DirectGroup Bertelsmann GmbH runs book clubs especially popular in Europe and Asia under such brands as Der Club in Germany, France Loisirs in France, and Circulo de Lectores in Spain. Club members can access its products through mail-order catalogs, the Internet, or one of 800 retail stores worldwide. DirectGroup Bertelsmann boasts 35 million members worldwide and operates in more than 20 countries. The company is a division of German media firm Bertelsmann AG, which sold its faltering American book club operations in 2008 to focus on Europe and Asia.

Gameplay GB Ltd. sells new video games at discounted prices for popular platforms, such as the PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii. Games from a variety of studios are distributed through Gameplay's Web site to European and other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and the US. In 2004 the company was acquired by THE GAME GROUP, which has become a leading software and game retailer in Europe.

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution and retail of professional beauty supplies. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. operates in two segments, Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group. The Sally Beauty Supply segment operates as an open-line distributor of professional beauty supplies, including hair color and hair care products, skin and nail care products, electrical appliances, ethnic products, and other beauty items to retail consumers and salon professionals. This segment offers approximately 6,000 products through professional lines, such as Clairol, L’Oreal, Wella, and Conair, as well as provides proprietary merchandise. As of September 30, 2009, it operated 2,898 company-operated retail stores and supplied 25 franchised stores. The Beauty Systems Group segment distributes beauty supplies directly to salons and salon professionals through its sales force and professional-only stores. It stores, branded as CosmoProf or Armstrong McCall stores, and its outside sales consultants sell approximately 9,800 professionally branded products, including Paul Mitchell, Wella, Sebastian, Goldwell, and TIGI that are targeted exclusively for professional and salon use, and resale to their customers. This segment operated 829 company-operated stores and supplied 162 franchised stores. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. serves customers primarily in the United States, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Denton, Texas.

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.

Keyboard Concepts sells high quality traditional, digital, and disk player pianos, as well as sheet music, software, and accessories from brands such as Pearl River, Schimmel, Steinway, and Yamaha. Customers range from professional musicians to casual players, teachers and tuners. It has five retail locations (including two superstores and one David L. Abell Fine Pianos) and two warehouses in southern California. Keyboard Concepts also buys and restores used pianos, offers rent-to-own pianos, and works with interior designers in search of decorative pianos. The company was founded by president Dennis Hagerty in 1983.

The Forzani Group in 1974. Forzani has since become Canada's largest sporting goods retailer. The company operates more than 330 company-owned stores under such banners as Athletes World, Coast Mountain Sports, Sport Chek, S3, Sport Mart, and National Sports. The company also franchises about 230 stores under names that include Atmosphere, Econosports, Hockey Experts, Intersport, and Sports Experts. It has about a 20% share of the sporting goods retail market in Canada.

Florida Transportation Systems makes sure the wheels on the bus go round and round. The company sells and services Blue Bird school buses and other commercial buses, such as transit and shuttle buses made by Thor Industries, ADA-accessible paratransit vans made by The Braun Corporation, and minibuses made by Girardin. Customers include Florida school districts, transit agencies, and local governments in the Sunshine State. Florida Transportation Systems was founded in 1982.

Half Price Books, Records, Magazines, Incorporated,the bookstore chain sells used and new books, magazines, videos, DVDs, and music. Only about half of the merchandise it sells is new. Its roughly 110 stores are located in more than 15 states, primarily Texas. Its wholesale catalog division, Texas Bookman, reprints classics and other public domain works. Half Price Books has grown slowly but steadily; its stores keep a small-company look with secondhand and employee-made furnishings. The company was started by Ken Gjemre and Pat Anderson (late mom of president and CEO Sharon Anderson Wright) in 1972 to save trees by recycling unwanted books. The Anderson family owns most of the company.

Titan Machinery Inc. owns and operates networks of full service agricultural and construction equipment stores. It engages in new and used equipment sales; parts sales; repair and maintenance services; and equipment rental and other activities. Titan Machinery Inc. sells and services agricultural equipment, including application equipment and sprayers, combines and attachments, hay and forage equipment, planting and seeding equipment, precision farming technology, tillage equipment, and tractors for uses ranging from large-scale farming to home and garden uses. It also sells and services construction equipment, which include articulated trucks, compact track loaders, compaction equipment, cranes, crawler dozers, excavators, forklifts, loader/backhoes, loader/tool carriers, motor graders, skid steer loaders, telehandlers, and wheel loaders for commercial and residential construction, road and highway construction, and mining applications, as well as new and used equipment. In addition, the company provides repair and maintenance services, including warranty repairs, on-site repairs, scheduled off-season maintenance, and training programs. Further, it retails Case IH Agriculture equipment, New Holland Agriculture, Case Construction, and New Holland Construction equipment through its stores. Titan Machinery Inc. serves farmers, construction contractors, public utilities, municipalities, and maintenance contractors, as well as single machine owners and large farming/contracting firms. As of January 31, 2010, it operated a network of 72 agricultural and construction equipment stores, including 3 outlet stores in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Titan Machinery Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota.

Arnold Clark Automobiles Scotland's biggest auto dealer and one of its largest private companies, operates more than 145 retail new- and used-car franchises that sell more than 200,000 cars a year. The company also runs auto parts and accessories stores throughout the UK. Arnold Clark Automobiles additionally offers maintenance and repair services, car and van rental, and auto insurance. Founded in 1954 as a single dealership, Arnold Clark began in Glasgow shortly after Sir Arnold Clark (he was knighted in 2004) the man retired from his position as a motor mechanics instructor in the Royal Air Force.

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