Catalogs Merge

Warren, Pa.–based catalog retailer Blair Corp. inked a deal with Beverly, Mass.–based Appleseed’s Topco Inc. to be acquired by Appleseed’s, a portfolio company of San Francisco–based investment group Golden Gate Capital. Blair will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Appleseed’s, a direct marketer of women’s apparel. Blair is a national catalog and multichannel direct-market retailer of women’s and men’s apparel and home products. After the merger, the two companies anticipate they will have a combined annual revenue of more than $1.1 billion. Golden Gate Capital has been on a catalogbuying binge lately. The company recently acquired Haband. Its other holdings include Spiegel, Newport News, Draper’s & Damon’s and Norm Thompson.