If It Ain’t Broke: WMS Trends in 2005
Experts consulted for the Distribution Group
News
Economy for 2005 Liable to Be Slow but Steady, Probably
A recent Knowledge at Wharton article interviewing four professors of finance and economics at the University of Pennsylvania
Having His Say: The Case For Not Putting Your List In the Marketplace
Last week, we considered the reasons in favor of allowing qualified, credit-worthy mailers to rent your list. What about the other side of the coin? Certainly there are lists that are not in the marketplace, some from very well known organizations.
Why Databases Fail
Database marketing only works if the customer benefits by it, according to Arthur Middleton Hughes, vice president/solutions architect for Richardson, TX-based marketing services firm KnowledgeBase Marketing. Many companies keep databases on file, but never use them. “The important thing about a database is using it to make money,” Hughes says. “Building a database is easy, but making money with a database is hard.”
Understanding Changes in Response Reporting
The most basic report for catalogers is the response
report showing the sales for each list or list segment in a catalog drop, says Jim Coogan, president of Sante Fe, NM-based catalog consultancy Catalog Marketing Economics. The key operating metric is the dollars per catalog for each segment. If the segment performs above breakeven, it
Boston Proper to Launch Travel Catalog
Following on the heels of last year’s launch of Boston Proper Sport, Boca Raton, FL-based women’s apparel mailer Boston Proper will mail 2.5 million copies of a 76-page travel apparel catalog in March, says president/CEO Michael Tiernan.
J. Jill’s Direct Business Underperforming
Quincy, MA-based J. Jill Group (Nasdaq: JILL) released preliminary fourth-quarter expectations: The women’s apparel cataloger/retailer expects net sales of approximately $119.0 million, a 4% increase from $114.9 million in sales last year.
December Sales Round-up
Holiday 2004 was a mixed bag for the publicly traded cataloger/retailers tracked by CATALOG AGE.
Continued, Though Declining, Growth Forecast for Global Mobile Handset Market
Mobile handset sales will continue to grow over the next five years, according to a recent report on the future of mobile handsets by London-based wireless industry analysts ARC Group. The report, Future Mobile Handsets 2004-2009, says that the global mobile handset market expanded by 16%, with consumers buying 561 million new mobiles over the course of 2004, up from 482.5 million in 2003. This growth rate will gradually slow down over the next five years as the market saturates, with expected growth figures of 10% in 2005, 7.7% in 2006, 6.4% in 2007, 4.8% in 2008 and 2.6% in 2009. Despite the decline, annual handset sales are forecast to reach 767 million by 2009.