Thoughts about 2000
This month’s questionWhat do you think will be the biggest issue facing small catalogers in the next year?Competition with bigger companies, rising production
News
Fingerhut buys Popular Club
On Nov. 3, Minneapolis-based Fingerhut Cos. announced plans to acquire $180 million Garfield, NJ-based Popular Club Plan from J. Crew Group for an undisclosed
Watch out! They’re stealing our workers
We recently had an employee leave us to work for a larger catalog company. We replaced that individual with someone from another catalog. Around the same
LEAD QUALIFICATION: Before the book mails…
Using questionnaires and phone calls to weed out weak prospectsWith a postage increase expected in 2001 and future paper prices in doubt, prospecting
ACQUISITIONS: Amazon gets into print
When it decided to expand its e-commerce dominance into the home-improvement market, what did cyber superstore Amazon.com do? Why, it bought a relatively
`Scoring’ product performance
Many catalogers use square-inch analysis and sales volume to determine which products to continue selling and which ones to drop. But The Vermont Country
Flower power
For diet and exercise purposes, our bodies are often compared to fruits. Who hasn’t heard of the dreaded “pear” shape, or the less-than-flattering “apple”?
MARKET TRENDS: Not computing – Computer mailers cool to consumers
More than 60% of U.S. consumers will own personal computers by the end of 2000, compared to 53% this year, according to Ziff-Davis’s annual Technology
LEGISLATION: Bill drives away DMV names
New law requires switch from opt-out to opt-inBeginning in June, marketers’ access to information compiled by state departments of motor vehicles (DMVs)
Hanover opens trade with China
Hanover Direct plans to make the tag line “Made in China” synonymous with luxury products while providing its catalogs with a new source for Asian-inspired