Chief Marketer Staff

• Sears Credit Unit Drags Company Down

  Problems with its credit card operations helped drive down Sears, Roebuck and Co.’s third quarter net income to $189 million, from $262 million last year.

• E-mail experts discuss the pros and cons in a DIRECT roundtable.

  Nine of the industry

• E-Mail Address Changes Can Hurt Business: Study

  E-mail addresses are changed at the rate of 31% per year, causing 53% of those consumers to lose touch with personal and professional contacts, as well

• Whitehat To Offer Habeas Anti-Spam Service

  Whitehat Inc. will incorporate Habeas Inc.’s Sender Warranted E-mail service into its outbound e-mail marketing campaigns for clients. The service works

• PENNSYLVANIA CASHES OUT ON LAWSUIT

  The Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection last week announced it will release more than $1.7 million to state residents who made excessive purchases

• SPIDEY MEETS HIS MATCH

  Spider-Man may have defeated the Green Goblin, but West Coast longshoremen are another story. Last week Blockbuster Inc., Dallas, confirmed that more

• Hiring Freezes on the Rise in DM Industry

  One third of all companies are reporting hiring freezes, up from 26% last quarter, according to a study of hiring practices in the direct marketing industry.

• Pottery Barn Recalls Halloween Candleholders

  Pottery Barn is recalling about 11,500 Halloween candleholders sold online, in catalogs and at retail from August through early October. The retail of

• Office Depot E-Sales Grow in Third Quarter

  Office Depot Inc.’s worldwide e-commerce sales grew 35% to $542.9 million during the quarter and by 36% to $1.5 billion for the first nine months of 2002.

• Delia’s Hires Advisor to Explore Its Options

  Delias’s Corp., which saw its stock price reduced to .50 cents per share today, has retained Peter J. Solomon Co. to explore strategic alternatives.