Circulation circus

| MCM staff

Q Let’s get started by talking about what you consider your greatest circulation and database challenges. Bonnie Preace, circulation manager, REI Our

Brookstone Puts Gardeners Eden Up for Sale

| MCM staff

Two months after it agreed to be sold to a consortium of investors, cataloger/retailer Brookstone announced that it was putting its Gardeners Eden title up for sale.

Sales up but what about profits?

| Mark Del Franco

Of the 11 publicly traded business-to-business and computer merchants tracked by Multichannel Merchant, all but one, PC Connection, could boast of a boost

Sizing Up Fall Circ

| MCM staff

Strong spring sales, the absence of a presidential election, and the looming postal hike for early 2006 are encouraging catalogers to increase their fall

School Specialty sold for $1.5 billion

| Mark Del Franco

Multititle educational supplier School Specialty, long a voracious acquirer of other companies, is now the acquiree: Boston-based Bain Capital Partners

Potpourri Sold to American Capital Strategies

| Mark Del Franco

Chelmsford, MA-based multititle cataloger Potpourri Group has been acquired by Bethesda, MD-based buyout and mezzanine fund American Capital Strategies. This marks the third time that the $160.6 million Potpourri has been sold

Pfaltzgraff Co. Sold to Lifetime Brands

| John Fischer

York, PA-based tabletop items manufacturer/cataloger Pfaltzgraff Co. has been acquired by Westbury, NY-based Lifetime Brands, a marketer/distributor of consumer home products.

Behold the Mini Catalog

| MCM staff

Looking for a way to increase brand awareness and your customer file without breaking the bank? You might try a mini catalog.

School Specialty Sold for $1.5 Billion

| MCM staff

Boston-based Bain Capital Partners agreed to buy multititle educational supplier School Specialty for $49 a share, or roughly $1.5 billion in cash. As of Tuesday night, when the deal was announced, School Specialty’s stock was at $39.22 a share.