Chief Marketer Staff

• Diplomat Direct Feels Effect of Acquisitions

  Diplomat Direct Marketing Corp., Stony Point, NY, had net annual sales of $74.6 million, up from $17.5 million in 1997. Diplomat’s income from continuing

• Brady Bunch Mom Sues Direct Marketer

  Florence Henderson, who played the mother on the long-running TV comedy “The Brady Bunch”, is suing Serial Killer Inc. for a T-shirt on which her picture

• Sharper Images Debuts New Internet Auction Site

  Sharper Image Corporation, San Francisco, has opened an Internet-based site for its products. The auction site is accessible from the company’s Web site,

• Direct Focus Nearly Doubles Sales in 1998

  Direct Focus, Inc., Vancouver, WA, had 1998 sales of $57.3 million, up 188% from $19.9 million in 1997. Higher sales and a 4% improvement in gross margins

• DM Sweeps Industry Faces Review By Attorneys General

  The direct mail sweepstakes industry, which has been under attack both by state and federal authorities in recent months, will be strongly defended today

• Peterman Peters Out

  J. Peterman, Lexington, KY, the catalog as famous for whimsical copy as for its characterization on “Seinfeld,” will go out of business, according to

• Acxiom Announces Two New Facilities, New Data Product

  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

• Merger of Golf DMers Sets Stage for E-Marketing Plans

  Grafix Corp. d/b/a Carrera Golf, Englewood, CO, will merge with Golf One Industries, Inc. Following the merger, Golf One will own approximately 86% of

• Short Cuts

  BigOnline,a San Francisco-based provider of web services, has acquired all of the assets of Salt Lake City-based World Connection, including its online

• Compaq Confirms Halt in Sales to Internet-Only Retailers

  Compaq Computer Corp. has confirmed that it will stop sales of personal computers to Internet-only retailers, apparently because it wants to stress its