Live from the MeritDirect Co-op: Catalogs Attractive to Investors

White Plains, NY--Simply put, catalogs are attractive to investors. Their steady rate of growth, coupled with results that are precise and predictable, make catalogers more efficient than retailers, Don Libey president of Des Moines, IA-based Libey Concordia Investment Bankers, said during yesterday’s keynote speech at MeritDirect’s Fifth Annual Business Mailers’ Co-op and E-mail Marketing Conference.

An animated Libey told the packed room that direct marketing is growing 3%-4% faster than the overall U.S. economy. Direct marketing sales should reach $3 trillion by 2007, with an annual rate of growth approaching 9%. Overall U.S. sales for the same period will grow nearly 5%.

“Investment in anything is done for only one reason: to create wealth,” Libey said. “Private equity and strategic investors create wealth by leveraging opportunities with capital.” Considering the growth numbers for the direct mail, telemarketing, and online channels, Libey asked rhetorically, “Where else would you invest your money? These increase growth rates make investors excited, very excited.”