Editor'a Take: A Reason to Recall Catalog Showrooms

First, for those of you who might not remember it, the relatively small catalog showroom industry, once led by the likes of Service Merchandise, Best Products and Consumers Distributing, consisted of fairly common-looking, single-level department stores usually located in strip centers or malls. For the most part, these chains — some national, though most were regional — carried jewelry, gifts, consumer electronics and sporting goods, though no clothing.