Nike Description

Bauer NIKE Hockey outfits the biggest players who showcase their talents on ice. A wholly-owned subsidiary of NIKE, the firm makes hockey equipment including sticks, skates, helmets, protective gear, and apparel under the NIKE and Bauer brand names. Bauer NIKE Hockey sells its products worldwide in more than 9,000 stores in some 35 countries. It's also one of the most widely purchased brands among the National Hockey League and other leagues.

In late 2006 25-year company veteran Mark Duggan was named to head the Nike subsidiary. Duggan's initiative onward is to drive growth at the hockey unit.

The company manages a Bauer Player Advisory Board -- a group of professional players -- that is polled to offer feedback about the company's products and provide direction and inspiration for future ones.

Chanel Description

Known for classic coutures like "the little black dress" and famed fragrance Chanel No. 5, Chanel has been a haute name in fashion and cosmetics for decades. It also creates watches and jewelry and has a single license -- for eyewear with Luxottica. Founder Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel opened her first boutique in 1913, touting designs known for simplicity. Coco died in 1971, and Chanel's style stagnated for years until Karl Lagerfeld took over the designs and revived the label by tapping a younger market. The firm has about 100 boutiques worldwide (with more than 35 in Japan and 23 in the US). Controlled by chairman Alain Wertheimer's family, Chanel also owns Eres and Paraffection, which is buying Robert Goossens.

Paris-based Robert Goossens (now run by his son Patrick) created Coco Chanel's popular Byzantine-style crosses. Paraffection also owns A. Michel (hats), Desrues (buttons), Lemarie (feathers and flowers), Lesage (embroidery), and Massaro (shoes).

Since late 2004 Chanel chief Maureen Chiquet has been reassembling top management at the company. Longtime sales and marketing executives Bob Taylor (with 12 years) and Jean Hoehn Zimmerman (with a 27-year career) were purged as part of the firm's streamlining effort. In late 2006 Chiquet was appointed as Chanel's global CEO, reporting directly to Wertheimer in New York. Succeeding her as president and COO of Chanel, Inc. is John Galantic, who joins the fashion house from Coty where he was president of Coty Beauty U.S., the firms mass market arm.