Fall Shortfalls

| Sherry Chiger

The stock market has become a manic roller coaster ride. Wall Street firms have begun mass layoffs. The President could soon be impeached. And as of September,

Delia’s buys Fulcrum lists

| Mark Del Franco

New York-based Delia’s, the $106 million teen apparel cataloger, in September paid $4.75 million for the trademarks and mailing lists of bankrupt Fulcrum

The more things change…

| Peter Girard

Ruth Anderson is vice president of Penns Creek, PA-based Walnut Acres Organic Farms, a catalog of whole foods and health-related products. Annual sales,

In search of an ombudsman

| MCM staff

I long have preached the doctrine of having an outsider-someone not involved in product acquisition or product description-check catalog copy for logic.

Fighting credit fraud

| MCM staff

Mastercard reports that fraud levels are at their lowest levels in 10 years-about 7.7 cents on each $100 transaction. But according to both Visa and Mastercard,

Few source in cyberspace

| Mark Del Franco

Using the Web to source for products would make catalog merchants’ jobs easier and more convenient-not to mention reduce travel expenses. But among respondents

Not yet up to speed

| Lynn Dougherty

Fifteen years ago, the list delivery process was clunky, undependable, and slow, taking weeks rather than days. Today, some catalog mailers claim, despite

Good for Reader’s Digest

| Paul Miller

The $2.6 billion Reader’s Digest is “considering becoming a major player in the catalog business,” says vice president/general manager of catalog Jim

Banana Republic, round 2

| MCM staff

Ten years after Banana Republic closed its catalog business, the apparel retailer has relaunched the book. In mid-September, the upscale clothing division

Steady demand, stable prices

| Eric Edelmann

Catalog paper buyers went on a spree last year, buying 9% more paper than they had the year before, far exceeding expectations. The reason? Catalogers