The South Florida 500: the region's top public and private companies, and the largest employers

South Florida CEO, July, 2003 by Rochelle Broder-Singer

Stuart Weitzman

* Stuart Weitzman shoes are one of those coveted objects that fashion-conscious women dream about. A favorite of Hollywood celebrities and fashion magazines, Weitzman was inducted into the Footwear News Hall of Fame in 2001. That's helped keep revenues steady at around $100 million, even as total retail sales around the US have declined. Few know that the 20-year-old shoe and handbag collection (and 16 eponymous US stores) is centered at corporate offices here in Broward, but Weitzman is just carrying on the family business, a shoewear line his father started under the name Mr. Seymour, Of course, his father never made a platinum and ruby- or diamond-encrusted shoe, just two of the Weitzman creations that have made special appearances at the Academy Awards.

Planet Automotive

* Cars and trucks have been good to the No. 6 company on the Top Private Companies list. Planet automotive, run by Alan and Robert Potamkin, is the nation's No. 10 automotive dealership group. The Coral Gables-based group's business model has it buying slightly more than half of a dealership from the owner, who usually stays on to run the show. The model seems to be working; Planet had $1.6 billion in sales in 2002, up 8.1 percent from 2001. The Potamkins are also branching out into new concepts. 2002 saw the opening of Planet Dodge (above), a Miami-Dade showroom featuring Spanish-style architecture, video gaming areas, flat-screen plasma televisions and an espresso bar. The "autotainment" concept should be rolled out in other new Planet showrooms soon.

American Woolen

* 2002 was, in the words of CEO Richard Marcus, the century-old blanket manufacturer's "best year ever," with sales rising to $91 million. Its biggest competitor, North Carolina-based Beacon Manufacturing, shut down shortly after parent company Pillowtex went bankrupt. Miami-based American Woolen is picking up nearly all of Beacon's accounts (the company had $150 million a year in sales), and planning a major expansion as it scrambles to keep up with demand for blankets--wool, cotton and synthetic.

Hollander Home Fashions

* This Boca Raton-based company manufactures one of every three pillows sold in the US--making it the country's largest pillow maker. America must be sleeping well, because revenues at Hollander hit $210 million in 2002, a 3 percent rise from 2001. That's 30 million pillows a year. The company doesn't just make pillows, though. All manner of items to turn you into sleeping beauty are its domain: comforters, sheets, even dust ruffles. The bulk of Hollander's work is under license for such brands as Eddie Bauer and Laura Ashley, or private-label bedding for stores including J.C. Penney and Wal-Mart. In 2002, Hollander introduced a line of bedding under the Hollander name. With everything from $5 pillows to $500 comforters in its lineup, the Hollander family--father and son team Leo and Jeff Hollander run the company, which was founded by Leo's father--knows it takes more than sheep to get a good night's sleep.