Lush's products are so luscious that you literally could eat them if you wanted to. The natural cosmetics firm is a UK-based manufacturer and retailer of environmentally friendly natural cosmetics and fragrances (including many vegan-friendly products). Lush company operates about 670 shops in some 44 countries worldwide, as well as a retail website and catalog. Most of Lush's products are handmade from natural (and edible) ingredients and carry an expiration date. The company's co-founder, Mark Constantine, formerly developed and supplied products for natural cosmetics behemoth The Body Shop, back in that company's development days. Co-founders Mark and Mo Constantine own Lush company with Helen Ambrosen.

Endicia company, formerly PSI Systems, was founded in 1982. In 2007 Newell Rubbermaid acquired the firm. Thanks to the Internet, Endicia really delivers. Endicia company's Internet Postage system allows online users to print postage and shipping labels for all mail classes. Customers can even print labels for US Postal Service options such as delivery confirmation and parcel insurance, as well as design custom postage with photos and logos. Hoping to save its customers a trip to the Post Office, Endicia has built its electronic postage system into more than 60 computer applications for Macs and PCs.

Aristocrat Motors operates a Kansas City showroom complete with parts and service departments. Online, customers can search inventory, look up Blue Book values, request price quotes and test drives, and apply for credit. Aristocrat Motors is owned by Detroit-based holding company Soave Enterprises.To find out what an aristocrat would drive, just visit the dealership! The company sells and services new and used vehicles from such refined brands as Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Saab. It also carries vehicles from mini-car maker smart

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.

Aaron Brothers has its hand in custom-framing and crafting. Aaron Brothers, Inc. opened its first shop in Los Angeles in 1946; today it operates some 150 stores in about 10 states. Its stores are located mostly in Texas and in the western US, but also reach to Georgia and Virginia. Aaron Brothers stores offer ready-made frames and mattes, art supplies, and custom framing services. A subsidiary of big brother hobby-retailer Michaels Stores, Aaron Brothers stores average about 5,600 sq. ft. and offer its customers some 7,100 products. Parent company Michaels Stores was taken private in 2006 by a pair of private equity firms (Bain Capital Partners and The Blackstone Group).

Sweetwater Sound helps musicians and recording engineers make sweet music. The music technology retailer sells professional recording and live sound equipment, musical instruments (guitars, basses, keyboards, and drums), computers and software, and accessories through its website and catalogs. Manufacturers include Roland, Yamaha, and Kurzweil. The company was founded in 1979 by Chuck Surack as a four-track recording studio. The retail division grew out of Surack's need for a source for affordable, high-quality gear. Sweetwater Sound moved into its new corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2006. The following year, it acquired music retailer Lentine's Music from GE Capital for $4.5 million.

ADESA PA, originally named Pennsylvania Auto Dealers' Exchange, was founded in 1957 by Jacob Hershey. It was acquired by ADESA in 2008.ADESA PA is in the fast lanes of auto sales. The company, a subsidiary of fleet sales giant ADESA, sells cars, motorcycles, trucks, and other vehicles through about 10 lanes on a 140-acre site. It maintains national accounts with such firms as Emkay, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and PHH, noting an average consignment of more than 2,000 vehicles. ADESA PA serves dealers and fleet owners from throughout the US and more than 30 other countries. In addition to auctions, the company provides repair and maintenance services and operates a reconditioning facility with nearly 10 lanes.

The Birthdays concept was later launched in 1986. Clinton Cards purchased its rival Birthdays in 2004 and runs the unit as a separate business. Amid economic turmoil and slowed consumer spending, however, Birthdays collapsed into administration (the equivalent of bankruptcy in the US) in 2009. You say it's your birthday? Well, your friends better run to a Birthdays store for those cards! The company operates about 200 (down from more than 400) Birthdays stores in the UK and Ireland offering discount greeting cards and party supplies for every occasion. Founded in 1966 as Ron Wood Greeting Cards, the company was originally a distributor of cards and gift wrap until the mid-1970s when it opened three card shops.

Harry & David Holdings (HDH) wants customers to enjoy the fruits -- and flowers -- of its labors. Its Harry and David Direct Marketing catalogs and e-commerce unit offers gift baskets filled with gourmet foods, most notably its Royal Riviera pears, Moose Munch popcorn snacks, and Tower of Treats gifts. It also runs the Fruit-of-the-Month Club. Harry and David Stores sell fruit and flowers, gourmet specialties and wine at 125 factory outlet and specialty shops in more than 35 US states. The specialty food and gift retailer expanded its menu with the acquisition of the Wolferman's and Cushman brands in 2008. HDH is controlled by the New York investment firm Wasserstein Partners.

John Hine Mazda is a founding member of the California Sales Training Academy, a private training program that has become an associates degree program at a local community college. The company was established in 1957. Prior to the discontinuation of the Pontiac brand, the dealership sold Dodge and Pontiac vehicles in addition to Mazdas.John Hine Mazda (formerly John Hine Pontiac) sells new and used Mazda brand vehicles to customers in the San Diego area. The dealership also offers parts, service, and collision repair through its John Hine Auto Body Center. Visitors to its Web site can check new and used inventory, get a quote on a vehicle, schedule service, order parts, and apply for financing.

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