But the three people who founded the catalogue business stand to benefit handsomely from the deal.

Sears also strongly denied published reports that it might sell or close its catalogue business.

Q. You have the largest automated catalogue business in the health care field.

One beneficiary could be the catalogue business, which must deal with merchandise that has been returned because it didn't fit.

And while Crew continues to expand, it too has felt the slowdown in the catalogue business.

It's a pity that it got out of the catalogue business.

Still, he said, the company's catalogue business had shown marginal growth and was worth sustaining.

American Express, which is under financial pressure, has indicated that it may scale back the operations of its catalogue business.

A company spokesman said Sears intended to remain in the catalogue business.

"I looked at a catalogue business first because direct sales was what I knew," he says.