Beiersdorf is a master of soft sell. Its NIVEA line of skin care products (#1 in Europe) helped the company expand into color cosmetics and shaving products. Other body care brands include such items as Labello, 8x4, Florena, JUVENA, and la prairie. Beiersdorf also makes and markets bandages, surgical gloves, disinfectants, and dermatological skin care products (such as Hansaplast and Eucerin). Under the tesa name, it offers tapes and adhesives for home, office, and industrial settings. German insurer Allianz sold its 44% of Beiersdorf to coffee and cigarette firm Tchibo Holding, to add to Tchibo's 30%. Chairman Rolf Kunisch retired in May 2008; Thomas-Bernd Quaas replaced him.

Mirato S.p.A. company is a leading Italian manufacturer of personal hygiene products, including deodorants, soaps and shower gels, hair care products, aftershave, makeup, and fragrances. Mirato's many products are sold under various labels, including Intesa, Malizia, and Splend'Or. Mirato, which was founded in 1960, entered the mass market cosmetics business through its purchase of the Clinians brand from Medestea Internazionale in 2001. Its products are sold through a variety of retailers and mass merchandisers, mostly in Italy, but also worldwide. Benefit SpA owns about 55% of Mirato's shares and is seeking to acquire the rest.

Essilor of America, Inc. company makes and distributes optical lenses under the Airwear, Crizal, DEFINITY, Transitions, and Varilux brand names, among others. Its Essilor Laboratories of America business, a wholesale laboratory network, provides services and a variety of lens brands to opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists across the US. Essilor of America is a subsidiary of Paris-based Essilor International, which operates about 250 prescription laboratories that manufacture corrective lenses worldwide. The company has been expanding its operations through acquisitions in recent years.

Founded in 1987, Mity-Lite, Inc. is a global manufacturer of market-leading furniture systems including lightweight folding tables, stacking and folding chairs, portable dance floors and staging. MITY world-famous products efficiently meet business-to-business customer needs across multiple markets, including hospitality, higher education, worship facilities, government, parks and recreation, public assembly, and healthcare, among others. Mity-Lite’s dedicated personal service and durable yet lightweight products result in an overall lower cost of ownership and complete customer satisfaction.

President and CEO Jan Marini founded her namesake company in 1994. Jan Marini Skin Research (JMSR) is a personal care products maker that specializes in skin care items, such as the C-ESTA with anti-aging properties, Age Intervention, and Bioglycolic, among others. JMSR makes products to tackle common skin care woes, such as acne and rosacea. It also markets a line of professional and clinical products under the JMSR Skin Care Management System name that is available only by prescription. JMSR products are sold through distributors in more than 80 countries worldwide and directly to physicians and licensed skin care professionals.

Founded as a pharmacy by Giovanni Battista Schiapparelli in 1824, Schiapparelli 1824 S.p.A. manufactures and distributes cosmetics and related items. The company's products include cosmetics, perfumes, tissues, and a line of dietetic products. Cosmetics and perfume brands sold through the company's Schiapparelli Pikenz operations include Blumarine, Parah, Gian Marco Venturi, and Annabella. The Nutritionals Schiapparelli subsidiary produces and distributes dietetic items including Euvita and Quid. Through financial group Clovis S.A., managing director Gianni Mazzola owns almost 30% of the company.

Paul Fredrick is an apparel manufacturer and online retailer that does business best by cutting out the middle man. Paul Fredrick MenStyle designs classic men's apparel (dress shirts, pants, neckties, sportcoats, suits, formalwear) and sells direct to the consumer by mail-order catalog and the Internet. The company got its start as part of contract shirt manufacturer Fleetwood Shirt Company (a supplier to high-end department stores for about half a century). An ad in the Wall Street Journal offering dress shirts straight from the manufacturer gave Paul Fredrick its own start in 1986.

American Seating was the first company to manufacture the combination student desk and chair unit when it was founded under the name Grand Rapids School Furniture in 1886. American Seating wants you to be comfortable and take at least one of its seats. A leading manufacturer of seating for a variety of industries, the company has furnished offices, public transportation, schools, auditoriums and stadiums, and entertainment venues such as Busch Stadium in St. Louis and the Tabor Opera House in Colorado. The company sells its products in the US and Canada.

Founder Salvatore Ferragamo started as a shoemaker for Hollywood stars in 1914. His wife Wanda took over upon his death, and the Ferragamo family still owns and runs the company. Salvatore Ferragamo Italia knows the value of style. It offers clothing and accessories, such as belts, ties, handbags, and scarves. Ferragamo has a reputation for elegance -- outfitting popes and presidents. The Ferragamo shoe line still generates most of its sales, while handbags, belts, luggage, and small leather goods account for another large chunk of revenue. The company, which also got into watches in 2007 and eyewear in 2009, distributes its products through more than 450 department stores and boutiques in some 60 countries.

Aalfs Manufacturing Company, owned and run by the founding Aalfs family, just might have a gene for the jeans business. The company designs, makes, and markets clothing (primarily jeans and denimwear) to big-name retailers nationwide. Clients include J.C. Penney (since 1943), American Eagle, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Old Navy, and even Harley Davidson. Aalfs also makes and sells its own 4 Stroke brand of denim apparel. Founded in Iowa in 1892 by H.A. Baker and renamed the Aalfs-Baker Manufacturing Company in 1929, when Wilbur Aalfs held the presidential title, the apparel manufacturer officially became Aalfs Manufacturing Company in 1959.

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