Famed toy store FAO Schwarz is a kid pleaser, but as a business it's had its ups and downs. The oldest toy store in the US charms the young (and young at heart) at its landmark store on New York's Fifth Avenue where it sells unique, hard-to-find toys, such as life-size stuffed bears and $50,000 kid-size Ferraris. A major tourist attraction, it hosts more than 3 million visitors each year. Being a kid itself, FAO Schwarz has a sweet tooth, with its sweets shop called FAO Schweetz. After years of unprofitable expansion in an age where mass merchants, such as Wal-Mart, rule toy retailing, it's down to a single location, a catalog, and a website. Toy titan Toys "R" Us added FAO Schwarz to its toy chest in 2009.

Travel by foot doesn't have to be the only option available for people familiar with Caffyns. The family-run company sells automobiles at more than 30 locations scattered around the UK. Models sold at Caffyns' individually specialized dealerships include those made by Audi, Daewoo, Daimler AG, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Peugeot, SEAT, Skoda, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Caffyns sells both new and used autos; it also offers its own in-house maintenance and service and automotive parts distribution service. Caffyns was founded in 1865.

AutoFair Automotive Corporation a leading New Hampshire car dealer, AutoFair sells new Ford, Honda, and Hyundai brand cars in Manchester. In early 2007 the firm sold its Toyota and Lexus dealerships there to Ira Motor Group, a subsidiary of Group 1 Automotive. AutoFair Automotive also provides parts, service, and collision repair. Visitors to the company Web site can check inventory, apply for financing, schedule a service appointment, or order parts. Founded in 1991, AutoFair Automotive has expanded beyond New Hampshire by purchasing dealerships, including a Hyundai dealership in Indiana and a Chevy dealership in Tennessee.Products sold by AutoFair Automotive often carry a venerable message: Live free or die.

It's a good thing Marshall of Cambridge is headquartered at that city's airport, because it needs a hangar-sized container to hold all of its businesses. Among the largest privately held entities in the UK, the Marshall Group comprises several operating subsidiaries. Marshall Aerospace designs, develops, and converts military, civil, and general aircraft, while Marshall Motor Group includes auto dealerships. Marshall Specialist Vehicles designs and supplies specialized commercial vehicles for the military and medical markets. The Marshall Group was founded by David Gregory Marshal in 1909 as a chauffeur drive company; his grandson Michael is now Chairman and CEO.

Cascio Music Company, Inc (aka Interstate Music or CIM) sells musical instruments, audio and lighting equipment, sheet music, recording software, DVDs, accessories, and more at its 30,000-square-foot superstore in New Berlin, Wisconsin and online. CIM sells, rents, and repairs all types of instruments, offers music lessons, and has an in-store 48-track digital recording studio for use by bands and other groups. The company supports local budding musicians with free clinics and scholarships along with its "Local Music Showcase." Founded in 1946 by WWII vet Frank Cascio, the company added its mail order department in 1970 to deliver musical instruments to rural school band leaders.

Holiday Diver urges those who enjoy getting wet while going down under to swim over to its Divers Direct Web site. The online store sells everything to dress the diving enthusiast from head to fin. It also offers beach wear, shoes, sunglasses, and jewelry. On the bricks-and-mortar side of business, the company operates five scuba shops in Florida that also do business under the Divers Direct name. The shops offer air tank fills in addition to beach essentials and dive gear. Holiday Diver was founded in 1984 as Divers Outlet.

UK holding company office2office (o2o) can sell the paper, print the document, and then shred it when the time comes. The business services group includes a pair of office-supply companies (contract stationer Banner Business Services and mid-market supplier Accord), a printing company (AccessPlus), and an onsite document shredding service (Banner Document Services). Customers are medium to large private companies and government organizations including Barclays Bank, UK's Ministry of Justice, and UK health care products supplier NHS Supply Chain. Banner Business Services (BBS), which focuses on long-term contracts with large entities, accounts for about 80% of the company's revenue.

Delaware Valley Wholesale Florist, one of the largest wholesale flower distributors in the US, provides fresh cut flowers and greenery, floral supplies and accessories, and botanicals to professional florists from distribution centers in Maryland and New Jersey. The company also supplies supermarkets and mass marketers. The family-run company was started by the late Bob S. Wilkins (a former flower salesman) and his wife, Doris, in 1959. Their sons, Robert M. (chairman) and John R. (EVP) and their sons' sons continue to be involved in Delaware Valley's management. Delaware Valley Wholesale Florist is a division of Delaware Valley Floral Group.

JJB Sports can't help you with natural ability, but it sells just about everything else you need for sports. JJB, one of the UK's largest sporting goods chains, operates about 250 stores in England and Ireland, including superstores that feature such amenities as basketball courts. The shops offer apparel, footwear, bicycles, and golf gear, among other athletic equipment and accessories. The firm also runs a LifeStyle division, which operates the money-losing fashion footwear and apparel retailers Qube Footwear and the Original Shoe Company (OSC). The struggling Qube and OSC chains were placed into administration (the equivalent of bankruptcy in the US) in 2009.

Business is "floor"ishing at CCA Global Partners. Formerly named Carpet Co-op, the company operates more than a dozen independent businesses and more than 2,700 locations in North America and abroad. Its largest units are flooring retailers Carpet One, with more than 1,000 locations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US, and Flooring America, with about 550 stores in the US and Canada. CCA Global's other specialty retail operations include The Bike Cooperative, with some 300 memeber stores, and lighting products seller Lighting One. In addition to its retail lines, the company provides mortgage banking and business services. Chairman Howard Brodsky and Alan Greenberg founded the co-op in 1984.

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