Willis & Geiger up for sale

| MCM staff

Less than four years after acquiring apparel manufacturer Willis & Geiger and transforming it into a catalog, Lands’ End has put the division up for sale.

At deadline

| MCM staff

DRESS BARN TO LAUNCH CATALOG Discount women’s apparel retailer Dress Barn has begun recruiting executives for the catalog division it plans to launch

Cornerstone’s next step

| Peter Girard

The end of summer tends to be quiet for many businesses-but not for Cornerstone Brands. On Aug. 25, the Portland, ME-based multititle cataloger acquired

Deluxe deal falls through

| Mark Del Franco

Deluxe Corp. has terminated its agreement to sell its catalog holdings-specialty paper catalog PaperDirect and consumer greeting card and gift wrap catalog

At Deadline

| MCM staff

FINGERHUT TO BUY ARIZONA MAIL ORDER, LAUNCHES YOUTH CATALOG Fingerhut, whose $1.5 billion catalog business sells predominately electronics, housewares,

Genesis strikes again

| Shannon Oberndorf

Genesis Direct is at it again. On Aug. 5, the multititle cataloger agreed to acquire the $118 million Carol Wright Gifts direct marketing division from

Design Toscano goes to Faire

| Mark Del Franco

In Design Toscano’s catalog of European reproductions for the home and garden, the merchandise includes a number of Italian Renaissance statues and wall

Page 10

| MCM staff

FINGERHUT TO BUY ARIZONA MAIL ORDER, LAUNCHES YOUTH CATALOG Fingerhut, whose $1.5 billion catalog business sells predominately electronics, housewares,

Fulcrum shuts its doors

| Mark Del Franco

On July 29, less than a month after founders Michael Lederman and Scott Budoff resigned, $80 million multititle children’s apparel cataloger Fulcrum Direct

Dealmakers rev up again

| MCM staff

Second-quarter merger and acquisition activity was up 36% from this time last year and up 76% from the first quarter of ’98. Catalogers completed 30 transactions