The 2nd Catalog Success Latest Trends Report on Key Issues (January 2008)
Management
HOW DID YOU BREAK INTO THE CATALOG BUSINESS: With a thorough knowledge of computers. A former middle-school science teacher, Ann Killeen was introduced by a friend to Jerry Machado, who was then founding the Storybook Heirlooms catalog (now closed). In discussing working together, the two came to an understanding: โI said to Jerry, โI like computers,โ and he said, โOK, youโll be the director of IT.โโ Eight years later, after helping Storybook Heirlooms grow from a start-up company to a $30-million operation, Killeen had become fully immersed in the catalog business. She moved on to other catalogers, including Tzabaco, Boudin Bakery, Real Goods and
We bring you our exclusive new Catalog Success Latest Trends Report, the second quarterly joint venture with multichannel ad agency Ovation Marketing. This one focuses on the key issues in the catalog/multichannel business. As with our inaugural report last October, this survey contains a statistical analysis of a questionnaire we sent to the Catalog Success e-mail list in November. The responses came from 80 B-to-C and 45 B-to-B catalogers. You can click on the separate B-to-C and B-to-B charts below, as well as the cumulative chart. Some percentages donโt quite add up to 100, due to rounding.
Tax-savvy multichannel marketers know โnexusโ isnโt a new hair product or a high-priced automobile. The term โnexusโ (derived from a Latin word meaning โto connectโ) refers to the amount of contact an out-of-state retailer must have with a state before that seller is legally obligated to collect sales tax from customers. The Supreme Courtโs landmark Quill v. North Dakota decision in 1992 made clear that, under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, the nexus standard requires an in-state physical presence on the part of the retailer. In other words, mail order sales alone will not subject a remote seller to sales or use-tax collection
The management of catalog businesses large and small depends on order curves. Yet order curves are affected by several different factors โ mail delivery, the weather, time of year, etc. โ all of which affect delivery times. This month, I want to touch on the factors that affect these curves, because your actions have the most influence over how soon orders start flowing after the initial mail date and when order levels will peak. Typically, orders start flowing in seven to 10 days after the initial mail date based on a normal five-day mail distribution pattern. If the initial mail date is
I must admit Iโve frequently scrutinized those Landsโ End โghettosโ in Sears stores ever since Sears acquired the pride of Dodgeville, Wis., five and a half years ago. For a few years, Sears tried to sprinkle Landsโ End products amidst its mostly forgettable array of private label and largely undesirable polyester clothing. But Iโm happy to report Sears is getting closer to getting the Landsโ End integration thing right. And when I received a 12-page mini-booklet โ not quite a catalog, per se โ I was truly blown away. The 63โ4-inch x 51โ8 inch outer cover wraps around eight 63โ4 inch x 4 3โ4
Did anybody else get an inferiority complex over the Thanksgiving weekend? Iโm referring to the hoopla that surrounded Black Friday on Nov. 23. Like just about anything else in America, Black Friday gets bigger every year, and this year really went over the top. It got me thinking about the future: Does this โholidayโ have to be a retail-only one? I certainly read enough about it. I saw plenty of TV news clips of those crazy, sleep-deprived shoppers lining up outside the stores in the wee hours of that Friday morning. I sifted through enough Circuit City, Kohlโs, Macyโs and Wal-Mart circulars about their
Reading retail sales, housing sales and consumer confidence reports the past couple of weeks while watching the stock market sink, Iโve become quite worried about the outlook for the holiday season for catalog/multichannel marketers. Retailers collectively reported their worst October in 12 years, and a Conference Board report last week said consumer confidence dropped in early November to its lowest level since Hurricane Katrina triggered soaring oil prices two years ago. Meanwhile, recent reports from the National Association of Realtors showed sales of existing homes had plunged to their lowest level in nearly a decade. None of this bodes well for catalogers. So
Over the past few weeks, Iโve spent a number of hours on the business networking Web site, www.LinkedIn.com. Iโve mentioned the network in my last three articles, so Iโm hoping many of you have signed up and tried it for yourselves. Thanks to all of you who did and who linked to me. Itโs nice to meet you! If you havenโt, join and link to me at www.LinkedIn.com/in/jimwgilbert . The following is my report.
Immediately after joining and building my profile (more about that below), I chose the option to use my AOL and Outlook address books to begin building
I often ask if you like what weโre doing and if thereโs anything more we can offer in our print and online vehicles. Most of you say you get plenty out of Catalog Success, and you find it beneficial to cherry-pick from all the tactics and tips we offer. To that, I say, Neh! I think youโre wrong. I believe we can offer plenty more. But we need your help. More on that in a moment. This is the second November issue Iโve presided over, and itโs become one of my favorites. Along with the rest of the Catalog Success staff, Iโve scoured through all