Dimac Direct, a direct response agency, said yesterday that it has shut down.
A company spokeswoman said that 384 Dimac Direct employees in Central Islip, NY, and 112 in St. Louis were laid off. About 12 employees will be transferred to other positions within the Dimac Marketing Partners group of companies.
Dimac Direct offered direct marketers strategy development, creative, media management, information services, print services, lettershop and response processing strategically.
Despite the shutdown, the company said it is still looking for a buyer.
Late last month, Dimac said it was winding down business at its Dimac Direct and seeking a prompt sale or other disposition of that unit's assets to stop its operating losses.
The development comes several months after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Windsor, CT-based Dimac Marketing Partners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 6, 2000, because it lacked sufficient revenue growth and had high costs. In March it said that it had successfully emerged from Chapter 11 protection, having implemented an operational and balance sheet reorganization.
Meanwhile, Dimac said that it was seeking a new equity investor and considering selling the company and its core assets.
The actions are expected to help the company and three of its core subsidiaries to move beyond any lingering associations with its recent bankruptcy. Those three subsidiaries are DMW Worldwide, which provides agency services; MBS, which offers information and insight services; and Palm Coast Data, which provides direct response management and value-added fulfillment services.
