Owner Charlie Clifford founded Tumi, Inc. in 1975 after a Peace Corps stint in Peru. Tumi company is named after an Incan god of medicine, and has been a unit of Doughty Hanson & Co. since 2004. The high-end designer and manufacturer of such travel accessories as prestige suitcases, backpacks, garment bags, totes, and travel kits, specializes in corporate travelers whose cargo is arguably precious (the company has its own tracking system for retrieving lost bags). Tumi distributes its luggage in the US and abroad through some 50 of its own retail stores, its Web site, other specialty stores, and partnerships with hotel chain Starwood and luxury cruise line Seabourn.

The family-owned firm was founded in 1949 by Ivan Combe, who created Clearasil in 1950 and made it the #1 acne medication before selling it off in 1960. Combe's products are sold in more than 60 countries. Combe makes powders and creams you're itching to buy. The company's products portfolio includes an array of items in the anti-itch niche, including Lanacane, Scalpicin, Gynecort, and Vagisil. Combe combats other human indignities, too, including loose dentures (Sea-Bond), stinky feet (Odor-Eaters), and gray hair (Grecian Formula, Just For Men). Combe's acquisition of J.B. Williams in 2002 added popular names Aqua Velva, Brylcreem, and Cepacol to its brands, among others.

PETCO Animal Supplies Stores, the nation's #2 pet supply specialty retailer, is hounding PetSmart for top dog status. As the operating subsidiary of holding company PETCO Animal Supplies, it runs more than 950 stores in all 50 US states. Its 15,000-sq.-ft. superstores carry some 10,000 pet-related items, including premium cat and dog foods (Nutro, Hill's Pet Nutrition), collars, leashes, grooming items, toys, and animal habitats. Its stores also offer grooming, training, vet services, and mixed breed DNA testing, and sponsor pet adoption for cats and dogs with local animal-welfare organizations. PETCO's products are also available through its Web site. Buyout firms took PETCO private in 2006.

Knoll was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in East Greenville, Pennsylvania. Knoll, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of workplace furnishings, textiles, and fine leathers for the workplace and home. The company offers office systems products, which are modular and moveable workspaces with functionally integrated panels, work surfaces, desk components, pedestal and other storage units, power and data systems, and lighting. It also provides specialty products comprising high image side chairs, sofas, desks, tables, textiles, accessories, leathers, and related products; seating products; and files and storage products, such as lateral files, mobile pedestals and other storage units, bookcases, and overhead storage cabinets. In addition, Knoll offers desks, casegoods, and tables. The company serves Fortune 1000 companies, governmental agencies, and other organizations in various industries, including primarily education, healthcare, and hospitality. It sells its products primarily through its direct sales representatives and independent dealers in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Randa Accessories has been making men feel constricted since its inception in 1935. The leading neckwear manufacturer has licensing agreements with Levi Strauss' Dockers, Perry Ellis, Phillips-Van Heusen, and Chaps for private-label department stores, such as Belk, Macy's, Kohl's, Saks, and Sears. Randa has responded to the last decade's trend toward casual wear by reaching into other men's accessories, such as wallets and small leather goods. Its purchases of Trafalgar and Humphreys Accessories brought belts and suspenders. The company, which operates from some 20 locations worldwide, also offers luggage, casual bags, small leather goods, business cases, and gifts for men, women, and children.

ASICS America is the North American arm of Japanese athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories maker ASICS Corporation. Its shoe collection -- featuring a trademarked stripe design -- includes footwear for basketball, cheerleading, court and training, running, track and field, volleyball, walking, and wrestling. Its Budokan label represents one of its "sportstyle" products that targets a hip crowd. ASICS products, which were introduced in the US in 1977, are sold at regional and national retailers throughout the country, as well as through online vendors. In October 2009, ASICS opened its first freestanding store in the US.

Panoptx Inc. company manufactures performance eyewear -- a combination of protection goggles and sunglasses -- under the 7Eye brand name. Its target audience is sports enthusiasts from skiers to bikers whose eyes are routinely subject to intensified sun glare. The company's Web site offers a build-your-own feature, which allows customers to choose a variety of frame styles and lens colors suitable for the user's chosen sport. The eyewear, also available with prescription lenses, is sold through opticians and specialty stores such as Harley-Davidson throughout the US.

Bally International got the boot from Swiss conglomerate Oerlikon-Buhrle a decade ago, but the shoe designer still clings to its ballyhooed haute brand name. Bally focuses on selling its premium-priced shoes (50% of revenues). Other products include accessories (briefcases, handbags, neckwear, scarves) and apparel. Bally sells its products at about 200 company-owned stores worldwide. The firm has updated its image from fancy shoes to luxury goods and complete collections on par with Gucci and LVMH. Europe-based luxury goods holding firm LABELUX Group bought Bally from investment firm TPG Capital in 2008. LABELUX is owned by Joh. A. Benckiser.

Instead hopes that women adopt its alternative to pads and tampons. Its primary product, the Instead Softcup, is a feminine hygiene product that sits inside a woman's body and collects, rather than absorbs, menstrual flow. Developed by a group of reproductive health scientists, the Softcup is sold in major US drugstores (including chain stores Wal-Mart and Target) and through its Web site. It's also distributed in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Poland, and about a half-dozen other countries worldwide. Instead is also researching the possibility of using a version of its Softcup as a contraceptive device.

UB Global is the exporting arm for the UB Group of companies, which includes India's largest brewery, United Breweries, and the country's largest liquor distributor, United Spirits. UB Global ships beer, whisky, rum, vodka, gin, and brandy to more than 75 countries around the world. Under the Kissan and Blue Mountain brands, UB Global exports jars of pickled gherkins as well as jars of guava, mango, and papaya purees to more than 20 countries. The company also makes leather shoes for such brands as Bostonian, Espirit, Florsheim, Geox, and Hush Puppies, as well as clothing for Lafuma, Vivarte, and Umbro. Aventis pharmaceuticals and medical supplies manufactured under the name UB Care are sold in Africa.

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