Topic | Direct Mail

Today we meet Greg Branstetter, president of Hippo Direct, a small Solon, OH-based list brokerage firm that evolved from a bookseller catalog that he launched in 1992.

The U.S. Postal Service's legal status puts it at a competitive disadvantage to private carriers and Congress may want to consider relaxing the USPS's monopoly on mailboxes and on mail delivery.

Outdoor outfitter Moosejaw split its Winter 2008 catalog

(Multichannel Merchant) Cooking and kitchenware products merchant Chefs Catalog will close a San Francisco office and shift jobs from that location to its Colorado Springs, CO, headquarters.

UnitedHealthcare has acquired Fiserv Inc., a mail order pharmacy and healthcare service firm, for $775 million.

Today we meet Lutz Schremmer, a partner and vice president of list brokerage with MeritDirect. Schremmer has 12 years of experience as a witness to an industry reinventing itself.

The Direct Marketing Association has modified its DMAChoice program, dropping the $1 online verification fee and allowing consumers to opt out of receiving catalogs on a brand-by-brand basis without cost.

The U.S. Postal Service is seeking comments on Intelligent Mail barcoding standards plans to require for letters and flats to receive automation discounts after Jan. 2009.

(Multichannel Merchant) It wasn't a very merry holiday at gifts and housewares cataloger Lillian Vernon. The Virginia Beach, VA-based company laid off about 25% of its full-time workforce on Dec. 20.

Today we meet Chris Ragusa, president of Estee Marketing Group Inc., based in New Rochelle, NY. Regusa is an owner/broker.