Famed toy store FAO Schwarz is a kid pleaser, but as a business it's had its ups and downs. The oldest toy store in the US charms the young (and young at heart) at its landmark store on New York's Fifth Avenue where it sells unique, hard-to-find toys, such as life-size stuffed bears and $50,000 kid-size Ferraris. A major tourist attraction, it hosts more than 3 million visitors each year. Being a kid itself, FAO Schwarz has a sweet tooth, with its sweets shop called FAO Schweetz. After years of unprofitable expansion in an age where mass merchants, such as Wal-Mart, rule toy retailing, it's down to a single location, a catalog, and a website. Toy titan Toys "R" Us added FAO Schwarz to its toy chest in 2009.

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.

founded the company in 1964. The Koons family owns Koons Automotive.Wheelin' and dealin' on the Web, Jim Koons Automotive Companies sells new and used cars the old-fashioned way and through the Internet. Its more than 20 locations in the Washington, DC, area (Virginia and Maryland) offer cars made by Ford, GM, Toyota, and Volvo. Three locations specialize in used cars; the company also offers body work. Internet customers can obtain quotes, make appointments for parts and service, and access online coupons for oil changes and other services. CEO Jim Koons' father, John Koons Sr., the first auto dealer to enter the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Christy Sports isn't some girly group of ponytailed cheerleaders. It's the largest specialty ski and snowboard retailer in the Rocky Mountains. With more than 40 retail stores in skiing hot spots like Snowmass, Crested Butte, Steamboat Springs, and Vail, the company sells skiing, snowboarding, snow-shoeing, mountain biking, and golf equipment along with shoes, shirts, gloves, and bags to carry it all. Stores also carry patio furniture, grills, hammocks, and other accessories for the outdoor life and rent skiing and snowboarding gear. Christy's staff are all serious skiers and snowboarders who use the equipment they sell. The company was founded in 1958 by avid skiers Ed and Gale Crist.

Dana B. Goods distributes musical instruments and accessories from its warehouse in Ventura, California. The company's products include Warwick basses, amps, and accessories; Framus guitars, amps, and strings; RockBass bass guitars; T-Rex pedals; and Humfrees rackmount accessories (for mounting electronic amps and other gear into racks). It also carries roadie gear (carts, dollies, rolling shelves) by RocknRoller. Dana B. Goods is the exclusive US dealer for all these products. The company was founded in 1992 by owner and president Dana B. Teague.

Founded by Samuel Silverman in 1912, today jewelry chain Ben Bridge Jeweler operates more than 70 stores in a dozen mostly western states, including Alaska and Hawaii. The company sells platinum, 14- and 18-karat gold jewelry, diamonds, watches, and bridal and anniversary fare from its mall-based stores and Web site. Ben Bridge married Silverman's daughter in 1922, bought out his father-in-law, and renamed the company after himself. Still run by the Bridge family, the company became a subsidiary of billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in 2000.

Fletcher Jones Management Group holds the title as the US's top Mercedes seller. It rolls out Benzes from a 225,000-sq.-ft. superstore in Las Vegas; a 186,000-sq-ft. store in Newport Beach, California; a dealership in Chicago; and another in Honolulu. Fletcher Jones also operates another dealership in Chicago, five more in Hawaii, an another two in California, two more in Las Vegas, and one in Reno, Nevada, selling cars from Audi, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen. The company is owned by president and CEO Fletcher Jones Jr., whose father started it in 1954 with one Los Angeles dealership.

Edwin Watts Golf is a leading golf specialty retail chain in the US. The company operates about 70 golf specialty stores in 10 mostly southeastern states and Texas. Its stores sell clubs, golf balls, bags, training aids, and more. The company also sells golf equipment by catalog and online, and it operates a club leasing program for novices and golfers who like to try out state-of-the-art gear. Edwin Watts Golf was founded in 1968 as a small pro shop at the municipal golf course in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, by brothers Edwin and Ronnie Watts. It is owned by an affiliate of investment firm Sun Capital Partners.

Founded in 1973, the company is a subsidiary of Fred Meyer Stores, which is itself a subsidiary of grocery giant Kroger. Fred Meyer Jewelers wants to help you keep track of time while making room in your life for some bling. Founded in 1973, Fred Meyer Jewelers sells value-priced diamond and gemstone jewelry and well-known watch brands, such as Bulova, Citizen, Longines, Movado, and Omega. The company has some 375 jewelry stores in about three dozen states, including locations inside Fred Meyer Marketplace and Kroger Marketplace stores. (More than a third of the stores are located in California, Oregon, and Washington.) It operates under the names Barclay Jewelers, Fred Meyer Jewelers, and Littman Jewelers.

MyOfficeProducts company provides more than 35,000 office products, including supplies (paper, desk organizers), furniture (chairs, lighting), and technology (printers, computer accessories). MyOfficeProducts also offers an eco-friendly product line with recycled paper, garbage containers, folders, and other items. MyOfficeProducts operates more than 80 sales offices and distribution centers across the US and Canada. The company, which has more than 100 local sales associates, provides a variety of rebates and gift certificates with some of its purchases.

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