Intellipost Changes Name to MyPoints.com INTERNET MARKETER Intellipost Corp., San Francisco, has changed its name to MyPoints.com Inc., the name of the company’s flagship incentives program. “Aligning our corporate and consumer brands will leverage our brand-building dollars,” CEO Steve Markowitz said in a statement. In addition to MyPoints (www.mypoints.com), the company operates a program for rewarding e-mail recipients-BonusMail (www.bonusmail. com). Primedia Ventures, the venture capital arm of publishing and media company Primedia Inc., which owns DIRECT, is an investor in MyPoints.com Inc.

Val-Pak Plans Online Coupons COOPERATIVE COUPON MARKETER Val-Pak, Largo, FL, has joined forces with Internet search engine Yahoo! Inc. to provide content for Yahoo!’s new Yahoo! Coupons (coupons.yahoo.com). Yahoo! Coupons will offer Val-Pak’s local promotional savings from leading national brands, such as Goodyear, Subway, Fantastic Sam’s and Jiffy Lube. The arrangement with Yahoo! will give its 50 million users “simplified access to the wide variety of coupons available from Val-Pak,” said Todd Leiser, vice president of Internet technology, at parent company Cox Target Media, in a statement.

Firms Settle FTC Charges SEVERAL FIRMS last month settled Federal Trade Commission charges that they failed to disclose the origin of textile products sold online or through print catalogs. Delia’s Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Bugle Boy Industries Inc. and four other firms violated the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and FTC rules, according to the FTC.

In addition, Abercrombie & Fitch has settled FTC allegations that it failed to make origin disclosures in its print catalogs, and Delia’s also failed to state origin in its print catalogs, the FTC said. The FTC found the alleged offenders after reviewing more than 200 Web sites offering textile or wool products. The other settlements were with Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., Woolrich Inc. and Gottschalks Inc. The agreements, which do not constitute admissions of wrongdoing, will be subject to public comment for 60 days. Terms will be published in the Federal Register.

Harris Closes Peterman HQ PAUL HARRIS STORES INC., which bought the assets of the bankrupt J. Peterman Co. for $10 million last month, will close the cataloger’s Lexington, KY headquarters. In addition, three of Peterman’s 13 retail outlets will be shut. The stores-in Las Vegas, San Francisco and Woodbury, NY-are considered unprofitable. While no decision has been made regarding the location of a new headquarters, employees of closing Peterman facilities will be allowed to apply for jobs within Paul Harris. The catalog itself will be temporarily housed in Harris’ Indianapolis headquarters.

Brylane to Merge With Pinault-Printermps APPAREL CATALOGER Brylane Inc., New York, has signed a merger agreement with French cataloger/retailer Pinault-Printemps-Redoute S.A. Under the terms of the deal, PPR planned at deadline to launch a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Brylane not owned by PPR at a price of $24.50 per share in cash.

USPS to Ease Rates for Parcel Retum THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE has tentatively agreed to revise its bulk parcel return rates for DMers, DIRECT has learned. The agreement, negotiated by the Advertising Mail Marketing Association, would have the USPS charge a flat fee of $1.75 for each returned parcel, instead of charging postage plus a 30-cent handling fee. AMMA president Gene A. Del Polito said the change would “clean up a problem that’s plagued direct marketers, especially continuity mailers, for years, plus help the USPS to get rid of an administrative nightmare and save money.”

Photo Database Threatens DM Fallout MARKETING ACCESS to motor vehicle data has been called into question once again following the disclosure that Nashua, NH-based Image Data LLC received nearly $1.5 million and technical assistance from the Secret Service to develop a national database of driver’s license photos. The Florida branch of the American Civil Liberties Union is leading a fight to rescind state laws permitting driver’s license photos and other personal information to be sold to marketers and others. At the same time, the national ACLU said it wants Congress to “strengthen the loophole-ridden” 1994 Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, which it says “is failing to prevent states from selling or disclosing personal information about drivers without their consent.” The ACLU statement did not mention that states are required by the law to offer licensed drivers and vehicle owners a chance to opt out from having any information about them, including their pictures, from being provided to third parties. Marty Abrams, information policy vice president for Experian, a data collection firm, saw the ACLU making more out of the situation than really exists. “I’m not sure how a digital picture can end up being an invasion of privacy,” he said. He challenged privacy organizations to show how and why “these tools that are being developed to prevent fraud should not go forward.”

