Confusion Reigns Over Intelligent Mail Barcodes
The U.S. Postal Service has long been touting the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB) as a revolutionary change--one that will expand mailers' ability to track individual pieces of mail and provide greater visibility into the mail stream....
Deal making stumbles
You might think that the grim economy would prompt a flurry of mergers and acquisitions. But not so, or perhaps more accurately, not yet. The level of...
Movers & shakers
Healthcare products and services provider Henry Schein has promoted Mark Mastroianni to director of marketing communications and programs in the company's...
Not the finest quarter
Reflecting the weak national economy, the third quarter wasn't so kind to the publicly traded consumer merchants tracked by Multichannel Merchant. Despite...
Movers & shakers
General merchant J.C. Penney Co. has hired Ruby Anik as senior vice president and director of brand marketing. Anik joins J.C. Penney from Best Buy, where...
Deal making dwindles
If industry watchers were expecting a flurry of post-postal rate hike mergers and acquisitions, that hasn't happened — at least not yet. The third quarter brought 13 deals, compared to 16 last year. And these weren't distress deals, either....
Restoration Hardware sold
Restoration Hardware agreed last month to merge with an affiliate of private equity firm Catterton Partners. ...
Movers & shakers
Apparel cataloger/retailer The Talbots has named Trudy F. Sullivan president/CEO. Sullivan had most recently been president of Liz Claiborne; before that...
Doctors Foster and Smith Reaps Neeps
Pet supplies cataloger Doctors Foster and Smith is getting bigger by thinking small: The company in April agreed to acquire Web merchant Neeps, which sells small-pet products, for an undisclosed price....
Pets United Buys State Line Tack
PetSmart in April sold its State Line Tack equine assets to Pets United, a privately held multichannel merchant of pet and equine products. The sale includes the State Line Tack catalog, inventory, and customer lists....
Movers and Shakers
New York-based teen apparel merchant Delia's has named Stephen Feldman chief financial officer. Feldman, who had been senior vice president/chief financial...
What's New at ASAP? Lots
Automotive Specialty Accessories and Parts (ASAP), the parent company of catalogers J.C. Whitney & Co. and Stylin' Concepts, plans to make some significant changes this year. Last month it announced one of them: a new chairman of the board of directors....
Movers and Shakers
Bensalem, PA-based apparel merchant Charming Shoppes has named executive vice president/chief operating officer Joseph Baron interim president of Crosstown...
Five Costly Customer Satisfaction Myths and Misunderstandings
Most multichannel merchants know why customer satisfaction is important. It is understood that satisfied customers are more likely to make repeat purchases, shop more often, spend more money, ...
Winterthur, NWF Join BlueSky
BlueSky Brands, parent company of gifts catalogs The Paragon and Bits and Pieces, in November signed licensing agreements to manage the catalog and Internet merchandising businesses for a pair of not-for-profit groups: Wintherthur Museum & Country Estate and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF)....
Movers and Shakers
Patrick Wynhoff has been named president/CEO of Chefs Brand, the parent company of the Chefs cookware catalog. He succeeds Jon Medved, who will retire...
Thalheimer Out as Sharper Image CEO
Following 18 months of shrinking sales and profits, Sharper Image Corp. founder Richard Thalheimer, the merchandising visionary who made high-end gadgetry accessible to the masses, was replaced as chairman/CEO ...
No Cause for Celebrations: Lillian Vernon Shutting Spin-off Business
When White Plains, NY-based Lillian Vernon Corp. launched Celebrations in October 2004, it envisioned the business as similar to Tupperware--a consultant-themed, party-type venture. But due to “channel conflict” and a failure to develop a unique product line, the gifts and housewares cataloger will shut its Celebrations business ...
CDW Buys $390 Million IT Solutions Provider
Computer reseller CDW Corp. has agreed to acquire Berbee Information Networks Corp., one of the country’s largest independent IT solutions providers, for approximately $175 million ...
Blyth Restructures into Multichannel and Direct Selling Units
After divesting most of its European businesses earlier this year, Greenwich, CT-based multichannel marketer Blyth, the parent company of gifts cataloger Miles Kimball, is restructuring into direct selling and multichannel businesses. ...
Only Natural Pet Store Revamps E-Newsletter
It’s the Year of the Dog in the Chinese calendar, and Boulder, CO-based Only Natural Pet Store, which sells a number of products for dogs, decided this would be a fine time the time to overhaul its e-mail newsletter....
