The company, a subsidiary of CUTCO, manages the marketing and direct sales functions of sister company Cutco Cutlery, which is the largest kitchen cutlery manufacturer in North America. The firm and its Canadian counterpart, Vector Marketing Canada, enlist a legion of some 40,000 college students as representatives who make home visits to demonstrate and sell Cutco products. Cutco's product portfolio includes butcher knives, pizza cutters, paring knives, carving forks, ice cream scoops, and other kitchen utensils. Vector Marketing operates more than 200 offices throughout North America.

Milaeger's was founded in 1960 by Dan and Joan Milaeger. Milaeger's has the difficult task of keeping things green on the banks of Lake Michigan. The company operates two nurseries in Racine and Sturtevant, Wisconsin, selling seeds, soil, plants, mulch, as well as apparel, Christmas collectibles, figurines, folk art, outdoor furniture, and home decor. It also offers landscape services including lawn, tree, and shrub care along with design services. Milaeger's regularly hosts shows by collectibles merchants, local fashion shows, and gardening workshops. The company's Java Garden Cafe, onsite at both locations, offers hot and cold beverages, dessert, and light lunch and dinner items.

Founded by the husband-and-wife team Tom and Gun Denhart in 1983, it sells its premium apparel -- as well as backpacks, baby toys and gifts -- online, by catalog, and more than 25 retail and outlet stores throughout the US. Unhappy with the cotton apparel available after their son's birth, the Denharts started their own mail-order business and named it after Gun's grandmother: Hanna Andersson. The apparel company is owned by Sun Capital Partners (SCP). Hanna Andersson brings a whole new meaning to the concept of having your own MiniMe. The Swedish-inspired firm makes and sells colorful 100% cotton and organic cotton clothing and sleepwear for the whole family, specializing in mother-daughter ensembles.

The HomeForm Group (formerly Limelight Group) is a designer and installer of fully-fitted home kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms. Brands include Möben, Kitchens Direct, Sharps Bedrooms, and Dolphin Bathrooms; each division sells home improvement products and furnishings specifically for particular rooms of the home. The company is gradually converting its stores to a multi-branded format; it currently operates about 160 showrooms around the UK. In 2000 the company was taken private following a management buyout. US private equity firm Sun Capital Partners acquired the business in 2007.

Gabriel Brothers sells discounted brand-name clothing through more than 100 stores, under the Gabriel Brothers (commonly called "Gabes") and Rugged Wearhouse banners. Stores are located in about a dozen East Coast and Mid-Atlantic states. The company's offerings include men's, women's, and children's apparel and footwear, as well as housewares, with markdowns as high as 70% off of their original retail prices. It carries such brands as Anne Klein, Kenneth Cole, and Liz Claiborne. The family-run company was established in 1961 by James and Arthur Gabriel.

Dillon's supermarkets have in-store pharmacies and many sell gas in the parking lot. Dillon Companies is losing market share to discounters, including Wal-Mart Supercenters, which has Dillon's parent company Kroger to become the 1 seller of groceries in the US.Dillon Companies, which began as J.S. Dillon and Sons Stores, has been selling bread to America's breadbasket bread since 1921. The regional supermarket chain has more than 200 combination food and drug stores under several banners; Dillons and Dillons Marketplace store in Kansas; Baker's Supermarkets and Food-4-Less in Nebraska; Gerbes in Missouri; and City Market and King Soopers in Colorado and Wyoming. In addition to traditional supermarket fare.

Hartco was founded by chairman and CEO Harry Hart in 1960 and, though now public, is still operated largely by the Hart family. If you really heart computers, Hartco is for you. Through its operating divisions, which together include more than 60 locations across Canada, Hartco delivers IT products, services, and solutions to private and public sector organizations. Its distribution and franchise segment operates under the Metafore, MicroAge, and Northwest Digital brands. Its commercial segment includes the business activities operated by the company's limited partnerships under the names of Metafore LP, Solutions Technologiques Dorval LP, and MicroAge.

SchoolWorld wants its customers to get with the program. Formerly Logisoft Corporation, SchoolWorld resells educational software to schools and other institutional users through its Web site. SchoolWorld's software offerings -- from the likes of publishers Adobe, Microsoft, and Autodesk -- range from e-mail and utility programs to instructional software and desktop publishing and multimedia applications. SchoolWorld also sells networking hardware, furniture, and other equipment. SchoolWorld has offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Rochester, New York.

Formerly named Hardware Wholesalers, Do it Best was founded in 1945. If you're building a house or fixing one up, you might as well Do it Best -- at least that's the hope of one of the hardware industry's largest cooperatives. Do it Best boasts more than 4,100 member-owned stores in 45-plus countries worldwide, but primarily the US. Besides the usual tools and building materials, merchandise includes automotive items, bicycles, camping gear, housewares, office supplies, and small appliances. Customers can also have products specially shipped to their local stores through Do it Best's e-commerce site. The co-op's buying power enables members to offer items at competitive prices.

In November 1984 Fortnum's made the national news when staff requested they sell the the "Do They Know It's Christmas?" single in Piccadilly. As no-one is in any doubt when it's Christmas at Fortnum's, the company took up the idea with gusto - helping spread the charitable message far beyond its traditional audience.

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