Founded in 1993 with about 60 stores, Calendar Club now operates more than 800 locations in the US and 250-plus outlets in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK. The company also sells merchandise year round on its Web sites, including Calendars.com and DogBreedStore.com. Bookseller Barnes & Noble sold its majority stake in Calendar Club to CEO Marc Winkelman and the firm's management in 2009 for $7 million. During the holiday season, Calendar Club transforms empty retail space in Canada and the US into shops under the banners Calendar Club, San Francisco Music Box Company, and Go! Games, and Go! Toys. The company's temporary stores range in size from kiosks to some 6,000 square feet.

Premier Designs is a direct sales jewelry company founded in 1985 by Joan and Andy Horner in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. They created the company as a way to support ministries here and around the globe, as well as provide a home-based business opportunity established on biblical principles, such as integrity and unselfish service. Through our non-traditional approach of putting people first — before profits — Premier Designs has grown into a more than 350-million-dollar — debt-free — corporation with Independent Distributors (we call them Jewelers) in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Premier Designs Jewelers market quality high fashion jewelry to small groups through Home Shows. We are members of the Direct Selling Association, but our emphasis is on serving rather than selling.

Founded in 1891, Texas-based Samuels Jewelers was acquired by India's Gitanjali Gems Ltd., a jewelry maker and retailer, in late 2006. In addition to diamonds and gemstones, Samuels Jewelers knows something about millstones -- the bankruptcy kind (it has been thrice drawn into bankruptcy court since the early 1990s). Samuels sells fine jewelry items through about 85 jewelry stores in California, Texas, and about 15 other states; stores are primarily located in regional shopping malls, power centers, and strip centers. Samuels also operates some stand-alone stores and sells jewelry online at SamuelsJewelers.com. Its stores operate under the Samuels Diamonds and Samuels Jewelers banners.

Games Workshop is the largest and the most successful tabletop fantasy and futuristic battle-games company in the world. Our major brands are Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000. In addition, we hold a global licence from New Line Cinema for a tabletop battle-game based on director Peter Jackson's BAFTA and Academy award winning film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Our business is about helping mighty armies to meet headlong on the field of battle. At our HQ in Nottingham, in the UK, we design, manufacture and retail the vast range of Citadel Miniatures plastic and metal soldiers and rulebooks, which are the foundation of an almost infinite hobby. The UK manufacturing operation in Nottingham is complemented by a production facility at our despatch warehouse in Memphis, TN, USA.At the heart of the Hobby are the millions of gamers aged 12 upwards, who spend many of their waking hours collecting, creating, painting and building up the armies which they will go on to command on a carefully prepared table top battlefield. It's all about two people facing each other across a battlefield, each attempting to move their models into position to fire upon their opponent's force or attack them in hand-to-hand combat. The victor is decided by a combination of skill and luck with the players rolling dice to determine whether an arrow hits or a foe is struck down.

The chain was acquired by Tiffany in 2002, but Tiffany sold Little Switzerland to NXP Corporation for $32.9 million in 2007. There's nothing neutral about Little Switzerland's definitively upscale stores. The company operates about 25 mostly duty-free stores that sell jewelry, watches, crystal, china, and other gift items priced from $20 to more than $10,000. Its stores, located on 11 Caribbean islands and in Key West, Florida, appeal to tourists (mostly from the US) looking to avoid the import taxes they would pay at home -- especially passengers on the cruise ship lines that ply the waters in those areas.

The Millcraft Group was founded in 1920 by Harold Keil, whose family still owns the company. The Mlakar family (including chairman Katherin and president and CEO Chuck) is related to Keil by marriage. The Millcraft Group pushes more than just envelopes. The company distributes fine commercial paper and envelopes through its operations in Ohio, Michigan, and about five other states. It also sells paper and graphic supplies through about five Millcraft Paper stores in Ohio and Michigan. The company's Deltacraft Converting business cuts paper to customer specifications while its Millcraft Express Envelope unit produces custom envelopes in a range of shapes and sizes.

Chesbro Music Co. distributes musical instruments, printed music, and music-related gifts through print and online catalogs in addition to its Idaho headquarters. Chesbro sells band and orchestra instruments, guitars, karaoke accessories, DJ equipment, and other musical accessories by Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Yamaha, Mesa Boogie, and others. The printed music division represents more than 200 music publishers and hosts workshops and clinics each year. Chesbro is owned and run by fourth generation Chesbro family members.

Lentuo International Inc. operates as an automobile retailer in the People’s Republic of China. It sells passenger vehicles, auto parts, and accessories; offers automobile repair and maintenance services; and provides a channel for vehicle manufacturers to gather customer feedback. The company also offers its customers assistance with procuring automobile insurance and financing and other automobile-related services. In addition, Lentuo International provides luxury or specialty vehicles on rent for business use by corporations or corporate executives. As of June 30, 2010, it operated 6 franchise dealerships, 10 automobile showrooms, and 1 automobile repair shop in the Beijing metropolitan area. The company was founded in 1994 and is based in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.

Beauty Brands, Inc. was founded in 1995 by Bob Bernstein, who remains CEO of the Beauty Brands organization. Beauty Brands has built a business that offers its customers one-stop shopping and nonstop primping. The company combines its retail superstores (which measure between 5,000 and 9,000 sq. ft.) with full-service salons and spas. Beauty Brands operates more than 50 locations in about a dozen US states. In addition to selling more than 10,000 top salon products, Beauty Brands offers some 30 services including facials, haircuts and highlights, hair removal, manicures and pedicures, special occasion makeup and hair styling, children's hair cuts, and massage therapy.

Midas, Inc. provides retail automotive services through franchised or company-operated shops primarily in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells Midas, SpeeDee, and Midas-SpeeDee co-branded franchises. Midas company’s retail shops offer automotive repair and maintenance services, such as exhaust, brake, suspension, air conditioning, tires, batteries, and various other maintenance services. As of January 2, 2010, it operated the Midas network of 1,602 shops located in the United States and 9 Canadian provinces; the SpeeDee network of franchised and company-operated shops consisting of 112 shops located in 12 states in the United States; and 776 Midas shops licensed in 14 other countries, and 57 licensed SpeeDee shops in Mexico. Midas, Inc. also involves in the real estate activities, including the development, ownership, and lease of Midas and SpeeDee shops in the United States and Canada; and supply chain activities comprising the provision of value-added merchandising services to franchisees. In addition, it owns, develops, sells, and leases automotive shop management software to Midas franchisees and other third-party automotive service providers. Midas, Inc. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois.

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