Brookstone is a nationwide specialty retailer offering an assortment of consumer products that are functional in purpose, distinctive in quality and design and not widely available from other retailers. Brookstone first introduced itself to the world in a small classified ad selling "hard-to-find tools" in Popular Mechanics Magazine. The year was 1965. From the beginning, quality of product, quality of service, and quality of people have been a hallmark of Brookstone. The first catalog consisted of 24 black-and-white pages, with detailed, no-nonsense information on features, capabilities, measurements, materials and anything that would help the customer with his or her buying decision. As Brookstone's catalog success grew, its operations expanded. In 1973, Brookstone opened its first retail store in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where an unsolicited walk-in trade quickly developed. Today, Brookstone manages operations through its headquarters in Merrimack, New Hampshire, and in its Distribution Center and Customer Service Department (web, mail and telephone orders) in Mexico, Missouri. Meanwhile, the Company currently operates more than 300 retail stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, primarily in premium shopping malls, lifestyle centers and the nation's busiest airports, and opens 10 to 15 new stores each year. Originally a catalog company, Brookstone today operates a multifaceted Direct-Marketing business that includes catalogs, e-mail and affiliate marketing, and an online site offering hundreds more products than are available in our retail and airport stores. From the start Brookstone created a fun, interactive shopping experience. At our stores customers are encouraged to try products out for true, hands-on shopping. Every visit to Brookstone is an opportunity to discover new and ingenious items of superior quality—all in a friendly environment of customer service and integrity that simply can't be found anywhere else.

Hoopers is running circles around its competition. Founded in 1982, the company is a retail store operator with five UK-based department stores nationwide (Harrogate, Torquay, Tunbridge Wells, Wilmslow, Carlisle), as well as three menswear stores. The company specializes in designer and branded fashion. Its departments include womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, cosmetics, gifts, cookware and glassware, and furniture and linens. Hoopers is a partial owner of department store chain Beale through its Lawdene investing subsidiary. The company is owned by father and son team David and Richard Thompson.

Ross Stores, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates two chains of off-price retail apparel and home accessories stores in the United States. Its stores offer branded and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions, as well as gift items, linens, and other home-related merchandise. The company’s merchandise offerings also comprise product categories, such as small furniture and furniture accents, educational toys and games, luggage, gourmet food and cookware, watches, and sporting goods, as well as fine jewelry in selected Ross stores. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 1,005 stores, including 953 Ross Dress for Less (Ross) locations in 27 states and Guam, and 52 dd’s DISCOUNTS stores in 4 states. Ross Stores, Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Founded in 1908 by William Aubuchon, a French-Canadian immigrant, the company is still owned by the Aubuchon family, including CEO William Aubuchon III and president M. Marcus Moran, Jr. Old houses in New England get refurbished with assistance from W.E. Aubuchon. W.E. Aubuchon operates about 130 hardware stores throughout New England and New York, as well as a Web site. More than just nuts and bolts, the store stocks about 50,000 products, including appliances, camping gear, hardware, housewares, paint, and tools. It carries such name brands as Delta Faucet, Honeywell, Stanley, and Weber. The store also offers rug cleaner rentals, propane tank filling, and key cutting, among other services.

Bhs was founded in 1928, and at the time the highest price for any item found inside was a mere shilling. Over the years it has expanded its merchandise line, and has opened more than a dozen stores specializing in exclusively homewares. Bhs Limited company is owned by billionaire UK retail investor, managing director Philip Green. Bhs wants to prevent its customers from throwing open their closet doors and letting out big heavy sighs. Formerly British Home Stores, Bhs operates more than 100 stores throughout the UK. One of the high street's best-known names, it sells clothing, shoes, and accessories for men, women, and children, as well as a variety of furnishings, appliances, gifts, and accessories for the home.

Specialty Merchandise Corporation (SMC) wants to be the first company you call. SMC warehouses thousands of gifts and home decor accessories, and its members sell them at a markup. Its inventory includes everything from bird feeders to cutlery sets to billiards tables. The company offers its members merchandise catalogs, a business coach, a personalized e-commerce site, and selling manuals and videos for either $300 upfront (gold plan) or about $480 paid in monthly installments (silver plan). Marketing information covers running a business via home parties, flea markets, mail order, and fundraising, among others.

SmartLabs brings high-tech comforts home with the push of a button. Its SmartLabs Technology unit creates electronic automation and remote control products for lighting, security systems, theater equipment, and other home management systems. The SmartLabs Design division designs and produces its INSTEON wireless technology line, as well as offers original equipment manufacturing services. Reaching consumers in some 130 countries, SmartLabs' Smarthome business markets more than 5,000 electronic home improvement products online, by phone, and through catalogs. President and CEO Joe Dada founded the company in 1992.

Founded in 1947, Wausau Supply is owned by Joe Jordan and Ron Klimisch. Wausau Supply has good building materials to do business with. Wausau Supply operates through about 10 locations in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, distributing building materials to retail lumberyards in the Midwest. Products include adhesives from OSI, decking from CertainTeed, insulation from Owens Corning, locks from Schlage, windows from Simonton, and just about everything else needed to build a house. Among the services provided by the company are cabinet, door, and fireplace installation, as well as custom cement siding.

McNICHOLS Company is North America’s leading supplier and fabricator of perforated metal, expanded metal, wire mesh, architectural metals and a variety of gratings products. Founded in 1952 by the late Robert L. McNichols, the company was established on his Christian values, high ethical standards and strong commitment to customer satisfaction. With metals service centers strategically placed from coast-to-coast, McNichols has a dedicated staff and communication network in place that can supply worldwide service. McNICHOLS also offers a variety of Value Added Services where custom fabrication is a job requirement. From shearing, sawing, notching, banding, and welding to a variety of finishes including powder coating and galvanizing, we are experts with nearly six decades of custom fabrication experience. Trained CAD specialists are on staff to perform print takeoffs from customer-supplied drawings or spec blueprints to provide approval drawings or erection and field drawings.

Aerogroup International wants ladies to feel like they're walking on air or, at least, feel like buying a pair of its Aerosoles. The company designs women's footwear under the Aerosoles, What's What, A2, Aerology, Sole A, and Flexation brands. Its shoes are sold in more than 250 Aerosoles stores in the US and abroad, as well as by catalog, Web site, and through thousands of department and specialty stores (such as Kohl's, Macy's, and Boscov's). Originally a division of Kenneth Cole, CEO Jules Schneider got together a group of investors and took the business private in 1987.

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