Maintaining operations

| MCM staff

As vice president of distribution for maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) distributor Interline Brands, Jim Spahn heads up operations for the company’s

Financial Reports: Henry Schein, PC Connection

| MCM staff

What do dental and medical supplier Henry Schein and computer reseller PC Connection have in common? Both reported double-digit top- and bottom-line increases for the second quarter.

Yankee Candle Hopes Deal Illuminates a Wider Audience

| Jim Tierney

Bruce Besanko, chief financial officer for South Deerfield, MA-based Yankee Candle Co., thinks that its $22 million cash acquisition of Petaluma, CA-based Illuminations can help broaden his company

Excelligence Sold to Equity Firm

| Jim Tierney

On the heels of a very successful 2005, Excelligence Learning Corp. is being acquired by an affiliate of Thoma Cressey Equity Partners for $125 million

Life Uniform Buys Uniform City

| MCM staff

Boca Raton, FL-based investment firm Sun Capital Partners announced today that its Life Uniform Co. affiliate has acquired competing cataloger/retailer Uniform City Corps.

Custom Prospect Databases: A Revolution, Not an Evolution

| Caryn L. Gray

In recent years, an increasing number of direct marketers are turning to private prospect databases as a means to combat the external forces that spoil their customer acquisition efforts. For marketers who use direct mail to acquire customers, challenges include declining response rates, list fatigue, lack of new names, shortened campaign times, and the need for timely postcampaign metrics. Not too long in our past, we could have dialed up our modeling efforts, but even sophisticated modeling techniques have their limitations against these industry forces.

Catching Up with UpSnap

| Brian Quinton

When SearchLine last spoke to UpSnap Networks, back in November 2004, the Davidson NC-based company had just introduced a free SMS-based mobile business directory service. Fast-forward a year and a half, and pay-per-call ads have been added to the ad mix.