What Gives?
Scrap the editorial praising Lon Mandel for bucking the consolidation trend.
Replace it with one that lauds him for his aggressive acquisition strategy.
And dump the article on family owned list firms. Instead, whip one up on recent bankruptcy filings.
What’s happening to the list business?
Maybe I’m woozy after hanging out at too many hospitality suites. But I’m starting to wonder if there’ll be anything to write about in a few years.
People applauded in 2005 when Lon’s company, The Specialists, extricated itself from the jaws of parent ClientLogic. It seemed like a gutsy move when Mokrynski and Millard were being sucked up by InfoUSA.
But Lon had no intention to subsist as a mom-and-pop shop (not that The Specialists ever was). He recently acquired David Schwartz’s 21st Century Marketing. And he’s the proud owner of NRL Direct and Transcontinental Direct.
It’s nice to see Lon’s franchise growing. He’s one of the great list marketers. And 21st Century is a good fit.
But that wasn’t the only big story in the list world this summer. Another was that Mal Dunn filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The family squabbles make for lurid reading. But it’s sad to see this fine old company in these straits.
Are sale or bankruptcy the only two options for family companies after the parents are gone? Are we going to end up with only a couple of big combines? And what’s the cause? The co-ops, the postal hikes, new media?
Maybe it all comes down to what Fran Green said in August during her coronation as List Leader.
The list field is
