Three top brokers from Uni-Mail List Corp. are in negotiations to be hired by Direct Media Inc. Uni-Mail ceased operations Friday after its business, just four blocks from the World Trade Center, was unable to recover from the devastation caused by the terrorist attacks.
The list brokers, all long-time employees, Carolyn Woodruff, Jennifer Cutler and Mary Ann Buoncristiano are among a number of employees currently negotiating with list management and brokerage firm Direct Media in Greenwich, CT, Direct Media CEO Dave Florence said.
At the time of the Sept. 11 attacks, Uni-Mail had been negotiating the sale of the company to Direct Media. When access to the Uni-Mail offices was sealed off following the collapse of the Twin Towers, Direct Media offered space to Uni-Mail employees. Woodruff, Cutler and Buoncristiano have been working out of the Direct Media offices since Sept. 17, Florence said.
The negotiations have since broken down and Uni-Mail closed its operations last Friday, terminating all 35 employees. Mike Bryant, president of Uni-Mail said he hopes to liquidate the company’s assets “in an orderly fashion to maximize the amount of money going to list owners instead of to attorneys.”
Bryant declined to disclose his future plans.
In addition to the three brokers, Direct Media has hired list managers Cori Kenny and Melinda Garcia from Uni-Mail. Four Uni-Mail list management clients have also joined Direct Media: Harlequin, Dream Products, Yves Roche and Jerry Baker.
Direct Media is also planning to open a Manhattan office to accommodate some eight to 10 assistants to the brokers. The assistants would have difficulty commuting to the offices in Connecticut, Florence said.
Uni-Mail, located at 42 Broadway, had been unable to conduct business following the collapse of the Twin Towers. Its telephone and e-mail systems were inoperable and there was no access to the building to collect its equipment. “We cannot function as a company, we cannot service the clients, we cannot do anything,” Uni-Mail president Mike Bryant said. “We are utterly dead in the water. We didn’t even have a freight elevator let alone the fact that you can’t get a truck or a car down there to start pulling stuff out and start setting it up somewhere else.”
In addition, the firm’s employees expressed deep concern about returning to work at the current location.
The firm was able to restore some of its records in an alternate location with backup tapes. It has provided copies of all orders in an electronic format to Direct Media so the Uni-Mail brokers can access order history.
Bryant joined Uni-Mail in 1971 and became a partner some 20 years ago. The firm was founded by brothers David and Stewart Avrick in the late 1960’s.
“It’s been emotional crippling,” Bryant said of the ordeal. “Yesterday was the day I turned the corner and said you’ve got to move on here, despite all the horrible things that you’ve seen and the horrible things that are happening to you, you are indeed still alive and let’s make the most of this.”
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