Consolidation and You

The modern-day multititle merchant is in a better position than ever before to gain a competitive edge. It's no longer about simply gaining synergies and pooling lists. It's the whole gamut of economies of scale. "The contracts you can do today [particularly, parcel shipping and sourcing] are more dependent on size and what you have to bargain with," points out catalog dealmaker Larry West of West Cos. "With size comes better contracts."