Less than five years after changing its name from Comtrad Industries, gadgets cataloger TechnoScout has changed its name once again—this time to FirstStreet. “Over the past several months, we have been on a crusade to discover ourselves,” says Shardul Pandya, director, catalog circulation and e-mail marketing. “We have realized that while our customers know us as TechnoScout, they only get the ‘Scout’ part right away. They expect us to be out there, ‘scouting’ for new products. But they’re not always clear about the Techno part.”
Pandya points out that the company’s top three products—a floor lamp that simulates sunlight, a foam mattress pad designed for the space shuttle, and an outdoor portable hot tub—don’t fit the “techno” mold. “So to align our name with our presentation, we’re changing the name.” The company plans to formally announce the name change with a mailing of the renamed catalog in the first week of July.