Research

EBAY

DESCRIPTION

"I got it on eBay" is barreling its way into the lexicon of the new millennium and placing a cyber-grin on the corporate face of online auctioneer extraordinaire eBay. The company is a cyber-forum for selling more than 50,000 categories of merchandise -- from Beanie Babies to fine antiques -- hosting about 500,000 online stores worldwide. EBay, which generates revenue through listing and selling fees and through advertising, boasts more than 275 million registered users. In 2007 eBay acquired one of the fastest growing online ticket sellers, StubHub, for $307 million.

GUCCI

DESCRIPTION

Gucci Group, an Italian company with a Dutch address that sells French fashion, does quite well in Japan, too. Offerings include handbags and other leather goods, shoes, ready-to-wear clothing, cosmetics, skin care, jewelry, and watches. Gucci family squabbles and imprudent licensing once nearly doomed the firm. New management revived it with fresh product lines and stricter licensing, as well as heavy investing in its Asian presence. Gucci operates about 425 stores worldwide and wholesales products through franchisees and upscale department stores. French retailer PPR purchased almost all of the remaining shares in the company in 2004, taking its interest up to 99.4%.