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.

Big 5 Sporting Goods has outgrown its name. The company, which started out with five army surplus shops in California in 1955, is a leading sporting goods retailer with about 385 stores in a dozen mostly Western states, including California, Washington, and Arizona. The company sells brand-name (adidas, Coleman, Easton) and private-label equipment, apparel, and footwear for indoor and outdoor activities such as camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, and snowboarding. Big 5 has stuck with a neighborhood-store format (averaging approximately 11,000 square feet) instead of opening massive superstores. Big 5 Sporting Goods is run by its chairman and CEO Steven Miller, the son of company co-founder Robert Miller.

Osborne Stationers was founded in 1832 as E. C. & W. Osborne. The Osborne family sold Osborne Stationers Ltd in 1914. This version of the Osbornes strives for success with its stationery, not success at this station, and it doesn't need to revisit any bat-oriented events in the process. Osborne Stationers (known as Osborne Office Stationers) operates about 20 stationery and office supply stores throughout the UK. Osborne Stationers Ltd also stocks a variety of arts and crafts supplies and provides printing and copying services, as well as arts and crafts instruction.

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.

Founded in 1919 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by three brothers, the family-owned firm is directed by Mark Adlestone, the founder's grandson. Beaverbrooks the Jewellers has more of the quintessential obsession with shiny objects than it does with gnawing wood or building dams. The company designs, produces, and markets platinum, gold, and silver jewelry for men, women, and children, as well as engagement rings, wedding rings, and watches. Items range in price from about $20 to more than $8,000 and are distributed through more than 60 UK-based retail stores and a Web site.

Mikimoto opened its first freestanding store on New York City's famous Fifth Avenue in 1975. In addition to its Fifth Avenue location, Mikimoto operates retail stores in Beverly Hills and Costa Mesa, California, as well as in Las Vegas. The jeweler also operates an online store. Mikimoto company also distributes non-Mikimoto brand pearls to jewelry chains including Fred Meyer Jewelers, Kay Jewelers, and Zales. Kokichi Mikimoto was among the pioneers of the cultured-pearl industry. While a diamond may be "forever," a Mikimoto pearl is nothing to sneeze at. Mikimoto (America) is the US arm of Japanese pearl manufacturer, K. Mikimoto & Co., a leading creator of cultured pearl jewelry that is sold worldwide.

Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Company was established in 1904 as Mitchell & Ness Sporting Goods, then specializing in stringing tennis rackets and making custom golf clubs. It was acquired by the Adidas Sports Licensed Division, part of adidas AG, in late 2007. Mitchell & Ness would like to take you by the hand and guide you down that path fondly known as Memory Lane. The company is a manufacturer of authentic vintage sports apparel and accessories including vintage jerseys from MLB, the NBA, NFL, and NHL. It licenses the CLC College Vault label for apparel that spotlights school such as Notre Dame, Michigan, and Colorado. Mitchell & Ness creates detailed reproductions of jerseys from certain years and those worn by particular athletes.

Chastang Enterprises which does business as Bayou City Ford, sells new and used cars, trucks, SUVs, from a dealership in Houston, aka The Bayou City. The dealership also offers fleet sales, financing, vehicle maintenance, and parts. Chastang's Web site allows users to search new and used inventory, apply for financing, schedule service, and order parts. The company is owned by the founding Chastang family.Son of a gun, Chastang Enterprises has big fun selling Fords on the bayou.

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.

KaBloom was founded in 1997 by David Hartstein and former Staples CEO Thomas Sternberg. KaBloom.com can be found daisy chaining across the country and cyberspace. The floral chain owns or franchises about 30 retail shops that sell bouquets, cut flowers, and plants primarily in Massachusetts, and is test-marketing selling flowers through kiosks. It also offers national floral delivery through its toll-free number and Web site. Its business flower program arranges flower deliveries to office buildings with weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly schedules available. From about a dozen stores in the Boston area, KaBloom has spread its roots to about a dozen other states and the District of Columbia.

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