needed for day-to-day boat maintenance and repairs. The Port Supply segment distributes marine supplies to domestic and international wholesale customers, including businesses involved in boat sales, boat building, boat commissioning and repair, yacht chartering, marina operations, and other boating-related activities. This segment also sells its products to government and industrial customers who use the company’s products for boating and non-boating purposes. The Direct Sales segment operates as an e-commerce website and virtual call center, which provides customers with access to a range of products, product advisor tips and technical information, and product videos and customer-submitted product reviews. As of January 2, 2010, West Marine offered its products through 335 company-operated stores in 38 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada, as well as through 2 franchised stores in Turkey. West Marine company also sells its products through its call center channel and on the Internet. West Marine was founded in 1976 and is based in Watsonville, California.

Proftech was founded in 1980, but it was first conceived the company in a college paper Montiel wrote about recession-proof industries. No matter what the economic outlook, people will always need office supplies. That was president Jose Montiel's theory when he started Proftech, a major distributor of office products and supplies to customers throughout the US. The company offers next-day delivery with no minimum order. Aside from the customary pens and notepads, Proftech supplies innovative products such as SMART Technologies' "smart board" and its own oil clean-up material, HTP. The company's products are distributed through about 50 facilities nationwide and can be ordered over the phone or online.

U.S. Toy Co. turns play into work and vice versa. The toy company and its divisions, including Constructive Playthings and U.S. Toy Magic, sell party and novelty items, magic books and supplies, early childhood toys, and multimedia learning materials. U.S. Toy Co., Inc., founded in 1953, operates through stores located in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Texas. U.S. Toy Co. also peddles its wares through its Web site. U.S. Toy Co., Inc. publishes catalogs for each of its divisions, including two for Constructive Playthings (one for school and one for family).

Empire Music distributes musical instruments, books, and related accessories to music educators in Canada and the US. Products include various books and instruments related to the Suzuki method of music education and theory, bells, drums, guitars, recorders, ukuleles, and xylophones (they even carry stepping stone-style xylophones and giant floor piano keyboards). It carries brands Suzuki Orff, Aulos Recorders, Challenger, and Emus. The company has been trading for more than a half-century.

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.

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