Hobby Lobby began operation August 3, 1972 with 300 square feet of retail space, located in North Oklahoma City. This was a retail outgrowth of Greco Products, a miniature picture frame company, founded by David Green in 1970. In January 1973, the operation was moved to a house near N.W. 23rd and Western, and the amount of retail space was increased to approximately 1,000 square feet. Over the years this modest beginning has grown into 467 stores which operates in 39 states. The operation, now known as Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., can no longer be considered just an arts and crafts store. With departments ranging from crafts, hobbies, picture framing, jewelry making, fashion fabrics, floral, cards & party, baskets, wearable art, home accents, and holiday supplies, Hobby Lobby is the place to shop with Super Selection, Super Savings . . . Everyday!

Inergy, L.P. engages in retail marketing, sale, and distribution of propane to residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers. Inergy, L.P. serves approximately 800,000 retail customers from approximately 300 customer service centers in the United States. It also operates a natural gas storage business; a supply logistics, transportation, and wholesale marketing business, which serves independent dealers and multi-state marketers in the United States and Canada; and a solution-mining and salt production company. Inergy, L.P. company was formerly known as Inergy Holdings, L.P. and changed its name to Inergy, L.P. on November 06, 2010. Inergy, L.P. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Edible Arrangements has about 940 franchised locations in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, the UK, the Middle East, Italy, Turkey, and Hong Kong. CEO Tariq Farid started Edible Arrangements in 1999 after doing software consulting for a similar business. "Please don't eat the daisies" simply doesn't apply here. Edible Arrangements creates bouquets of hand-sculpted fresh fruit that are blooming with flower-shaped pineapples, shoots of melon slices, sprigs of skewered grapes, and an assortment of apple wedges, bananas, oranges, and strawberries. Customers can also add chocolate-dipped fruit to their arrangements. In addition to bouquets, the company offers smoothies and fruit salads at some shops.

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.

Holt's Cigar Company gets stoked about stogies. The company sells more than 170 brands of premium cigars, including its Ashton and Holt's brands, and related smoking accessories (cases, humidors, lighters, ashtrays). Almost half of its sales are from wholesale distribution through a direct sales force. It also sells cigars through a catalog, its Web site, a pair of stores in Philadelphia, and a club in Philly's Wachovia Complex arena. Dominican Republic-based Fuente Cigar supplies two-thirds of the company's smokes. HCH Acquisition, controlled by Holt's Cigar CEO Robert Levin and the Fuente family, took the company private in December 2000.

Teleflora was founded in 1934. Teleflora's business is blooming, with the help of some of its best buds. Teleflora, a subsidiary of Roll International, supplies fresh flowers, plants, and gift items to consumers worldwide through its websites and toll-free number. The floral firm taps into a network of about 18,000 florists across the US and Canada, as well as another 20,000 affiliated florists outside North America. It offers fresh flowers for any occasion, as well as plants, corporate gifts, and fruit and goody baskets, some available same day, at prices ranging from $29.99 to about $200. Its partner marketing program provides commissions and discounts for affiliates, corporate giving, and rewards programs.

DirectGroup Bertelsmann GmbH runs book clubs especially popular in Europe and Asia under such brands as Der Club in Germany, France Loisirs in France, and Circulo de Lectores in Spain. Club members can access its products through mail-order catalogs, the Internet, or one of 800 retail stores worldwide. DirectGroup Bertelsmann boasts 35 million members worldwide and operates in more than 20 countries. The company is a division of German media firm Bertelsmann AG, which sold its faltering American book club operations in 2008 to focus on Europe and Asia.

Sephora was founded in 1993 in France by Dominique Mandonnaud, who fashioned the store's unique name by blending the Biblical name of Zipporah (Moses' exceptionally beautiful wife) with the ancient Greek term for "pretty," sephos. Today, Sephora is not only the leading chain of perfume and cosmetics stores in France, it's also a powerful beauty presence in 13 other countries. In the United States alone, there are over 250 Sephora stores and over 200 Sephora inside JCPenney stores. Owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), the world's leading luxury goods group, Sephora is highly regarded as a beauty trailblazer, thanks to its unparalleled assortment of prestige products, unbiased service from experts, interactive shopping environment, and innovation.

Tractor Supply Company operates retail farm and ranch stores in the United States. Its stores offer a selection of merchandise, including equine, pet, and animal products, such as items required for their health, care, growth, and containment; hardware and seasonal products, including lawn and garden power equipment; truck, towing, and tool products; work/recreational clothing and footwear products; maintenance products for agricultural and rural use; and home decor, candy, snack food, and toy products. The company operates its retail stores under the Tractor Supply Company and Del’s Farm Supply names, as well as operates a Web site under the name, TractorSupply.com. It provides its products to the recreational farmers and ranchers, as well as to the tradesmen and small businesses. As of December 26, 2009, the company operated 930 retail farm and ranch stores in 44 states. Tractor Supply Company was founded in 1938 and is based in Brentwood, Tennessee.

The business was established in 1981. Got floors? Tri-West's got you covered. The company distributes various floor coverings through nearly 10 warehouses located in the western US (Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) and the Hawaiian Islands. In addition to those states, Tri-West also serves customers in Texas and Guam. Tri-West offers carpets, ceramic and specialty tile, hardwood flooring, laminate and vinyl flooring, and eco-friendly products (recycled rubber tiles, bamboo flooring) from major manufacturers. It also carries adhesives and tools.

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