Profile on Plow & Hearth--Reaping What You Sow (2,623 words)

The results were significantly better using the fine-tuned lists and product mix. The next holiday season, they mailed 250,000 catalogs and graduated into seasonal mailing.

"From that point on, we grew rapidly," says Rice. "We were in the 'Inc.' 500 list of fastest-growing businesses four years in a row," from 1986 to 1989.