Q&As

MSC Industrial Direct, a catalog and retail marketer of maintenance, repair and operations suppliers, will acquire J & L Industrial Supply fro $349.5 million. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter, and will use both on-hand cash as well as borrowed money.

Database marketing firm Merkle has inked an agreement with Direct Group, a direct mail service provider. Under the terms of the arrangement, the two companies will jointly offer their products and services to the direct mail and marketing community.

Daniel Powell has been tapped to serve as president of Newgen Results Corp., a customer loyalty and business-to-business channel management services provider.

(Multichannel Merchant) Austin, TX-based golf products cataloger/retailer Golfsmith International Holdings has filed for a proposed initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Famous for Chunky Monkey and Phish Food flavors, Ben and Jerry’s is turning over its ice cream-making talent to consumers with a new contest to create an original flavor for the brand.

Arby’s Restaurant Group plans to serve basketball fans a free sandwich based on an outcome of one of the NCAA playoff games.

Jose Cuervo is on the hunt for undiscovered Latino musical artists and is building a major event around the search.

Charming Shoppes Inc. reported net income of $19.2 million for the fourth quarter, up 294% from $4.9 million last year.

Valassis Communications, Inc., the freestanding inserts marketer, has settled Federal Trade Commission charges that it attempted to collude with rival News America Marketing to eliminate competition between the two companies.

Jimmy Au’s, the Beverly Hills clothing direct marketer and store tailored for men 5′ 8″ and under, is looking to broaden its size through an online store later this year.