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.

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.

Archibald's knows hot wheels when it sees 'em. The auto dealer specializes in the sale of used luxury vehicles from a single location in Kennewick, Washington. Archibald's swanky rides include BMW, Acura, Cadillac, Jaguar, and Mercedes Benz. Visitors to the company's Web site can check inventory, view photos of each vehicle, check trade-in values, and apply for financing. Archibald's claims its success is due to applying the golden rule, treat other people the way you would like to be treated, to its business model. The company is owned by president John Archibald and vice president Daniel Archibald.

Hong Kong-based Chow Sang Sang has its eye on China and the growing luxury market there. The company operates about 155 Chow Sang Sang jewelery stores in some 60 cities across mainland China, with another 50-plus stores in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The fast-growing jeweler aims to open another 50 shops in the near future. The company makes and sells necklaces, bracelets, watches, diamonds, and other shiny luxuries and trendy baubles. Chow Sang Sang has production facilities in China and in Hong Kong. It also wholesales precious metals (gold, platinum, and palladium) and brokers stocks and commodities. Chairman Kwen Lim Chow and general manager Wing Shing Chow together own about a third of the company.

Larry H. Miller Group for your late-night bebop, but the firm does know a little something about all that jazz. The company operates about 40 auto dealerships in six western states. It also owns the NBA's Utah Jazz, its home (EnergySolutions Arena), and Salt Lake City's KJZZ (the Jazz's TV home). The Larry H. Miller Group's other sports interests include the Salt Lake City Bees (AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Miller Motorsports Park, and Fanzz retail stores. Besides these athletic assets, the firm owns commercial real estate and five movie theaters across Utah. The company was founded by Larry H. Miller in 1979. His son, Greg Miller, was appointed CEO in mid-2008.

America’s Car-Mart, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company focuses on the buy here/pay here segment of the used car market. It primarily sells older model used vehicles and provides financing for its customers. The company purchases vehicles through wholesalers, new car dealers, individuals, and from auctions. It operates approximately 99 automotive dealerships in 8 states. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Lipsey's fancies itself a bit of a hot shot. The company distributes firearms to federally licensed dealers nationwide. It sells regular, lefty, and youth models of shotguns, handguns, rifles, and revolvers by manufacturers that include Beretta, Browning, Glock, North American Arms, Ruger, and Winchester. Lipsey's also carries ammunition, scopes, binoculars, holsters, and other accessories. The company also sells guns made exclusively for the company. Lipsey's was founded in 1953 as S & S Wholesale Sporting Goods and was purchased by the Lipsey family, including chairman and CEO Richard Lipsey, in 1977.

Bare Escentuals sells its products in the US through about 120 company-owned shops, 870 beauty product retailers, and 1,470 spas and salons. It also boasts distributors in Canada, Japan, and the UK and other European countries. Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido acquired Bare Escentuals for $1.7 billion in 2010. When it comes to keeping its customers looking naturally pretty, Bare Escentuals has a mineral interest. The company, which rolled out its bareMinerals makeup brand in 1976 along with its first retail shop, develops, markets, and sells natural cosmetics, skin care, and body care items. Brand names include bareMinerals, Buxom, md formulations, RareMinerals, and its namesake line.

American Farms certainly hopes that its corporate strategies lead to perennial success. Established in 1991 with 10 acres, the company, a wholesale grower of flowering pot crops, now comprises more than 100 acres in Florida. It produces more than 100 varieties of annuals and herbaceous perennials, as well as flowering tropicals, landscape ferns and grasses, seasonal crops, and more. The majority of American Farms' sales are in the state of Florida, where it's one of the top growers of flowering plants, and more than half are to mass merchandisers (Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart) in the southeastern US. In addition, the company sells to independent garden centers and landscapers.

Founded in 1924, Huffines Automotive Group is owned by the Huffines family and run by the third generation in the car business.Many North Texans leave home everyday in a Huffines. Huffines Auto Dealerships sell new and used cars and trucks about eight dealerships in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The auto brands Huffines sells include Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, and Subaru. Huffines dealerships, located in cities Lewisville, Plano, McKinney, and Denton, also provide financing, parts, service, and collision repair. Car shoppers can search for new and used cars on the dealerships' Web sites.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.