Monsoon Commerce Solutions (MCS) helps online retailers and booksellers through its Marketplace Services and Selling Solutions divisions, providing retail management software, distribution assistance, and hosted store services. Its roster of more than 15,000 customers includes libraries, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers in about 50 countries. The Alibris Retail unit operates Alibris.com, an online marketplace for independent sellers of books, music, and movies. Founded in 1998, the firm acquired Monsoon in early 2010 and then reorganized and changed its name. MCS is owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners.

Lipsey's fancies itself a bit of a hot shot. The company distributes firearms to federally licensed dealers nationwide. It sells regular, lefty, and youth models of shotguns, handguns, rifles, and revolvers by manufacturers that include Beretta, Browning, Glock, North American Arms, Ruger, and Winchester. Lipsey's also carries ammunition, scopes, binoculars, holsters, and other accessories. The company also sells guns made exclusively for the company. Lipsey's was founded in 1953 as S & S Wholesale Sporting Goods and was purchased by the Lipsey family, including chairman and CEO Richard Lipsey, in 1977.

Founded in 1914 by Jacob Perelman, the firm was run by three generations of his family until 2007 when Dale Perelman, his grandson, stepped down. Brian Eckstein, the company's former CFO, was named president at that time. King's of New Castle (better known as King's Jewelry) doesn't sell the Crown Jewels but instead provides less renowned diamond, gemstone, and gold jewelry, as well as watches and giftware, from about 35 stores (down from about 50 in 2007) in Pennsylvania, Ohio,West Virginia, and Maryland. Like those of its larger rivals Zale and Kay Jewelers, the regional jewelry chain's stores are mostly mall-based. King's also sells jewelry online and by catalog and offers repair and appraisal services.

Bromberg and Co. is a jeweler and high-end retailer that sells china, crystal, jewelry, and sterling flatware through four Bromberg's stores in Alabama. Its fine offerings come from such makers as David Yurman, Mikimoto, Rolex, and Wedgwood. The company also operates an online bridal registry. In 2004 brothers Billy and John Bromberg, formerly part of the company's management, sold their stake in Bromberg and Co. to other family members (including chairman Frank Bromberg Jr.) and left to form their own jewelry store. Bromberg and Co. was originally founded by the Bromberg family in 1836.

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.

Bare Escentuals sells its products in the US through about 120 company-owned shops, 870 beauty product retailers, and 1,470 spas and salons. It also boasts distributors in Canada, Japan, and the UK and other European countries. Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido acquired Bare Escentuals for $1.7 billion in 2010. When it comes to keeping its customers looking naturally pretty, Bare Escentuals has a mineral interest. The company, which rolled out its bareMinerals makeup brand in 1976 along with its first retail shop, develops, markets, and sells natural cosmetics, skin care, and body care items. Brand names include bareMinerals, Buxom, md formulations, RareMinerals, and its namesake line.

Edible Arrangements has about 940 franchised locations in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, the UK, the Middle East, Italy, Turkey, and Hong Kong. CEO Tariq Farid started Edible Arrangements in 1999 after doing software consulting for a similar business. "Please don't eat the daisies" simply doesn't apply here. Edible Arrangements creates bouquets of hand-sculpted fresh fruit that are blooming with flower-shaped pineapples, shoots of melon slices, sprigs of skewered grapes, and an assortment of apple wedges, bananas, oranges, and strawberries. Customers can also add chocolate-dipped fruit to their arrangements. In addition to bouquets, the company offers smoothies and fruit salads at some shops.

Book Wholesalers, Inc., known as BWI, keeps the libraries stocked with both books and children. The company is a full service provider of children's and young adult books, e-books, and audiovisual items to more than 2,200 public library systems. BWI is a subsidiary of retail and wholesale textbook distributor Follet Corporation. Some of the company's services utilized by libraries include electronic materials ordering, cataloging and processing, collection development support (of books, not money), book binding, and opening day activities organization. Founded in 1987, BWI was acquired by Follet in 1997.

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.

Grody cars can be beautiful. Ken Grody Automotive Group sells new Ford cars and trucks at two dealerships in California -- one in Buena Park and the other in Carlsbad. For customers desiring some extra power, both locations offer high-performance Roush-engineered crate engines for its vehicles. Additionally, the company sells a wide variety of used cars and provides parts and service. Customers can use the company Website to browse for vehicles, get a quote and apply for credit. Founded in 1958, the group is now solely owned by president Ken Grody.

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