Multititle cataloger Rivertown Trading is folding four of its 11 catalogs, Audio, Circa, Daily Planet and Well & Good, and its president, Donna Avery concurrently announced her resignation from the company. Ten percent of staff will be trimmed as a result, and Dayton-Hudson is working to redirect employees where possible to other positions within the corporation. “We expect to find positions for many in some capacity with Target or the Dayton-Hudson department store division,” said Jeff Johnson, Rivertown’s spokesman.
Nineteen-year-old Rivertown, which became a division of Dayton-Hudson Corp. in April 1998, will continue to publish Wireless, Signals, Seasons, Britannia, The Video Catalog, I Love A Deal (formerly Smart Shopper) and the Frank Lloyd Wright catalog. “Rivertown is going to be focusing much more on its more prominent brands and e-commerce, and we decided to streamline a little bit,” said Johnson.
Separately, Dayton-Hudson Corp. was officially renamed Target Corp., effective Jan. 30, to reflect the 31-year old retail company’s most profitable store brand. Target Stores comprises more than 75 percent of company revenues and pre-tax profit. 1999 sales for the publicly held company overall were about $31 billion. Aside from its now-flagship store brand, Target Corp.’s brands also include Mervyn’s, Dayton’s, Marshall Field’s.
Audio, Circa and Well & Good’s final catalogs will be spring. Daily Planet will distribute two more – spring and summer.
