GN Hello Direct, Inc. was acquired in 2000 by GN Netcom, a Denmark-based maker of hands-free telecom equipment. Ah, the poetic justice GN Hello Direct delivers. The company sells telephones and accessories (including headsets and amplifiers) to small and midsized businesses and the very telemarketers who ring you just when dinner is served. It also sells the phones that screen those annoying telemarketer calls, as well as recording, distance-conferencing, mobile navigation, and VoIP products. More than 50 major brands are represented in the firm's inventory, including AT&T, Panasonic, and Motorola, plus its own Hello Direct and GN Netcom labels. Products are sold through GN Hello Direct's catalog and website.

Bossini wants to be the boss of Asian apparel retailers. Bossini International Holdings Limited company manages a brand of casual fashion wear and accessories in the Asia/Pacific region; its core markets are Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Products include clothing for women, men, and kids. Bossini operates more than 1,000 directly owned and franchised outlets in some 30 countries. It opened its first exclusive store in Hong Kong in 1987. Bossini International Holdings Limited company is now one of the largest retail fashion chains in the region. Through business partners, Bossini has exported franchised outlets across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Central America.

C. C. Dickson was founded in 1933 and is owned by the Dickson family including chairman Clyde Dickson, Jr. C. C. Dickson has never played a tune, but still has plenty of fans. Operating through about 110 locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, the company distributes parts, supplies, and equipment for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration. Products include air distribution supplies (Air King, Duro-Dyne); blowers and fans (Chelsea and Lau); compressors (Blissfield, Copeland); controls (Barber-Coleman, Maxitrol); pumps (Bell & Gossett, Hartel); and refrigerants (Honeywell, Icor).

Refrigeration Sales Corporation (RSC) was founded by Warren Wightman Farr Sr. in 1945, shortly after World War II. Business operations included service and repair of refrigeration equipment, as well as the retail sales of various refrigeration appliances. In 1949, Warren Sr. was approached by Willis Carrier (the recognized founder of air conditioning) to convert the business to pure wholesale of heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration products. At that time, annual sales revenues were $2MM. While wholesale was a relatively new endeavor, and it would mean getting out of the familiar contracting business, Warren Sr. decided to take the risk and make the change to his business operations. To reduce this risk, he negotiated exclusive representation of the Carrier product line for 23 northeastern Ohio counties including Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Youngstown areas.In 1975, when Warren Sr. retired, annual sales were $7M. Warren Farr Jr. (Hap) assumed leadership of the company , and branch stores were added to diversify RSC sales away from HVAC equipment alone. Today, the parts and supplies division accounts for 33% of RSC's overall sales. Several more counties in the Columbus and southern Ohio areas were also added to RSC's Carrier franchise-- resulting in 1978 annual sales of $31MM. RSC continues to add other major HVAC/R products and brands to its sales offerings. In 2000, Warren Farr III was named President. Today, RSC continues to be a pure wholesaler with a wide variety of HVAC/R products including: ice machines, coolers, air conditioners, gas furnaces, chillers, digital control systems, replacement parts, tools, and chemicals. RSC has 12 locations, 11 in Ohio and 1 in Pennsylvania, servicing thousands of contractor customers. RSC is known for representing the best brands in the industry, as well as supporting these brands with excellent training and support services for the trade.

ecohaus wants to improve on the home improvement store. The company offers some 1,500 eco-friendly building materials and products. It operates an online store for its green building supplies, as well as a pair of showrooms in Washington and Oregon for retail customers and trade professionals. Both showrooms were remodeled in 2008. ecohaus's products include reclaimed wood flooring, low-toxic paints, low-flow toilets, formaldehyde-free cabinets, and recycled-glass tiles. Matthew Freeman-Gleason, the company's chief knowledge officer, started the firm as a small storefront in 1992 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Freeman-Gleason and chairman Tim Taylor are major shareholders of the company.

Mathis Bros. Furniture Co., Inc operates a handful of Mathis Brothers-branded furniture showrooms: two each in Oklahoma and California. Its 130,000-sq.-ft. Oklahoma City store draws customers from across the state. In addition, Mathis Bros. owns a Thomasville Home Furnishings and a Drexel Heritage Home Furnishings store, both also located in Oklahoma City. The furniture retailer has grown through acquisitions, such as its purchase of Bedtime, a juvenile furniture importer. Brothers Bill and Larry Mathis own and operate the company.

Sleepy's, Inc. operates more than 700 stores, mostly in New York and New Jersey, but also in about 10 other eastern states. Some of the stores have Sleepy's Kids concessions inside. Sleepy's outlets sell the mattresses and box springs of more than a dozen major manufacturers, including Simmons, Sealy, and Serta, as well as brass, iron, and motorized beds. The firm offers low-price guarantees, delivery, and other services, and it sells products throughout the US by phone. Sleepy's acquired the mattress.com domain name and 1-800-Mattress telephone network in 2009. Chairman Harry Acker, who founded the firm in 1957, owns Sleepy's.

Robertson Heating Supply Co. was founded in 1934. When the Buckeyes, Wolverines, and Nittany Lions get cold, Robertson Heating Supply helps to warm them up. The company distributes heating, air conditioning, and plumbing supplies as well as kitchen products through about 30 locations in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Designers and engineers are also available to help with kitchen, commercial HVAC, and hydronic projects. In addition to its retailing activities, Robertson Heating Supply offers state-certified training programs.

Poundland wants its customers to care as much as it does about the value of British Sterling. Founded in 1990, Poundland is the UK's leading single-price retailer with 260-plus storefronts throughout Britain and plans to add 50 more in 2010/2011. Its typical 3,000 products offered range from drinks to household goods, with more large-size manufacturers coming on board each year. In 2002 then chief executive David Dodd led a management buy-out backed by venture capitalist Advent International.

Earth Fare stores offer about 26,000 natural and organic products, house cafes and juice bars, sell vitamins and herbs, and offer deli service and cooking classes. Earth Fare was founded in 1975 by Roger Derrough who owns it along with other investors.Shoppers looking to fill their carts with products containing high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, artificial flavors, and synthetic growth hormones need not shop at Earth Fare. The regional organic and natural foods supermarket chain operates some 20 stores in Alabama, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee. Its stores are smaller than those of its conventional supermarket competitors and national natural foods chains like Whole Foods Market.

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