Wachtel, a managing partner of New York-based law firm Wachtel & Masyr, and Garten have both served as members of the Hanover's board of directors since late 2003, each as a designee of the holder of the company's Preferred Stock, Chelsey Direct. Garten has been president of Edison, NJ-based toiletries marketer Caswell-Massey since this past January; his resume also includes executive stints at Micro Warehouse and Popular Club Plan. But Garten is no stranger to the $457.6 million Hanover Direct: From 1983 to 1996, he held various financial positions at Hanover and its predecessor, Horn and Hardart Co., including executive vice president and chief financial officer from 1989 to 1996.

In November, Hanover officially put all its noncore assets—plus-size women's apparel catalog Silhouettes, upscale home furnishings cataloger/retailer Gump's, and men's apparel book International Male—on the selling block. The marketer's remaining catalogs will be bedding and home decor titles: Domestications, The Company Store, Company Kids, and Scandia Down.