Focused on the "Wow" Factor

Jonathan Shapiro has his sights set on re-energizing Lillian Vernon Corp.

By Donna Loyle

Why he went to work at Lillian Vernon Corp.: Shapiro says it's been great to be able to follow through on an idea he had in 1996 when he worked for United Media. While there, he developed the Dilbert Zone Web site based on Dilbert the cartoon character. "We started Dilbert-branded products as a small business, used direct marketing and advertising, and grew it into a $1 million a year property in 1996. We figured if with the direct marketing knowledge we had we could turn out a successful product line right out of the gate, that was great. We decided this 'Internet thing' was an ideal direct marketing vehicle."