The British Internet retailer was founded in 1998 by Michael Smith and Tom Boardman as a means to promote their Shot Glass Chess Set invention. A decade later it began doing business in the US. Firebox.com sells the very gadgets that women are forced to yell over to get their men's (and boys') attention. Firebox.com (formerly hotbox.co.uk) is an Internet retailer selling toys, games, and high-tech gadgets for boys (and girls, really) of all ages; products include remote-controlled cars and planes for the younger set, while for the older guys there are DVDs, cameras, tools, sea scooters, pool tables, and even the Internet Fridge (a refrigerator complete with a 56k modem, TV, radio, and digital camera).

Advanced Book Exchange Inc. provides more than 110 million new and used books, including textbooks, as well as rare and out-of-print books, on its Web site. The books are supplied to the site by more than 13,500 booksellers worldwide. Abebooks also offers booksellers a variety of services such as inventory management software, and dedicated support. In 2008 the company was acquired by former strategic partner Amazon.com.

Hudson Group operates some 600 newsstands, bookstores, cafes, and specialty shops in about 70 airports and other transportation terminals throughout North America. The group's flagship Hudson News format is North America's only national newsstand brand. The shops offer travelers books, magazines, apparel, souvenirs, snacks, and beverages for their journey. Other formats include Hudson Booksellers, Kids Works, and Euro Cafe. Private equity firm Advent International acquired Hudson Group in 2007 and in 2008 merged it with Swiss travel retailer Dufry AG.

Alvarez Lincoln-Mercury began when president Ramon Alvarez, the son of a family from Tijuana that founded Baja California's first airline, purchased floundering Riverside Lincoln-Mercury in 1996 and renamed it. Within months the dealership was at the top in sales for the region after tapping into the Hispanic market.As its name implies, Alvarez Lincoln-Mercury sells new Lincolns and Mercurys, but also high-end car make Jaguar through its dealership in Riverside, California. The dealership also sells many models of used cars. Its Web site lets visitors search inventory, price cars, arrange for a service appointment, order parts, and apply for financing.

Golfsmith International caters to country club sports fans. Through its catalogs, website, and more than 70 stores in about 20 states, the company sells golf and tennis equipment, apparel, and accessories from major makers (such as TaylorMade-adidas, Callaway, Mizuno, and Nike) and its own brands (Golfsmith, Clubmaker, Killer Bee, J.G. Hickory, Lynx, and ZTech, among others). It also teaches golfers to assemble their own clubs, and offers custom fitting and repair services for clubs and racquets. In addition to its retail operations, Golfsmith runs the Harvey Penick Golf Academy, an instructional school for golfers in Texas. The company was founded in 1967 as a mail-order seller of custom-made golf clubs.

Cole's was founded in 1986. Cole Office Products challenges the idea that big-box stores have the lowest prices. The independent retailer distributes about 3,000 workplace essentials, including business cards, forms, filler paper, writing implements, computer peripherals, office furniture, and maintenance and break room supplies. It features products from such makers as Avery, Safco, and Xerox. Orders can be placed by phone, fax, or through Cole's e-commerce site. As a veteran-owned small business, Cole Office Products, Inc. is an authorized supplier for the government.

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.

Like Ellis Island in the past, Cruise America welcomes thousands of Europeans each year. Cruise America is the US's largest recreational vehicle renter with about 20 company-owned stores, some 120 dealer locations, and a 3,000-vehicle rental fleet of RVs (cab-over motor homes). For those who choose to cruise north of the US-Canada border, Cruise America boasts locations in Canada. Up to a million dollars in liability insurance is included with each rental. The company allows its customers (nearly half of whom are foreign) to have the freedom of the open road while saving money on travel and lodging costs. It also sells its used trucks, along with new and used RVs, through RV Depot dealerships.

Lazy Days' R.V. Center, Inc. was founded in 1976 by Don Wallace and his late father, H. K. Wallace, and brother, Ron Wallace. It's controlled by Minnesota-based Wayzata Investment Partners. After a stint in Chapter 11, Lazy Days' completed its reorganization in late 2009. Plenty of hard work has turned Lazy Days' R.V. Center into one of the largest dealers of recreational vehicles in the US. At its 126-acre site, Lazy Days' sells more than a dozen brands of new and used RVs. The dealership also has some 230 service bays for repair and maintenance. Besides the RV dealership, the Lazy Days' site includes RallyPark, a 300-lot RV campground that includes a Cracker Barrel restaurant, Camping World retail store, and RV gas station.

DSGE Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, buys and sells jewelry, bullion products, and rare coins in the United States. The company offers finished jewelry, gem stones, and gold jewelry components, and makes custom jewelry to order; and provides jewelry repair services. It also provides precious metals products, including the United States and other government coins, medallions, art bars, and trade unit bars; and makes pawn loans on the pledge of tangible personal property, primarily jewelry, as well as conducts regular online auctions. In addition, the company makes collateralized loans to individuals in the state of Texas. Further, DSGE Companies, Inc. operates a retail store under the name Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange. The company markets its products and services through its facilities in Dallas and Euless, Texas; Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina; and Woodland Hills, California, as well as through its Internet Web sites DGSE.com, CGDEinc.com, SGBH.com, SuperiorPreciousMetals.com, SuperiorEstateBuyers.com, USBullionExchange.com, Americangoldandsilverexchange.com, and FairchildWatches.com. It operates 8 primary Internet sites and approximately 900 related landing sites. The company serves individual consumers, dealers, and institutions. DSGE Companies, Inc. was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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