North Branford, CT-based Professional Cutlery Direct is doing some slicing and dicing to its business. In July, the cataloger created what founder/CEO Terri Alpert calls “a reverse spin-off,” mailing a catalog entitled PCD’s Cooking Enthusiast.
“Ten years ago, the Professional Cutlery Direct name reflected a company that just sold knives,” Alpert says. But over time, the company has broadened its merchandise line to include a wide range of cooking tools, gourmet ingredients, fine linens, and crystal. “The name reflected who we once were but it prevented the average prospect from having any idea of who we really are today.”
The 72-page Cooking Enthusiast book encompasses the entire product line. “It’ll be our primary title going forward,” Alpert says. Early returns from the mailing are encouraging, she adds: “We got a significant lift in prospect response without diminishing our house file response.”
The original Professional Cutlery Direct brand will be used for a catalog that is “more focused on cutlery, with a lower page count, and it will mail less frequently,” Alpert says.
Alpert is also using the company’s infrastructure to provide services to her new start-up, Uno Alla Volta. The upscale home decor and gifts title, whose name means “one at a time” in Italian, mailed to 150,000 names in July. The 72-page catalog sells handcrafted items such as jewelry, paperweights, walking sticks, pocket knives, and earthenware with an average price point of around $100. Alpert plans another mailing for later this fall.