Redcats USA

During a session at the Annual Conference for Catalog & Multichannel Merchants held May 19-22 in Kissimmee, Fla., David Solomon, co-CEO of Goldsmith Agio, pointed to several reasons — both general and directly related to the catalog/multichannel business — why mergers and acquisitions have continued to increase over the past few years. 1. Value creation for strategic buyers. He cited multititle cataloger Redcats USA’s $198.9 million acquisition of United Retail Group last year. The deal not only catapulted Redcats into retail with 500 Avenue stores, but it also gave Redcats’ Woman Within plus-size woman’s apparel catalog and some of its other women’s catalogs

Shakeups at Three Big Multichannel Retailers Executive departures have resulted in major changes at three large multichannel retailers. Below are the maneuverings. J.C. Penney: Chairman/CEO Myron “Mike” Ullman has added the responsibilities of COO for this multichannel giant following the December termination of EVP/COO Catherine West. The Home Depot: Robert Nardelli has resigned as chairman/CEO of this multichannel home improvement products merchant. He’s been replaced by Vice Chairman and EVP Frank Blake. Additionally, CFO Carol Tome has added the title of EVP, corporate services; EVP for Home Depot Supply Joe DeAngelo has been named COO; and Brian Robbins has replaced John Campi as SVP, global sourcing and

A good site search function lets shoppers drill down through your product categories and find what they’re looking for, but poor site search can cause potential customers to languish in an endless sea of category pages. With 20 percent of Lillian Vernon’s customers first turning to on-site search upon visiting the site, a robust site search function is crucial to conversion, said Kristen Montella, director of merchandise marketing for the general merchandise cataloger during a panel session last week at eTail 2006, held in Philadelphia. Montella and other panelists offered their thoughts on improving on-site search: * The search doesn’t stop at the results

For years now catalogers have been talking about the rise of niche players: catalogs with unique products serving relatively small customer bases. This year's list of the top 200 catalogs as measured by customer (housefile) growth rates brings that trend into stark relief. As you'll see on the fourth-annual Catalog Success Top 200 list (pg. 15), some fast--growing catalogers have hung their hats on unique merchandise offerings. For example, Music Stand (No. 1) sells music-themed apparel, gifts and accessories; M&M's World (No. 2) markets licensed products with the candy theme; and Nu Nubian (No. 15) offers Africa-themed textiles, books and other goods. No

For years now catalogers have been talking about the rise of niche players: catalogs with unique products serving relatively small customer bases. This year’s list of the top 200 catalogs as measured by customer (housefile) growth rates brings that trend into stark relief. As you’ll see on the fourth-annual Catalog Success Top 200 list (pg. 15), some fast--growing catalogers have hung their hats on unique merchandise offerings. For example, Music Stand (No. 1) sells music-themed apparel, gifts and accessories; M&M’s World (No. 2) markets licensed products with the candy theme; and Nu Nubian (No. 15) offers Africa-themed textiles, books and other goods. No hawkers

For years now catalogers have been talking about the rise of niche players: catalogs with unique products serving relatively small customer bases. This year's list of the top 200 catalogs as measured by customer (housefile) growth rates brings that trend into stark relief. As you'll see on the fourth-annual Catalog Success Top 200 list (pg. 15), some fast--growing catalogers have hung their hats on unique merchandise offerings. For example, Music Stand (No. 1) sells music-themed apparel, gifts and accessories; M&M's World (No. 2) markets licensed products with the candy theme; and Nu Nubian (No. 15) offers Africa-themed textiles, books and other goods. No