What I'd Like for Christmas 2007

She also likes the Italian company Luxottica (LUX Quote). You may not know the name, but you probably came across the company the last time you were in LensCrafters wondering whether you could believe your eyes -- at the prices of designer glasses. Luxittoca owns the retail chain as well as Sunglass Hut; it bought both to push its main business: making those designer glasses. The company owns the Ray-Ban name and licenses lots of others -- including Prada, Bulgari and Ralph Lauren -- for eyewear.

"It's not so well-known by U.S. investors, but 75% of their sales are in the U.S.," Reyl says. "It's very high margin. They are buying retailers and then placing their own products in the stores. This has been very successful for them."

Richemont(RHMSF Quote), which trades on the pink sheets, is a curious company controlled by the Ruppert family in South Africa. It owns Cartier, Montblanc, Dunhill, Jaegre-Le Coutre and IWC. It also has a big stake in British American Tobacco(BTI Quote) and a pile of cash that the management uses to buy back shares.

Reyl likes shirt-maker Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH Quote), which owns the Calvin Klein brand. I assumed that this was years out of date, but Reyl says it is "growing a lot worldwide." Ditto Polo Ralph Lauren (RL Quote). Years after everyone in America got bored of those polo shirts with the pretentious logo, they're booming in Asia.