FlorStar was part of Carson Pirie Scott & Co. until 1988, when management purchased the flooring division and created a separate company. At FlorStar Sales, the floor is the star. Florstar Sales, Inc. distributes floor coverings to retailers throughout the Midwest from four locations in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota. Florstar's product offerings include hardwoods, laminates, ceramic, porcelain, vinyl, rugs, and carpets from Armstrong, Interceramic, Milliken, Wilsonart, and Weyerhaeuser. From its four locations, Florstar Sales, Inc. serves nearly 5,000 customers in six additional Midwest states. In addition, it offers floor installation training and certification.

Lei Shing Hong has a wandering eye. The firm manages operations across five diverse business lines: automobile and heavy machinery distribution, financial services, real estate, and trade goods. Lei Shing Hong's automobile division distributes Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and smart brand vehicles in China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The company also serves as the distributor for Caterpillar in eastern China and Taiwan. Financial services include share trading, foreign exchange investment, stockbrokerage, and insurance services in Hong Kong. The company dabbles in real estate development and management for properties in China, and offers import and export services for a variety of products.

Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) operates more than 15 Marine Corps Exchange (MCX) stores located on bases on the East and West Coast and in Hawaii and Japan. MCX outlets offer a full line of retail products to active duty Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, their family members, and retirees. Other services provided by the MCCS include restaurants, temporary lodging, golf courses, and travel services. A proposal made by the The Bush Administration to merge the Marine Corps Exchange with its sister service counterparts -- the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and the Navy Exchange Service Command -- has been scrapped.

Findlay Automotive also sells RVs at its Las Vegas location. In addition, the company provides auto parts, services, and financing. Established in 1959 by the late Pete Findlay, today Findlay Automotive is owned by his son president Cliff Findlay.High rollers can find their wheels at Findlay Automotive. Findlay Automotive Group sells a variety of new and used cars at about a dozen dealerships in the Las Vegas area, but also in Arizona, Idaho, and Utah. Findlay's auto brands include Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, GMC, Saab, Scion, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

Sensational Beginnings (SB) helps kids start having fun early. The catalog and online merchant sells educational toys, furniture, and safety and child care items for infants and toddlers. (SB also operates a single store in Michigan.) Toy categories include science and nature, ride-ons, musical instruments, indoor active play, travel kits, and seasonal items. SB also offers gift-giving and parenting advice, a gift registry, and an online photo gallery of children using company products. Customers can shop by brand, category, or age group or get advice on age-appropriate toys and games. President Debra Shah, a former nurse specializing in mother and child medical care, founded the company in the early 1990s.

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.

Founded in 1986, Party City was acquired by principal owners of Amscan -- the private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Weston Presidio -- for $364 million in 2005. Party City believes you should party hearty and has everything you need to do so. Party City Corporation, the US's #1 discount party goods chain, has more than 600 company-owned and franchised stores in the US and Puerto Rico. It sells party supplies for birthdays, weddings and bridal showers, baby showers, and a slew of holiday events -- including Halloween, its biggest selling season, accounting for about 20% of annual revenues. Party City is a division of party decor wholesaler and retailer Amscan Holdings, which supplies much of its merchandise.

Extex was founded in 1985. Extex can help kids to walk taller, bounce higher, and get wetter while playing. Extex, Inc. makes athletic equipment and outdoor toys for children. Products include anti-gravity boots, balls, inflatable bouncers, stilts, water guns, and zip lines. In addition to its own brand-name items, Extex features toys from such makers as Plasmart, Radica, and Radio Flyer. Extex, Inc. sells products through its website and ships across the continental US from its distribution center in California.

LTD Commodities was founded in 1963 as a small mail-order business. You won't find soybeans or pork bellies, but you can buy a little silver (as in a pair of sterling silver earrings) from LTD Commodities. The company, which also does business under the ABC Distributing name, is a business-to-business supplier of apparel for women, men, and children, as well as home and garden accessories, jewelry, electronics, luggage, toys, furniture, gift items, and other general merchandise. LTD Commodities sells its products through numerous catalogs as well as the Internet. It ships only to US business addresses.

Brown & Brown Chevrolet became part of AutoNation in 1998, but retained the Brown & Brown Chevrolet local market brand.Customers hope air conditioning comes standard on Brown & Brown Chevrolet's vehicles. Located in Mesa, Arizona, the company is part of the AutoNation family and markets new and used cars and trucks. Brown & Brown Chevrolet offers customers a chance to research (through a link to Kelley Blue Book), search, and get a free quote using its brownandbrownchevy.com Web site. The auto retailer peddles some 30 Chevrolet models, including SUVs, coupes, hatchbacks, vans, wagons, trucks, convertibles, and others.

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.