Chief Marketer Staff

• First Data Acquires E Commerce Group

  First Data Corp. will acquire E Commerce Group Inc. a New York-based electronic billing company, for an undisclosed sum.

• Mail Stream: A Report on Incoming Direct Mail

  Caribou Coffee The origin and growth of the ten-year old specialty coffee retailer Caribou Coffee bears a great deal of similarity to its competitor Starbucks.

• NOVO/Giant Step Rebrands Itself as Semaphore Partners

  Bcom3 Group subsidiaries NOVO Media Group Inc. and Giant Step Productions LLC have rebranded themselves as Semaphore Partners Inc. Since merging in 2001,

• Direct Listline

  Bass Pro Shops The 2.5 million Bass Pro Shops catalog buyers are outdoor enthusiasts who love to camp, hike, hunt, fish, cook, and enjoy the outdoors

• Red Cross Sets Fundraising Guidelines

  Following the outpouring of contributions received after last fall’s terrorist attacks, the American Red Cross has established new practices to expand donor education efforts.

• May Sales Up for Nordstrom

  Nordstrom Inc. has reported preliminary sales of $414 million for the four-week period ended June 1. This is an increase of 5.8% over the $391.5 million

• ParadyszMatera Offers Free Look at Mail Tracking Product

  ParadyszMatera is offering free access to a version of its MarketRelevance product. The proprietary, Web-based product captures and tracks more than 25,000

• Avon Expects Second Quarter Sales Up 4%

  Avon Products Inc. expects second quarter sales to be up approximately 4%, an increase over the 2% growth of the first quarter. Second quarter sales in

• Advo Acquires Canadian Mailing Company

  Advo Inc. has acquired Toronto-based FACC Corp, which includes both First Avenue and Breezeway Communications. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. This

• DMEF Honors Wilhelm and Delay

  Markus Wilhelm and Robert F. Delay will be honored at the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation