With more and more people burning for candles, it’s no wonder that manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer Illume has exceeded response expectations with its new catalog. Targeting upscale women, the debut edition mailed in June to 20,000 names, approximately half of them retail customers. “People were calling and asking if we had a catalog that we could send them,” says owner Lynette Reed. “So we put one together.”
Prior to publishing a national catalog, Los Angeles-based Illume had sent a few mailers to local customers. Although candles are the primary product line, the catalog carries some bath products and home goods too. The average price point is $25; the average order size is $120.
Illume opened its store in 1994, then went into wholesale and manufacturing two years ago. “We started in my garage, and now we have a 10,000-sq.-ft. factory and distribute to 3,000 stores throughout the country. The next logical step was a catalog,” Reed says.