This issue of Multichannel Merchant is sponsored by Nxtbook
Media
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Media delivers engaging digital catalogs that drive click-throughs
and revenue. Our cutting-edge solution delivers maximum return for
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MacKenzie-Childs
Sold
By Jim Tierney
Private equity firm Twin Lakes Capital acquired
ceramics manufacturer/marketer MacKenzie-Childs on May 7. Terms of the
deal were not disclosed.
Known for its whimsical Spanish and Italian majolica tabletop ceramics,
MacKenzie-Childs had been for sale since last June. And Twin Lakes
Capital has pursued the acquisition since that time, says managing
partner Lee Feldman. Click
here for details.
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Bare
Necessities Launches Catalog
By Tim Parry
Online intimate apparel merchant Bare Necessities has
launched its first-ever print catalog, with an at-home date of May 14.
The 10-year-old retailer will be mailing the majority of its initial
book to its house file, which includes about 1 million names, says Dan
Sackrowitz, vice president of marketing and business development at Bare
Necessities. For details, click
here.
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This issue of Multichannel Merchant is sponsored by Yesmail
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Amazon.com
Strikes Back on New York Tax Law
By Jim Tierney
It didn’t take long for a company to challenge New
York’s new law requiring online merchants to collect state sales
taxes.
Online behemoth Amazon.com filed a lawsuit on May 2 against the state of
New York, challenging the law Gov. David Paterson signed on April 15.
The law will require out-of-state online retailers to collect state and
local sales taxes, though merchants collecting less than $10,000 per
year from New York residents will be exempt.
The new law contradicts a 1992 Supreme Court Decision, Quill Corp. v.
North Dakota that said states are not allowed to require out-of-state
companies to collect sales taxes unless that company has a physical
presence, such as a store or warehouse in the state. For details, click
here.
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This issue of Multichannel Merchant is sponsored by Creative
Automation
Creative Automation, a leader in
direct mail printing and database management services, will be running a
reforestation program during the month of June. For every $5,000 print
production order a customer places with the Graphics Division, Creative
Automation will plant 25 trees in the name of that customer. For more
information please contact us at: 1-800-773-1588 or busmgr@cauto.com.
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1-800-Flowers.com
Buys DesignPac Gifts
By Jim Tierney
1-800-Flowers.com announced on May 1 it has acquired
DesignPac Gifts for $36 million. DesignPac Gifts, which recorded $50
million in sales during 2007, designs and assembles gourmet gift
baskets, gourmet food gift towers, and gift sets.
Carle Place, NY-based 1-800-Flowers.com, which recorded $912.6 million
in sales for fiscal 2007, includes the HearthSong, Plow & Hearth, The
Popcorn Factory, Magic Cabin Dolls, and Cheryl & Co. catalogs.
According to terms of the deal, Melrose Park, IL-based DesignPac will
retain its senior management and become a wholly owned subsidiary of
1-800-Flowers.com. Chris Shannon, managing director for investment firm
Berkery, Noyes & Co., says the acquisition is the perfect fit and
“complements both companies.”
Jim McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com, agrees. He said in a release:
“We believe DesignPac’s unique capabilities in the design and
production of gift baskets and gift sets can be leveraged across all of
our gourmet food brands to enhance our product offering and further
expand our multichannel retailing strategy.”
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Rappaport
Sees Do-Not-Mail Threat
By Ray Shultz
(Direct Newsline) The list business faces many
threats. But none is greater than the do-not-mail movement now sweeping
the country.
So said Donn Rappaport, speaking at the American List Counsel’s “For
Broker’s Only” lunch in New York. He noted that 14 do-not-mail bills
have been introduced in states.
Rappaport is the CEO of ALC, but he was speaking as chairman of the
Direct Marketing Association.
Environmentalists and the media would “have you think direct mail is
the scourge of the earth,” he added. And yet less than 4% of all
waste is from mail, he continued.
He added that the carbon footprint of a catalog purchase is less than
the average visit to the mall.
But the industry has not been able to get those facts across to
environmental advocates or consumers.
Rappaport acknowledged that the DMA underestimated the ferocity of the
movement. “To some extent, it was caught asleep at the switch,” he
said.
But the organization has launched a program made up of legislative and
consumer outreach and media response, he said. For example, it is
“putting together a handful of charismatic CEOs. They are becoming
spokespeople.”
Rappaport quoted Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as saying: ‘We love direct
mail. We put 65 million pieces into the mail. But you can’t calculate
the impact of 35 environmental advocates on your doorstep.”
That isn’t the only challenge facing the business—the others are
soft response rates and rising acquisition costs. But Rappaport is
hopeful.
He urged brokers to “step out of your comfort zones” and devise
sound strategies based on customer data.
“If not us, then who?” he asked. “The agencies aren’t doing it,
the printers can’t, the clients don’t have the bandwidth
inhouse.”
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New
Website Targets Bariatric Patients
By Patrick Barnard
Hoping to cash in on a growing niche market, food and
nutrition specialist Gene Carbonell and his partner Jan Chadwick have
started a new Website offering healthier food options for bariatric
surgery patients.
BariatricFoodProducts.com features more than 100
“bariatric-friendly” foods, including diet bars, hot and cold
drinks, entrees and meals, soups, deserts, shakes and snacks, says
Carbonell, who has worked in the food and nutrition business for more
than 40 years. Read more about the new site at www.MultichannelMerchant.com.
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Fine
First Quarter for PC Connection
First-quarter sales at Merrimack, NH-based PC
Connection increased 6.4%, to $423.7 million, up from $398.2 million for
the same period in 2007. For the three-month period ended March 31, net
income shot up 41%, to $4.8 million, from $3.4 million.
PC Connection chairman/CEO Patricia Gallup said in a release: "We are
pleased with the company's overall performance during the first quarter
of 2008, especially in light of this challenging market. The PC
Connection team delivered another quarter of record sales, and achieved
significant increases in both operating income and earnings per share,
largely due to our sales growth and our success in managing overall
operating costs."
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Solid
First-Quarter Growth for Schein
Medical, dental, and veterinary products supplier
Henry Schein reported a 16.4% increase in first-quarter sales, while
first-quarter net income rose 20.3%, to $52.3 million, up from $43.5
million in the same period last year. For the three months ended March
29, Melville, NY-based Schein netted sales of $1.5 billion, up from $1.3
billion last year.
Dental sales increased 8.7%; medical sales declined 3.7%; international
sales increased 45.5%; and technology and value-added services sales
jumped 36.5%.
"We are pleased with our earnings growth during the first quarter, which
reflects the benefits of our diversified business model serving dental,
medical, and veterinary office practitioners in the U.S. and
international markets,” Chairman/CEO Stanley M. Bergman said in a
release. "Our International Group was a particularly strong contributor
to both sales and earnings growth this quarter."
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Chiasso
is a direct marketer of modern furniture and décor for the home.
They sell a range of modern home furnishings from sofas, chairs to wall
art, clocks and lighting. These upscale consumers have proven themselves
responsive to a variety of offers. 100% at home address.
For more information, please contact Anna Harrington at
201.865.5800 x2113
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