Direct response agency DIMAC Direct has shut its doors, laying off 112 employees in its St. Louis headquarters and 384 in its Central Islip, NY offices, DIRECT Newsline has learned.
A company spokeswoman noted that 12 DIMAC Direct employees will be transferred to other units of parent company DIMAC marketing Partners.
Meanwhile. DIMAC, which still has three subsidiaries — DMW Worldwide, MBS and Palm Coast Data — has begun searching for a new investor and/or a new buyer.
This development comes several months after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, having been in that state since April, 2000 (DIRECT Magazine, May 1, 2001).
DIMAC said it filed for Chapter 11 protection because it lacked sufficient revenue growth and had high costs. Company officials noted that weak leadership and a lack of corporate consolidation also led to the filing.
Snce its August 1994 initial public offering DIMAC acquired more than half a dozen businesses. But while the Windsor, CT-based company was busily making purchases, it was being sold itself. Since the IPO, management changed hands three times.
In a previous interview, Steven R. Isaac, CEO of DMW Worldwide, said that during the years leading up to the Chapter 11 filing, People were focusing on getting the businesses ready for sale, as opposed to growing [them].
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