Torstar Sells Troll Communications CANADIAN MEDIA conglomerate Torstar Corp., based in Toronto, has sold Troll Communications, its children’s books direct marketing operation, which lost $100 million (Canadian) last year, to Chicago investment firm Willis Stein & Partners LP for U.S. $70 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter. Troll will be accounted for as a discontinued operation in Torstar’s 1998 annual results.

R.R. Donnelley Acquires Communicolor PRINTING GIANT R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Chicago, has agreed to buy Communicolor, a direct mail Marketing group of Standard Register, Dayton, OH. The sale should be completed by March 31. Terms were not disclosed. Launched in 1971, Communicolor provides color direct mail products. It employs 550 people at plants in Newark, OH, and Eudora, KS, and sales offices nationwide. The company will operate as part of RRD Direct, R.R. Donnelley’s direct mail business. Standard Register, with annual sales of $1.4 billion, does document printing and management. The company said in a statement that Communicolor, which represents 7% of its revenue, had become a nationally recognized operation with needs separate from those of the parent.

Spiegel Sued Over Trade Name ELEMENTS INC., which runs a store on Chicago’s Oak Street, sued Spiegel Inc. in December, alleging that the mail order giant violated the Elements trademark with its Elements Exclusively Spiegel name. Spiegel filed an answer in February, disputing the allegations. The firms have entered a mediation process mandated for trademark cases by the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois, according to Paul Levy, an attorney with the firm of Deutsch, Levy & Engel, which represents Elements. Though the companies are now choosing a mediator, this will not prevent discovery from going forward, Levy said. According to the complaint, the Elements Exclusively Spiegel mark appears on merchandise “substantially similar” to goods sold by Elements, including clothing, jewelry, personal accessories and home furnishings. Elements, which also sells its merchandise via mail order, charges that Spiegel “continues to focus upon the word ‘Elements’ while minimizing the remainder of the mark in size and appearance.” An attorney for Spiegel, Angelo J. Bufalino, declined to comment except to say, “We are confident we will prevail in the case.” Bufalino is with the firm of Vedder Price Kaufman & Kammholz.

Metro Fulfillment Shares Put on MARKETING Services Group Inc. (MSGI), an integrated marketing and Internet services industry leader, is entertaining purchase offers for a majority interest in its Metro Fulfillment Inc. (MFI) unit. “Traditionally, MSGI subsidiaries, while faced with significant seasonal variability, have produced dependable revenue and income from operations,” MSGI chairman/CEO Jeremy Barbera said in a statement. “While it is commonplace for a new business to take at least one year to break even, the accumulated losses from MFI [which was formed in May 1998] have become too significant. MFI had an adverse affect on the September 1998 quarter, and we expect it to have a similar impact on the December 1998 quarter,” Barbera continued. However, MSGI hopes to maintain a minority interest in MFI to continue to offer clients fulfillment, he said, adding that the company would focus its business and M&A activity on direct marketing and on the Internet.

Acxiom Plans News Facilities ACXIOM CORP., Conway, AR, said it plans to build two new buildings in central Arkansas, in addition to two facilities that will be occupied in April this year, to accommodate growth.

The new plan calls for a building on the company campus in Conway and one in Little Rock. The new buildings will total 260,000 square feet and will represent about 1,200 new jobs. Construction is scheduled to begin within a few months and the buildings are expected to be available for occupancy in the first quarter of 2000.

Separately, Acxiom announced that it is releasing a new customer management product for financial institutions. Solvitur Customer Information Management will offer software and query data and tools for database creation, profitability analysis and promotion management.

Acxiom’s big selling point is that the system works companywide, giving all departments access to complete customer information and better coordination of customer data. The information can be viewed at an intranet Web page.

Gregory J. Bjorndahl, division marketing leader for financial services, said in an interview that CIS is the first such system to work companywide. It is especially designed for retail banking, mutual funds and brokerage.