Rye, NY–Lillian Vernon Corp. announced on Friday, March 9, that it would lay off 12% of its salaried staff. It will also consolidate its Las Vegas call center into its primary call center/national distribution center in Virginia Beach, VA. The multititle mailer of gifts, housewares, and gardening merchandise blamed the downscaling on the economic slowdown and reduced consumer spending.
The company also announced that it expects to close the fiscal year ended Feb. 24 at break-even or with a slight loss following after-tax restructuring charges of about $1.5 million. Lillian Vernon posted net income of $6.3 million the previous year.
Lillian Vernon is only the latest cataloger to announce layoffs. Last month alone, manufacturer/marketer Dell Computer Corp. laid off 1,700 workers, or4% of its workforce, and women’s apparel and home decor cataloger/retailer Coldwater Creek laid off 160 employees, or 8% of its staff. “Reading tools” cataloger Levenger also let go of 8% of its staff–24 workers in all. Multititle mailers Hanover Direct and Fingerhut Cos. had earlier announced layoffs of 285 and 2,000 employees respectively.