Blyth Buys Two European Home Decor Marketers

| Paul Miller

Greenwich, CT-based Blyth, the parent company of gifts and housewares mailers Miles Kimball and Walter Drake, on Sept. 13 announced it had acquired Edelman, a designer/marketer of home, garden, and seasonal decor, and Euro-Decor, a designer/marketer of gifts and florist products.

Broder Bros. Acquires NES Clothing

| MCM staff

Philadelphia-based imprintable sportswear cataloger Broder Bros. announced on Aug. 31 that it has acquired NES Clothing Co., a Middleboro, MA-based regional distributor of imprintable sportswear. Boston-based private equity firm Bain Capital, which owns the majority stake in Broder Bros., orchestrated the deal to buy the privately owned NES.

Collegiate Pacific Grows Sales; Net Income

| MCM staff

Dallas-based Collegiate Pacific (AMEX: BOO) reported fourth-quarter net income of $923,000, a 48% increase compared with $623,000 last year.

Airgas Acquires Assets of Welding Supply House

| MCM staff

Industrial gases and welding safety supplies cataloger Airgas on Sept. 1 acquired the assets and operations of Welding Supply House, specifically Welding Supply

Parcel Shipping Consolidators Change Hands

| Paul Miller

Two leading catalog printers, RR Donnelley and Quad/Graphics, in August found buyers for their respective parcel shipping consolidation businesses, RR

Transplanting the Contact Center

| MCM staff

In June 2003, Gardener’s Supply Company (GSC) celebrated its twentieth year in business by deciding to remodel its corporate headquarters in Burlington,

Hailstorm Takes a Bite of Bear Creek Crop

| Paul Miller

One of the orchards of Bear Creek Corp., the parent firm of food gifts catalog Harry and David and horticultural gifts title Jackson & Perkins, was hit

Good Time for Bargain Hunting

| Mark Del Franco

When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, one company’s hardship is another’s gain. When a company is operating under financial duress, notes Jim Adams,