company analysis

The chain that became Harris Teeter started as two small North Carolina enterprises in the late 1930s. The first of these was Harris Super Market, opened in Charlotte in 1939 by W. T. Harris, who had borrowed $1,500 to start the business three years earlier. Though nothing like the vast shopping...

Harris Interactive Inc. combines the capabilities of the Internet with the name recognition of renown opinion pollster Louis Harris, and has become one of the world's fastest growing Internet-based market research companies. After Louis Harris and Associates was purchased in 1996 by a Rochester...

The origin of the Harris Corporation, a leading American electronics company, is actually to be found in the printing business. What began as a minor manufacturer of printing press machinery has evolved during this century into an important developer of cutting-edge electronics technology. In...

William Harrah parlayed a Reno bingo parlor into a company, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., consisting of Nevada casinos, hotels, and nightclubs that brought in nearly $200 million a year before his death in 1978. Harrah's later opened a casino-hotel in Atlantic City and expanded rapidly in the...

Based in Chicago, and with additional offices in Los Angeles, Harpo Inc. is one of the most successful production companies in the history of entertainment, one of the largest black-owned companies in the world, and the brainchild of one of the television industry's highest-paid performers ever...

For nearly 170 years the Harper name has been synonymous with the printed word, having cradled American publishing from its infancy to world dominance in the 20th century. A variation of "Harper" has adorned the pages of a wide selection of materials, from hand-bound editions of the classics to...

Harper Group Inc. is an international provider of freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and logistics management services. Harper's primary operating subsidiary, Circle International, Inc., operates essentially as a travel agent for goods--managing the door-to-door delivery process including...

Harold's Stores, Inc. is a merchant and manufacturer of updated but classically styled men's and women's apparel. Each store in the chain features upscale specialty clothes for men and women ages 20 through 50, although typically the "updated traditional" styles appeal mostly to young executives...

Harnischfeger Industries, Inc. is a world leader in the manufacture, marketing, and servicing of mining equipment for both surface and underground operations. Until the year 2000, when it sold its Beloit Corporation subsidiary, Harnischfeger was also a major manufacturer of machinery for the...

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited is the largest gold producer in South Africa, accounting for about one-third of all gold produced in the country; the company is among the largest gold producers in the world. Harmony specializes in transforming mature gold mines of marginal profitability by...

Harmon Industries, Inc. since World War II has played an instrumental part in supplying the nation's railroads with advanced systems for signaling, inspection, and train control and safety. The company designs and manufactures rail/highway grade crossing hardware and related services, such as...

Harman International Industries, Inc. manufactures and markets a wide range of high-end, high-fidelity audio and video system components for consumer and professional markets. Well-known brands sold by the company include JBL, Infinity, and Harman Kardon. Harman was expanding rapidly in the...

The Harleysville Group oversees the operations of The Harleysville Insurance Companies, which offer a variety of insurance products to people and businesses in 32 eastern and Midwestern states. A Fortune 1000 company, Harleysville ranked 46th on A.M. Best's list of leading property/casualty...

Harley-Davidson's Worldwide Mission Is To: Preserve and perpetuate the Harley-Davidson institution through continuous improvement in the quality of our products and services and achievement of our financial goals. Provide motorcycles, accessories, and services to motorcyclists in selected...

Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the world's largest publisher of romance fiction, a market segment reckoned to account for half of all mass market paperbacks purchased. Harlequin, which works with some 1,000 authors, produced 150 million books in 2001, or one every five seconds. It introduces...

Harlem Globetrotters International, Inc. is the company behind the world-renowned Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. Multiple teams, each wearing the distinctive red, white, and blue uniforms of the Globetrotters, tour throughout the world, playing nearly 300 games annually. The company is...

Best known as the company that built the Titanic, Harland and Wolff Holdings plc has for more than 150 years built some of the largest and grandest vessels to ply the world's waterways. Over the course of its history, the company has built merchant ships and luxury liners, warships and fighter...

Hardinge Inc., located in the city of Elmira, in Chemung County, New York, which is on the south-central border of upstate New York, was founded more than 100 years ago. The company is an international leader in the machine tool industry, designing, manufacturing, and selling metal cutting...

A rising force in the engineering consulting industry, Harding Lawson Associates Group, Inc. provides engineering, environmental, and construction services related to the management of hazardous and solid wastes, as well as civil and geotechnical engineering services. During the mid-1990s...

Without rival for years, themed restaurant phenomenon Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc. has enjoyed a stellar success that has brought forth several like-minded competitors, including Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Café, and the House of Blues. The Rank Group PLC subsidiary was founded in London...