Donna Loyle

On the following pages you’ll meet the winners of the fourth annual Catalogers of the Year awards. We’re honored to recognize the contributions these three professionals have made to the catalog and e-commerce industries. This year’s winners exemplify the astounding level of quality in branding, customer service and merchandising this industry enjoys. The winners include: 1. a former museum director who now sells museum shop-quality educational toys to a national audience via her catalog; 2. a transplanted Briton who has built a thriving company selling telephony equipment; and 3. an industry veteran whose reputation as a maverick in branding, direct marketing and channel-integration

Lillian Vernon, the Rye, NY-based gifts and housewares catalog company, was sold to Ripplewood Holdings, a private equity fund, and ZelnickMedia, a media management firm, for $60 million. The deal is expected to be complete by July 31. Founder Lillian Vernon will retain a 5-percent ownership of the company, and will continue in her role as company spokesperson, although she will step out of the day-to-day catalog operations, said David Hochberg, her son and an executive at the company. Hochberg will remain in his position at Lillian Vernon, he told Catalog Success. Ripplewood Holdings, which will own a majority share in the catalog,

Trying times reward the prepared. In this age marked by a down economy and international upheaval, it’s best to be prepared for how a crisis may impact both your customer base and your company’s operations. Two new guides can help catalogers plan for crises. “Contingency Planning for Catalogers During International and Domestic Crises,” a white paper published by The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), outlines possible risk scenarios and offers an issues checklist for each area of a cataloger’s operations. The authors, Fred Anderson, senior financial consultant, AndersonDirect, and Peter Johnson, Ph.D., senior economist at The DMA, advise catalogers to prepare for downside

We’ve all heard them, the Lands’ End “legends of customer service”—things like free fabric swatches, complimentary tailoring on dress pants, custom-made chinos and extended phone conversations with friendly call center reps. Indeed, its laser-like focus on customer satisfaction is one reason the company garnered a 93-percent net income increase in the last fiscal year. Undoubtedly it’s also one of the reasons why retail giant Sears in May announced plans to acquire 55 percent of Lands’ End’s stock for an estimated $1.9 billion. “[T]his company ... is well-known for high-quality products produced according to rigorous manufacturing standards,” stated Sears CEO Alan Lacy