Mailers Mining the Massive Market of Asia
In the age of the global village, it’s no longer unusual for catalogers to mail beyond their borders. A growing number are taking their multinational
News
Return to Retailer
Many more multichannel merchants accept in-store returns than offer in-store pickup, in large part because handling returns is simpler than implementing
Critical Issues & Trends
Catalogers continue to agonize over the need to reduce costs without reducing offerings or services. Among respondents to Catalog Age’s exclusive Benchmark
Strategy Comes into Play
The summer months came and went without much notable deal activity. Just 16 deals were orchestrated in the third quarter. That’s up from 13 in last year’s
I’m Late, I’m Late
Anecdotal evidence suggests that consumers are waiting later and later to complete their holiday shopping. That puts catalogers at a disadvantage to their
Technically Teaching
Installing new, improved technology in your call center can greatly boost efficiency provided your workers understand how to use it correctly. State-of-the-art
Concepts Direct Catalogs Live On
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the demise of Concepts Direct’s five catalog titles have been greatly exaggerated. According to president Phillip Wiland, an article in the Boulder County (CO) “Daily Camera” stating that the $51.6 million mailer would shut its doors at the end of the year was incomplete.
Collegiate Pacific to Acquire Orlando Team Sports
Dallas-based Collegiate Pacific signed a letter of intent to acquire Orlando Team Sports (OTS), a regional distributor of team sporting goods.
“Disappointing Quarter” at Blyth
Greenwich, CT-based Blyth, which mails the Walter Drake and Miles Kimball gifts and housewares catalogs, blamed a weak retail environment for its 13% drop in third-quarter profit.
Study Shows Online Customer Service Recipients Happier
All shopping channels may flow into the same great retail sea, but customer service can mean something much different for traditional shoppers and online shoppers. A new survey conducted jointly by the NRF Foundation and American Express indicates that for online consumers, customer service concerns focus on Web site security, with 88% ranking that extremely important, and on-time delivery being a major concern of 73%.