Coy Clement

“A couple of years ago,” recalled Ken Harris, CEO of Carson, Calif.-based food gifts cataloger Mrs. Beasley’s, “Mrs. Beasley’s was in the toilet.” But like a rundown West Hollywood apartment overhauled to become a posh and highly sought-after condo, the $17 million Mrs. Beasley’s has undergone a dramatic overhaul over the past couple of years and has turned an 8 percent sales decline into a 25 percent increase. In a session at last week’s ACCM conference in Boston, Harris and two consultants he worked with explained how. The 29-year-old company, which has historically served many Hollywood celebrities and studios (its first-ever customer was Barbra Streisand,

The concept of home automation may call to mind futuristic visions of robotic butlers and a retinal scanner for your home security system. But for Smarthome Direct, real-life home automation products have helped create a multibillion dollar business that’s seen its 12-month housefile double over the past four years. And Smarthome has done so by leveraging its unique and growing line of electronic home automation products against the home improvement craze that’s engulfed the nation in the past few years, says Rajeev Kapur, president of the Irvine, Calif.-based cataloger. Kapur notes that the company has sought to capitalize on the popularity of the ABC-TV

By Matt Griffin Exclusive product availability, proprietary technology and an energetic response to customer feedback provide Smarthome Direct with the keys to successful growth. The concept of home automation may call to mind futuristic visions of robotic butlers and a retinal scanner for your home security system. But for Smarthome Direct, real-life home automation products have helped create a multibillion dollar business that's seen its 12-month housefile double over the past four years. And Smarthome has done so by leveraging its unique and growing line of electronic home automation products against the home improvement craze that's engulfed the nation in the past few years,