THE HOME PRODUCTS CATALOG MARKET LOST ABOUT 300,000 ACTIVE NAMES in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to New York-based list brokerage firm ParadysMatera.

The total 12-month active mailable universe for the segment of marketers that sell merchandise including rugs, furnishings, window treatments and lighting was 14.5 million. That's a drop of 2.2 million names from the fourth quarter of 2008.

Why a 13% drop in active names? One reason is attrition of 12-month buyers as a result of the recession. Then there's the demise of Smith & Hawken. After the cataloger/retailer shut down in July, its 140,000 names were taken off the market.

Based on lists that were active in the past year, the average house file size dropped 12% between the fourth quarters of 2008 and 2009.

Only 22% of the home products catalog files saw some sort of growth, while 73% saw a decline. More than one out of every three house files — 36% — saw a decline of 15% or more.

But the value of home catalogs is on the rise. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the average list CPM for the market was $119.16/M, up $8.08 from $111.08 the previous year.