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.

Von Zipper makes sunglasses and goggles for sports-driven entertainment and for wearers who care about their flair. The company distributes its products through its own Web site, as well as through select eyewear and surf/skate/snow/hipster specialty stores. Von Zipper also peddles its eyewear and goggles through Web sites in the US and in several countries worldwide. Founded in 1999 by Orange County, California, surf and sunglass veterans, Von Zipper was bought by Aussie surfwear company Billabong in 2001.

Founded in 1854, Timex is owned by the family of chairman Annette Olsen, whose grandfather bought the company in 1942. Timex is strapping on fresh faces so it can tap new markets worldwide. The nation's largest watch manufacturer has expanded its lines from simple, low-cost watches to include high-tech tickers capable of paging or downloading computer data. Its sports watches have gone upscale and gadgety with its Expedition and Ironman lines. Timex Corporation company also makes and markets thermostats, pedometers, and weather instruments. Through a licensing agreement, Timex makes watches for Guess? and Versace, among others.

JLM Couture, Inc. company designs, manufactures, and markets bridal and bridesmaid gowns, veils, and related items in the US and the UK. Its bridal gowns, which boast price tags of several thousand dollars, are made under the Alvina Valenta, Jim Hjelm Couture, Jim Hjelm Visions, Tara Keely, and Lazaro names. JLM Couture markets its gowns through bridal magazines, trunk shows, and catalogs. The company's bridesmaid and flower girl collections are produced under the Jim Hjelm Occasions and Lazaro Bridesmaids labels; they're peddled through bridal boutiques and bridal departments in clothing stores. Its Party by JLM is a collection of evening wear.

Prestige Cosmetics makes cosmetics under the Prestige and Prestige Studio Make-Up brand names, as well as under private labels for retailers. Its products include lipstick, cosmetic pencils, lip gloss, powder, eye shadow, blush, concealers, mascara, foundation, and nail polish. Prestige markets its products to mass merchandisers (including Sears and Wal-Mart), drugstores, and supermarkets in the US and about 45 other countries. It operates a plant in Florida and sells its products to distributors in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, and South America. Co-founders and brothers Jacques and Gabriel Cohen own the company.

The Kao Group develops consumer product business that targets general consumers. Kao Group business segments that cater to the consumer include: the Beauty Care Business in which we offer prestige cosmetics, and premium skin care and hair care products; the Human Health Care Business with products that include food and beverage products approved as Foods for Specific Health Uses (FOSHU), and feminine and baby care products; and the Fabric and Home Care Business, which includes laundry detergents and household cleaners. Also, in the Chemical Business we develop chemical products that meet the various needs of industry.

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.

Smead Manufacturing Company was founded in 1906 by Charles Smead. After his death, the company was purchased by an employee (P. A. Hoffman) whose granddaughter, Sharon Avent, is president and CEO. Smead Manufacturing wants to keep its customers organized. Accordingly, it makes a variety of paper-related and software products to organize and manage offices. Smead's first product, a bandless expandable file, is still among the more than 5,000 items it makes for retail sale in office supply stores nationwide (including Office Depot). Offerings range from hanging folders, labels, and binder covers to SmeadSoft software, which manages hard copy and computerized documents.

The Scottish stationery firm was founded by John Letts in 1796 in London, and produced the first commercial diary in 1812. Letts Filofax Group produces diaries for personal and business use, clinging to a tradition of entering data into an analog, paper-based storage device, rather than the handheld electronic organizers and personal digital assistants. Its business comprises a dozen operating divisions that support the Filofax and Letts brands in major countries.

Founded by Elizabeth Blumenthal in 1923, the company was purchased by president Linda Marshall in 1972. Elysee Scientific Cosmetics sees beauty in science. The company makes and markets women's cleansers, creams, cosmetics, and fragrances, as well as skin care products for men. It also develops skin treatments for anti-aging, acne, rosacea, and hyper-pigmentation. Products are sold through Elysee's Web site and on home-shopping networks, such as HSN.

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