MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: Bargain investments

| Mark Del Franco

Private equity firms buying into b-to-b catalogs account for top dealsEveryone likes a bargain – including private equity investment firms. And that explains

A `chicken or egg’ question

| MCM staff

This month’s questionsDid you start out as a store or as a catalog? What made you decide to cross over to the other medium?The legend of the kitchen-table

MARKET TRENDS: Not computing

| Peter Girard

Computer mailers cool to consumersMore than 60% of U.S. consumers will own personal computers by the end of 2000, compared to 53% this year, according

REDUCING YOUR COST PER ORDER

| Curt Barry

All catalogers would like to increase profits, but in today’s competitive marketplace, there’s a limit to how much you can raise your prices or lower

PARCEL DELIVERY: Donnelley Logistics buys CTC

| Paul Miller

Deal creates a more formidable competitor to United Parcel ServiceWith its Feb. 2 acquisition of CTC Direct Distribution, catalog printer R.R. Donnelley

FINANCE: Private money

| Paul Miller

Investment firms seeking catalogsFor years catalogers have been pleading their case to the investment community: that their established brands and their

LIQUIDATION: Out with the overstocks

| Paul Miller

B-to-b mailers have differing strategies for unloading unsold productsBusiness-to-business catalog products, unlike many consumer catalog products, are

RECEIVING: Getting the goods in faster

| Mark Del Franco

Advanced notice and planning can streamline the receiving processCatalogers constantly trying to deliver packages faster to customers often give short

vying to be TOP DOG

| Leslie Goff

The online division of cataloger/retailer PetSmart is trying to lead the pack of online pet storesWhat makes a category killer in a crowded e-commerce