Mark, Fore & Strike Sold, Catalog to Make a Comeback

The Mark, Fore & Strike catalog is coming back to the mailbox. On March 21, a management group led by The Mark Group's senior vice president of merchandising, Larry Autrey, purchased the controlling majority of the women's apparel marketer from the $120 million-plus Mark Group. Autrey, who spent more than nine years with Mark, Fore & Strike, is now its president/CEO. The Mark Group will maintain about a 10% stake in ownership.

The last Mark, Fore & Strike catalog, a sale book, mailed in July 2002, though the Boca Raton, FL-based marketer continued to operate its 11 Mark, Fore & Strike stores. The Mark Group decided to fold the catalog to better concentrate on its Boston Proper catalog. Although both brands sell women's apparel, Boston Proper targets a younger, more fashion-forward customer.

A door opens

The Mark Group president Michael Tiernan started the Mark, Fore & Strike catalog in 1978; the brand began in 1951 as a store, which was later bought out by Tiernan's father.

Following The Mark Group's February 2002 announcement that it planned to shut the catalog, strong spring sales prompted Tiernan to say that “we're not locking the door on the catalog.” If an investor were to come forward, Tiernan said during the summer, the company would consider keeping the book going.

Enter Autrey and company. The new management plans to restart the catalog next year. “We want a mail piece that complements all of the channels, something that could be improved upon from the previous Mark, Fore & Strike catalog,” says Autrey.

The catalog will more closely tie in with Mark, Fore & Strike's 11 retail stores in Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. “As the baby boomers spend more freetime in travel we want to be there for them,” Autrey says. Plans include further retail expansion in New England and Florida, as well as a revamped Internet presence. The current Website is nothing more than a page displaying Mark, Fore & Strike's store addresses.

Meanwhile, The Mark Group will continue on focusing on Boston Proper and its Charles Keath home decor and gifts catalog. Tiernan says he was “very pleased” with the debut mailing of the Boston Proper Sport spin-off in late December. Further, the company is expected to begin opening Boston Proper stores this year.

Terms of the Mark, Fore & Strike sale were not disclosed. Princeton, NJ-based investment bank Tucker Alexander represented The Mark Group in the transaction.

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