Founded in 1992 by company owners Jean Hurteau, Guy Hurteau, and France Mnard, Fruits of Passion began with the production of four products (body lotion, bath foam, glycerin soap, and bath oil) with many scent variations for each. Fruits of Passion, the fruits of their passion are becoming more plentiful and visible with each year of the company's success. Fruits & Passion makes, distributes, and retails bath and body products, hair care items, baby care products, home fragrance, sun care, and aromatherapy. Its product lines are sold through more than 165 boutiques in Canada, France, Taiwan, Korea, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Kuwait, in addition to sales through third-party retailers.

Martignetti Companies has been family-owned since its founding in 1908. Martignetti Companies owns both retail and wholesale outlets for selling wine and spirits in New England. The company also offers its wine and spirits for sale online. Its 435,000-square-foot temperature-controlled warehouse in Massachusetts offers more than 3,500 varieties of wine. Brands and wineries include Coldstream Hills, Fairvalley, and Moet & Chandon. Martignetti Companies also owns subsidiaries such as Carolina Wine And Spirits, Classic Wine Imports, and United Liquors.

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.

Zotos wants its products to be the hair and now to salon clients worldwide. Zotos International, a unit of Shiseido International Corporation and Japan's Shiseido Company Limited, makes hair care and hair color products and markets them to salons. Its name brands include JOICO, Blondie, Quantum, Bain de Terre, Nucleic-A, Naturelle, and Zotos. The firm also sells Decleor, CARITA, and Qi esthetic beauty and spa treatments. Products are sold through professional beauty supply stores and salons -- such as Armstrong McCall, Regis Corporation, and Sally Beauty's Beauty Systems Group -- as well as through online retailers. Shiseido acquired Zotos in 1988 from Conair Corporation.

Mercer International Inc. was founded in 1968 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. Mercer International Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of pulp. Its products include northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp, kraft pulp, and market pulp. The company operates three NBSK pulp mills, including the Rosenthal mill and the Stendal mill in Germany, as well as Celgar mill in Canada. Mercer International sells its products primarily in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Founded 1985, Hengan International operates more than 150 sales offices throughout Mainland China. Hengan is well-positioned to benefit from rising prosperity in China but is facing rising pulp prices. Hengan International is one of China's leading personal hygiene and household paper products manufacturers. The company makes Hearttex-branded tissue and toilet papers. It also makes sanitary napkins under the brands Anerle and Anle; Anerle-branded disposable baby diapers; and disposable adult diapers under the Elderjoy name. Additionally it makes Banitore-, Bandi-, and Comfitore-branded first aid items and MissMay skin care and cleansing products.

Top Form wants to make sure women everywhere stay that way. The company designs manufactures, distributes, and sells intimate apparel including sleepwear and underwear. Most of its revenue comes from bra sales under the brand names Marguerite Lee and Meritlux; it sells 61 million of the support garments each year. Top Form and its 12 subsidiaries have four factories in China but more than half of the company's manufacturing is located in Thailand and the Philippines. The company's major market is the US with Europe and Australia next. Managing director Eddie Wong owns about 16% of the company as do directors Lucas Laureys and Herman Van de Velde (of intimate apparel maker Van de Velde N.V.).

Mountain Shades Distributing Company, Inc. company manufactures and distributes performance eyewear specifically for fans and pros of the extreme sports sect, under its Marine Polarized, Motor, Mighty Mite Kids, Optic Nerve, and Mountain Sport brands. Mountain Shades also was one of the first companies to price its products at a seemingly extreme discount, sometimes at one-tenth of the price of its competitors' wares, making the glasses represent performance as much as they do the style of that niche in the fashion and sports market.

The history of Berjaya Corporation dates back to 1984 when the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun acquired a major controlling stake in Berjaya Industrial Berhad (formerly known as Berjaya Kawat Berhad) from the founders, Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd, Australia and National Iron & Steel Mills, Singapore. The shareholding change also resulted in a major change in the business, direction and the dynamic growth of a diversified conglomerate under the flagship of Berjaya Corporation Berhad.

To IT Holding, fashion-conscious youth are a priority. Pulling itself up by its bootstraps is another. Its Ittierre unit makes youth collections for top fashion houses, including Versace and Roberto Cavalli. IT Holding offers youthful apparel and accessories under its own Extè name. The company also owns luxury clothing firm Gianfranco Ferre -- its marquee brand -- and cashmere company Malo. With manufacturing facilities in Italy, IT Holding sells its products in about 70 of its own stores and about 6,000 department stores and shops worldwide. IT Holding went into administration, the Italian equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in February 2009 soon after its Ittierre subsidiary did the same.

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