MONOMOY BUYS CASUAL LIVING

| Jim Tierney

PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM MONOMOY CAPITAL PARTNERS ACQUIRED women’s apparel cataloger Casual Living USA in February. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Monomoy

Avon Buys U.K. Skincare Brand

| Jim Tierney

Avon Products has acquired Liz Earle Beauty Co., a privately held U.K. brand of naturally active skincare products. Terms of the all-cash deal, which closed March 25, were not disclosed.

Central Restaurant Starts School Nutrition Equipment Title

| MCM staff

The title, which will be unveiled March 29, sells products to help improve workflow, promote food safety techniques and encourage healthy food preparation methods in public and private K-12 school districts, colleges and universities. The more than 3,000 products available include steamers, combination ovens and food trays.

Orchard Brands Acquires Linen Source; Thompson Group to Focus on Cigar Biz

| Jim Tierney

Orchard Brands, a multititle mailer of catalogs that target consumers over age 55, has acquired home goods title Linen Source. Investment bank Tully & Holland, which initiated the transaction and acted as the exclusive investment banking adviser to Linen Source, announced the deal on March 15.

ONCAP Acquires Sport Supply Group

| Jim Tierney

Sports equipment merchant Sport Supply Group announced today it entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of ONCAP Management Partners, the mid-market private equity business of Onex Corp.

DELL ACQUIRES

| Jim Tierney

Computers Giant Dell has Purchased Kace, a systems management appliance company. Terms of the transaction, announced Feb. 11, were not disclosed. Kace

Steamed at slow shipping

| MCM staff

I Finally Caved in and ordered a product from a DRTV commercial, Mister Steamy. He sounds a lot more exciting than he is: Mister Steamy works with your

A Green Thumb

| Jim Tierney

Who knew dirt-free indoor garden kits could be such a hot commodity? They’re also a great direct marketing product, which is why AeroGrow International

Digital prospecting takes hold

| Tim Parry

It’s no secret that marketers have smaller budgets to acquire or retain customers these days. According to a July study by the Association of National

Deals Pick up in December

| Jim Tierney

2009 Ended Quite a bit Stronger than 2008 when it comes to industry mergers and acquisitions. Fourteen catalog-related deals went down in the last three