Retail Ventures, Inc. through its subsidiary, DSW Inc., operates as a specialty branded footwear retailer in the United States. Retail Ventures, Inc., through DSW stores and dsw.com, offers a selection of branded dress, casual, and athletic footwear and accessories for women and men. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 305 DSW shoe stores in 39 states. Retail Ventures, Inc. also supplied shoes to 356 locations for non-related retailers. Retail Ventures, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

Amscan Holdings caters to the party animal in all of us. The company makes party goods (such as balloons, invitations, pinatas, stationery, and tableware) and supplies party superstores and other retailers worldwide. It operates production and distribution facilities in North America, Europe, and the Asia/Pacific region. Amscan also markets its products through about 850 company-owned and franchised stores in the US, Puerto Rico, and the United Arab Emirates. Shops operate under the banners of Party City, Party America, Factory Card & Party Outlet, Halloween USA, and Party Factory. Amscan is a subsidiary of AAH Holdings, which is controlled by Berkshire Partners, Advent International, and Weston Presidio.

Gold Crest Distributing was founded in 1995 by its president Mel Toellner. Gold Crest Distributing boasts a good-as-gold guarantee. Gold Crest Distributing, LLC sells some 5,000 backyard nature and bird items, including bird seed, feeders, baths, Purple Martin houses, and accessories to wholesale and retail businesses nationwide. The company has been expanding its product line to include gifts, pet products, and seasonal items. Gold Crest distributes bird supplies to some 1,900 retail stores throughout the US and Canada. Gold Crest Distributing, LLC also operates two Songbird Station stores in Missouri and an online store.

Flair began trading in the U.K. in July 1999. In a comparatively short period of time, Flair Leisure Products PLC has grown significantly to become a major, well-respected, player in the toy industry. A small but professional team started Flair, with a proven track record for success. Key Flair personnel were responsible for launching Tomy and K’NEX in the UK. Flair's core business is concentrated on heritage brands, art & craft and boys toys. Brands include household names such as Sylvanian Families, Gormiti, Plasticine, Shaker Maker are all found within Flair Leisure Products PLC portfolio. Our products are of the highest quality and are recognised as having longevity and enormous play value.

Color Me Mine Enterprises brings out the Picasso in you. The company has some 150 franchise locations open or under development in about two dozen US states, as well as in Australia, France, Kuwait, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan. Customers can choose from more than 400 pieces of pottery and paint it on site, either solo or as part of a party package for birthdays, bridal showers, and other events. Color Me Mine To Go brings the pottery and paint to the party when you can't make it to the store. Some locations also offer workshops catering to students in kindergarten through sixth grades and home-school art certification.

Austin Business Furniture (ABF) just wants everyone to be comfortable at work. The company sells office furniture manufactured by such companies as HON, Humanscale, and La-Z-Boy to businesses, schools, and government agencies in Central Texas. From its distribution center, ABF delivers chairs, desks, conference tables, filing cabinets and storage units, shelving, and other modular furniture pieces. It also offers ergonomic evaluations, space-planning, and furniture installation services. ABF is owned by president Jay Femal.

Founded in 1932, the firm is majority owned by private equity firm The Carlyle Group. Brentwood Associates owns about a 25% stake. Oriental Trading Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2010 and is reorganizing. Party planners don't have to travel to stock up at Oriental Trading Company. The company sells more than 30,000 products, including party supplies, toys and novelties, arts and crafts, and home decor through its websites and catalogs. It mails about 300 million copies of its seasonal catalogs, which include such titles as Oriental Trading Company, Terry's Village, Crafts, Hands on Fun, and Inspirations. Oriental Trading supplies carnivals, schools, churches, nonprofits, and businesses.

Big 5 Sporting Goods has outgrown its name. The company, which started out with five army surplus shops in California in 1955, is a leading sporting goods retailer with about 385 stores in a dozen mostly Western states, including California, Washington, and Arizona. The company sells brand-name (adidas, Coleman, Easton) and private-label equipment, apparel, and footwear for indoor and outdoor activities such as camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, and snowboarding. Big 5 has stuck with a neighborhood-store format (averaging approximately 11,000 square feet) instead of opening massive superstores. Big 5 Sporting Goods is run by its chairman and CEO Steven Miller, the son of company co-founder Robert Miller.

Founded in 1978, Aloette is part of Astral Health & Beauty, which also makes and markets the Pur Minerals and CosMedix skin care brands. Since hiring a new CEO in 2009, Astral and its investors are looking to expand Aloette and its sister brands. Aloette Cosmetics loves a good party. Best known for selling aloe vera-based skin care products, Aloette also markets cosmetics, fragrances, and other personal care items. The company's products are sold mainly through home parties held by Aloette's direct-sales network of more than 10,000 consultants in some 40 franchises across the US and Canada. Aloette also markets its goods through a website, catalog, and on television shopping channels.

The Birthdays concept was later launched in 1986. Clinton Cards purchased its rival Birthdays in 2004 and runs the unit as a separate business. Amid economic turmoil and slowed consumer spending, however, Birthdays collapsed into administration (the equivalent of bankruptcy in the US) in 2009. You say it's your birthday? Well, your friends better run to a Birthdays store for those cards! The company operates about 200 (down from more than 400) Birthdays stores in the UK and Ireland offering discount greeting cards and party supplies for every occasion. Founded in 1966 as Ron Wood Greeting Cards, the company was originally a distributor of cards and gift wrap until the mid-1970s when it opened three card shops.

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