A time to sell

| Shayn Ferriolo

This month’s questionGiven the rise in mergers and acquisitions, are you thinking about merging or selling your business?Naturally, selling any business

DMA catalog membership flat

| Paul Miller

Although the exact numbers are somewhat unclear, one thing is clear: The number of catalogers that belong to the Direct Marketing Association catalog

Office Products: trends analysis

| Paul Miller

The office products catalog business just ain’t what it used to be. Having had their margins squeezed tighter and tighter by rapidly mounting competition

Ha-Lo bets big on the Web

| Diane Cyr

The leading promotional products distributor is moving online with a big-bucks dealWhen a leading business-to-business marketer drops 500% in market value

SPIN-OFFS

| Peter Girard

Retailer J. Baker was looking for more than growth when it acquired cataloger/retailer Repp Big and Tall last May. The Canton, MA-based company also expected

Office Products: statistical overview

| MCM staff

Like so many other catalog markets, the office products field is tough to track. Incorporating sellers of general business paper products and stationery,

How we catalogers can win on the Web

| Michael Tiernan

Welcome to cyberspace, the American dream, the frontier of the new millennium, and an unprecedented opportunity for direct marketers to use their skills

ACQUISITIONS: Lillian Vernon buys Rue de France

| Mark Del Franco

After more than 49 years in the catalog business, Rye, NY-based Lillian Vernon Corp. is making its first-ever acquisition. On Feb. 21, the gifts and home

Netting consumer customers

| Mark Del Franco

Since it was launched in 1995, Appleton, WI-based cataloger School Specialty has sold its nontextbook educational supplies to schools and other institutions.But