Established in 1973, PartyLite has been owned by Blyth since 1990. It's tough to make money by selling ambience, but PartyLite Worldwide pulls it off. The company sells candles, incense, diffusers, sachets, bath products, and decorative accessories for the home through more than 65,000 independent consultants in about a dozen markets worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Mexico, the US, and the UK. It also markets breads, cheeses, desserts, sauces, and other snack foods under the Two Sisters Gourmet brand. Consultants sell PartyLite's products through home parties held by hostesses and via personalized e-commerce sites.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a gift retailer in the United States. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. provides a range of products, including fresh-cut flowers, floral arrangements and plants, gifts, popcorn, gourmet foods, cookies, chocolates, and wines. It offers its products through the Internet, company-owned and operated retail floral stores, and franchised stores. As of June 28, 2009, the company operated 2 floral retail stores located in New York, 1 fulfillment center, and 104 franchised stores primarily located in California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. It has online relationships with AOL, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Carle Place, New York.

WH Smith PLC (known simply as "WHSmith") is one of the UK's largest book and magazine sellers. Its more than 570 high street stores sell reading materials, stationery, and movies. WHSmith also runs more than 515 travel shops in London and regional airports, railway stations, hospitals, and motorway service areas that offer selected newspapers, magazines, tobacco, and confectionery. Additionally, it operates the Internet site WHSmith Direct (the UK's second-largest online bookseller behind Amazon), and its Smiths News wholesale business is the largest magazine and newspaper distributor in the UK, supplying about 23,000 retailers daily.

The Birthdays concept was later launched in 1986. Clinton Cards purchased its rival Birthdays in 2004 and runs the unit as a separate business. Amid economic turmoil and slowed consumer spending, however, Birthdays collapsed into administration (the equivalent of bankruptcy in the US) in 2009. You say it's your birthday? Well, your friends better run to a Birthdays store for those cards! The company operates about 200 (down from more than 400) Birthdays stores in the UK and Ireland offering discount greeting cards and party supplies for every occasion. Founded in 1966 as Ron Wood Greeting Cards, the company was originally a distributor of cards and gift wrap until the mid-1970s when it opened three card shops.

In 1959, William Jacobs started Columbus Fair Auto Auction based on excellent customer service and fairness. He recognized that auctions offered a solution to automobile dealers' needs for a source and marketplace for used motor vehicles.Obviously, the financial risk of leasing space at the Ohio State Fairgrounds to run a one-lane auction in 1959 was small, but significant for this startup entrepreneurial endeavor. It, however, pales in comparison to the present multi-million dollar investment in today's 85-acre facility in Obetz. However, the original strategy of offering a marketplace for used vehicles where buyers and sellers would congregate for the benefit of both continues today.

HMV Group plc,the entertainment retailer sells recorded music, videos and DVDs, books, and electronic games online and through some 400 HMV stores in five countries and from about 315 Waterstone's bookshops in the UK and Ireland. HMV has been closing stores amid a prolonged slump in sales caused by upheaval in the music business. To compensate for declining retail sales, HMV is going after the live music and ticketing market through the purchase of its former joint venture partner in live music MAMA Group. Sales at the company's Waterstone's bookstore chain are also down as shoppers buy fewer books.

Hobbico, which began in 1971 as Tower Hobbies, has grown to become one of the world's largest model hobby companies. For pilots who would rather fly their planes from the ground, Hobbico (dba Great Planes) makes and sells radio-controlled model aircraft -- as well as boats, cars, gliders, and related accessories. The company is the world's largest retail and wholesale distributor of radio-controlled hobby products. Hobbico makes some of its products and buys the rest from other manufacturers. It sells its fully-assembled models and kits in hobby stores throughout North America and some 45 countries worldwide. It also sells directly to hobbyists through its Web site and catalog.

Creative Office Interiors was founded in 1986. The artists at Creative Office Interiors use office furniture, cubicles, and filing cabinets as their medium. The company, commonly known as Creative Office Pavilion (COP), is a furniture and flooring dealer servicing the New England area from about 10 offices in five states. It offers a large line of desks, walls, seating options, and floor coverings from Herman Miller, Falcon, La-Z-Boy, and Armstrong, among others. COP also provides furniture reconditioning, interior design services, delivery, and installation. Visitors to the company's Web site can use its online tools to estimate a project's time and budget requirements.

Tattered Cover Book Store, an independent seller of new books in Denver. Tattered Cover stocks some half a million titles in three locations: inside the Lowenstein Theater on Colfax Avenue, historic lower downtown (LoDo) Denver, and suburb Highlands Ranch. Each store encourages customers to linger by offering overstuffed chairs and reading lamps. Tattered Cover attracts customers with activities such as book groups for adults and children and author readings and signings. The company was founded by owner and CEO Joyce Meskis, a former librarian, in 1974.

Family Christian Stores,a leading Christian retailer in the US, Family Christian Stores boasts about 290 stores in about 35 states. The company sells a variety of Christian-themed merchandise, including Bibles and other Christian books, music, software, gifts, cards, videos, apparel, and church supplies. Customers can also buy products through the company's catalog and website. Family Christian has grown through new store openings and acquisitions (including chains Joshua's Christian Stores and Shepherd Shoppe). The investment firm Madison Dearborn owns a majority stake in Family Christian Stores.

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