Kiehl's Since 1851 makes natural hair and skin care products and lipstick and sells them strictly by word of mouth. Pretty strictly, anyway. Kiehl's doesn't advertise much or go door-to-door, and its rigid marketing policy keeps its products out of all but a few exclusive retailers -- stores such as Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman. The company's East Village location in Manhattan is frequented by celebrity hairdressers, entertainers, and others willing to brave long checkout lines. Its products are also available at Kiehl's stores nationwide and overseas. Customers can order through its catalog and by phone.

Star Nail International company primarily manufactures and markets manicure supplies and hand creams for use by professional cosmetologists. It also sells its nail items over the counter. Star Nail peddles its products under several brand names, including namesake Star Nail, All Season Nails, All Season Professional, Cina, Cina Pro, and Cuccio Pro. Typically manicurists and beauty schools request product samples from the company Web site before they buy. Products are also distributed through the Canadian company Image & Impact.

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.

Amerex makes outerwear for men, women, and children. Founded in 1946, it has licensing agreements with brands such as Jones New York, London Fog, OshKosh, Mudd, and Wrangler. Amerex also produces outerwear under its own labels (1 Madison, Weather Tamer), sportswear (Adolfo), and swimwear (Isababies, Bombshell). Its products are sold in major department stores and specialty retailers throughout the US and Canada. Chairman and President Ira Ganger bought out retiring partner Fred Shvetz in 2006.

Founded in 1970 by Martin Trust and his wife, Dena, in their Massachusetts home, MAST has grown from a cottage industry to a global force in apparel sourcing and manufacturing. It has manufacturing operations and joint ventures in more than a dozen countries including China, Israel, Mexico, and Sri Lanka. MAST makes clothes so its customers don't have to. MAST Industries is one of the world's biggest contract manufacturers, importers, and distributors of apparel, including sportswear for hot brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch. MAST is a subsidiary of Limited Brands, which acquired it in 1978, and supplies apparel to its Victoria's Secret and La Senza chains as well as to third-party customers.

Marietta makes miniatures -- those little packages of personal care amenities (soaps, dental and hair-care products, and other items) found in hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns. The company also distributes brand-name (Pantene, Vaseline, Yardley of London) and private-label (Fleur de Lis, Lord & Mayfair) products to gift shops, the health-care market, correctional institutions, and military bases. Using its sample-size packaging know-how, the company makes trial-size units for other companies' products, as well. Marietta went public in 1986. When corporate officers were convicted of fraud in 1996, it was acquired by BFMA Holding, which, in turn, sold the company to private equity firm Ares Management in 2004.

Goody Products manufactures hair care accessories, brushes, combs, and travel storage products and sells them through food, drug, and discount stores, such as Target, Wal-Mart and Walgreen. The firm makes products under the Goody, Ace, Stayput, Ouchless, TherapySolutions, Styling Therapy, ColourCollection, and StylingSolutions trademarks. The Goody brand set root in 1907 when Henry Goodman and his son, Abraham, began selling rhinestone-studded hair combs off a pushcart in New York City. Since 1993 it has been owned by Newell Rubbermaid. Goody Products is a subsidiary in its parent's home and family segment.

Gitanjali Gems doesn't do things the old fashioned way. In an industry known for tradition and family-owned firms like DeBeers, the Indian newcomer has set tradition at naught. It sources, machine cuts and sets, and retails diamond and gem jewelry offering a dozen brands (Gili, Asmi, D'Damas, Rivaaz) across several retail channels, instead of trying to build the prestige of one name. Gitanjali has production plants in India, Thailand, Vietnam, and China with marketing outposts in Europe, Japan, and the US. Retail outlets include Gitanjali Lifestyle stores (1,200+), Samuels and Rogers in the US, mass merchants, and catalogs. The company has also launched a designer apparel label under the Gitanjali name.

Kao Brands Company, a subsidiary of Japan's Kao Corporation, was established in 1882 as a maker of coconut oil soap. The company, pronounced "cow," now formulates and manufactures a wide range of personal care products for men and women. Its brand names include Jergens, Cur�l, Bior�, John Frieda, Guhl, and Ban. Kao Brands' Jergens body wash became popular when liquid soap hit the market. Kao Brands, which sells its products in more than 50 countries, was bought by the American Brands Company in 1970 and the Kao Corporation in 1988.

The creator of the women's wristwatch (in 1888) also made the first wristwatch with a leather strap -- for a Brazilian aviator in 1904. Now a global symbol of cosmopolitan fashion, the glittering Cartier trademark bedecks jewelry, clocks, watches, perfume, leather goods, apparel, and accessories. Nearly three-fourths of sales come from jewelry and watches. Cartier baubles and beads are distributed worldwide through more than 250 Cartier boutiques and through licensees and retail concessions. Cartier is the jewel in the crown of Swiss group Compagnie Financier Richemont, one of the world's largest luxury goods companies.

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